Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

67 reviews

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

---

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

annakh16's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

A note first: I haven’t read any Dickens, so I‘m unfortunately unable to judge the cross-referencing (much to the dismay of my book club - sorry…). 

This is a dark but important book, written with genuine empathy. Demon as a main character roots the story very well, which to me is largely due to the strong sense of voice the author manages to create effectively. The writing took a bit of getting used to, not because it’s bad though. In fact, I think the (not quite?) stream of consciousness style worked well to bring the message across in a genuine way. I was often pleasantly caught off-guard by how Kingsolver would just hit you with really sharp analysis or profound commentary “out of left field”. This is also how she avoids “poverty porn” or sensationalism, if you ask me - by bringing it back to the systemic. 

I do think that some “episodes” were more interesting or well done than others, but this is a light point of critique. And: the

”my adopted sister may actually be in love with me” ending

was weird. Sorry not sorry. 

Overall, this is a well-executed account and something I “looked forward” to reading. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Self harm and Abortion

katebitters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

This was a tough book to get through, and I'm not sure it added anything new or profound to the conversation about drug abuse, poverty, and rural America. I almost quit reading at several points because the story was so damn depressing and seemed to be spinning in circles instead of moving forward along some kind of story arc.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Sexism, Death of parent, and Classism

jacduc777's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, Sexual content, and Abortion

c_dmckinney's review

dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense fast-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

wemz_11's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Blood, Abortion, and Pregnancy

ksbrooks98's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

I saw someone else say that this is now the basis for a great book, and I agree. 
We follow Demon for a significant portion of his childhood. As he grows and matures, the tone shifts, the writing changes. We can see his world as clearly as our own. We see the people we are there for him, and we see the people, the systems that fail him. Barbara Kingsolver puts so many failed and abused systems under the microscope all investigated by a boy who, by the end, I felt like I knew personally. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Bullying, Car accident, and Abortion

camichughes's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, and Abortion

arayo's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny sad medium-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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Self harm, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, Racism, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Abortion

quinn24's review against another edition

3.75

kingsolver certainly had a point to make and she made it well but tied it up a little too neatly for my liking 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Racism, and Pregnancy