Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

327 reviews

mmp1002's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

sha's review

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Demon Copperhead is a fully realised character study that immerses the reader in the life of its narrator, a boy growing up in rural Appalachia. As a modern retelling of David Copperfield, the novel explores themes of poverty, resilience, and systemic injustice, all while maintaining a deeply personal and emotionally engaging perspective.

Much like Shuggie Bain, Demon Copperhead sensitively portrays a young boy’s struggle to survive in a world that seems determined to break him. Kingsolver doesn’t shy away from the horrors of addiction, neglect, and exploitation—particularly in her searing depiction of the opioid crisis—but she does so with compassion, never reducing her characters to mere symbols of suffering. Instead, she gives them depth, agency, and moments of unexpected grace.

The novel’s immersive prose brings Demon’s voice to life with humor, grit, and unflinching honesty. Kingsolver captures both the harsh realities and the small joys of his world, making his journey all the more compelling. The result is a story that is both devastating and hopeful, a testament to the enduring power of storytelling and survival.

This is a type of story I don’t normally enjoy, but surprisingly it kept my attention in the form of an audiobook! Although, some parts in the middle dragged on, and became repetitive.

Torn between 3.5-4/5 ⭐️

Just as an aside - I greatly enjoyed the detailed writing on farming in Demon’s first temporary foster placement.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

gfiore11's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This is undoubtedly a great piece of literature, so I’m not really sure why I can’t give it a higher rating. The character development is unparalleled, and Kingsolver has some truly remarkable nuggets of beauty and wisdom nestled in her prose. However, I couldn’t help feeling like I wasn’t sure why the protagonist was writing this book, and I wasn’t convinced that this would be his voice. Also, I felt that there was unnecessary suspense and foreshadowing for a book that is all about growing up and institutional poverty. Could edge into the realm of preachy at times too. I’m happy it ended on a hopeful note - I think the characters deserve that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Abandonment, and Classism

loslibrosdesami's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Classism

madmadmaddymad's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is one of the best books I’ve ever listened to. Highly, highly recommend the audiobook. I love the narrator, and the style. 

My favorite line is when he was talking about gossiping in the bathroom and the person you’re talking about is in the stall right next to you. “We can hear you.” And how it feels to be living in the mountains in Virginia and the butt of every American joke. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Grief

Minor: Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking

jessbailey24's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I think this has made it to my top 5 favorite books. I just finished it and need time to sit with it before writing a real review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Mental illness, Vomit, Trafficking, and Classism

iwish_ihadmoretimetoread's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was so incredibly hard for me to read. It’s one of those books that will stay with you for a lifetime. It ripped my heart out in so many ways, I still feel the bleeding wound in my chest. It’s raw, real and gut-wrenchingly beautiful in a very tragic way. One of the best books I’ve read in my almost 29 years on this earth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

mimiscar's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book has so many trigger warnings to include abuse, addiction, child neglect but tells the stories of the seemingly invisible, I read these types of books as a way to stay somewhat aware of what’s happening in the world. Reminded me very much of “Educated” and “The Glass Castle”

I was in a bit of a reading rut before picking this up and it has removed me from the slump. The character development was superb in my opinion. There were quite a few characters to keep up with but her descriptions of them made it easy to put a real face to the characters. 

This chronicled the life of a young man passed through foster care in the foothills of Appalachia coal mining land and a series of unfortunate events and the people he came in contact with throughout his life. The foreshadowing also deserves a mention. There were times when the book rambled but there was always a glimmer that something more was to come that kept me engrossed and turning the pages as fast as I could. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

gracemcbee's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Check trigger warnings. I thought the first half was more lighthearted, but towards the end it got super dark and by then I was already halfway done and wanted to finish it. Some parts were super uncomfortable to read and felt kinda creepy - like the Linda phone calls. Lowered from 4 to 3 stars because of who he ended up with at the end.

Am I the only one that thought it was uncomfortable he ended up with someone he considered his sister for very formative years of his life???

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest

hhelena's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism