Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

133 reviews

valmackpete's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

ceejayvee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Car accident, and Abortion

bellsdixon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, and Classism

Minor: Suicide

boliv3's review against another edition

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

4.75

Beautifully written but very sad overall. The kind of characters that stay with you for a long time, if not forever.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual violence, and Suicide

booksinherhead's review against another edition

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

4.5

DEMON COPPERHEAD is the book of my heart. The voice of our protagonist Demon is so strong through this text–even with a meandering plot through Demon's childhood and adolesence his perspective is quite frankly so compelling I found it difficult to put this 500+ page book down. I'll be thinking about the characters Kingslover has constructed for years to come. Be prepared for heartbreak and a story you'll never forget. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Abortion

additional (but non exhaustive) content warnings include: drowning, gun violence, foster care system, adoption, guardianship t

ncghammo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense slow-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, Child abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Death of parent

tctimlin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative sad medium-paced

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

5.0

On a scale of 1-5 this was a 6 for me.  Kingsolver is an incredible writer and she got the voice of our narrator perfectly.   She also gets the beauty and the ugliness of Appalachia perfectly (I have spent a fair amount of time working in that part of the world).  I loved the way she paralleled Dickens’ “David Copperfield” and uses it to write about contemporary issues like the opioid crisis in 21st century America.  Next time I read it (for there will definitely be a next time), I’d like to parallel read it with David Copperfield because in my memory, it lines up almost perfectly in character and plot.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism

bookbih42069's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring sad 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

This book is excellent. The voice of the narrator is strong and salient, Kingsolver handled complex issues deftly through rich characters who develop over the course of their lives in ways that force us to reflect on similar figures in our own lives. There is so much empathy in this work, it is surely a new American classic. 

The main character is easy to root for, flaws, challenges, and all. As a reader, it is easy to be caught in the wave of events with him with a growth in understanding. I think everything was intentional, which I mention because I read some other reviews before posting this to cover my take on some themes in the reviews. I would say this book is HEAVY so totally get the “not in the mood” notes. The ending felt satisfying, and truthfully I saw the hints dropped throughout the story so I personally think it made perfect sense and I appreciate where things were left. As a reader, you  really get dragged through the harsh events of Damon’s life right along with him. His perspective is the  perspective of the book , so his mentions of past events made sense to me, as people we reflect on  formative moments. Finally, this does cover topics many of us are familiar with intellectually, but the beauty of fiction is the opportunity to insert oneself into a world in a way more geared towards empathy enrichment than what non-fiction can do, or maybe it’s just Kingsolver. 

TL;DR- amazing book you should definitely read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual violence, and Trafficking

Minor: Suicide and Trafficking

erinsca's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

terrywho's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-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

5.0

David Copperfield in the time of the Oxy epidemic.

The only way I can think of describing this book is by calling it full of heart. This story was at the same time heartfelt and heartbreaking, and it made you unable to stop reading all the while dreading every new paragraph. 
This is a book about pain, grief and unimaginable hurt and yet it manages to never stew in that pain, even during the longest stretches of it in the narrative. It’s not a sad story for the sake of being sad, but it’s sadness serves a propose and highlights the cruelty of the world in such a way that sticks you even when you’ve closed the book. 

To summarize all my thoughts I’m just going to say that I’ve never read a book quite like it and I’m not sure I ever will.

**Added at the end because if mild spoilers**
A little personal note, and definitely not the most important thing about this book but my favorite part of it: I’m a comic book artist, and seeing the art form I love most in the world made to be the thing that opens up a kid’s words, a life-line that and allows him to see the first glimpse of what life could be, a way to understand a life that seems beyond your understanding, and a universal language to talk about you, your world, your comunity and your history never once failed to make me smile and love comics even more that I already did, which is something I didn’t think possible. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Miscarriage