Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

146 reviews

agnesg's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Grief, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Toxic relationship, Vomit, Trafficking, and Car accident

mreads03's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is an incredibly hard and emotional book but it's worth the read. It addresses personal and social values in a way that is infrequently discussed in our age. It shines a direct and unflinching light on the effects of poverty and the opioid crisis in modern rural America. It's going to be one of those books you walk away from and think about for years to come.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

michelethestick's review

dark emotional 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

3.5

It's pretty much what you would expect for a Appalachian version of David Copperfield.  The characters were big and believable. I'm not a fan of coming of age stories.  I especially find it difficult to watch characters make bad decisions.  There was too much of the darkness in the real world in this novel and I found it difficult to stay in it.  Everything in me told me to abandon this book. I did not.  It's well written and a story that should be told.  It's just not my thing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

feebles640's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying and Abortion

fjcookie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

this book took me an ageeee to read!! it is very dense but I feel like i've just read a whole life story so that is probably why!! the scope of this book is crazy and I really loved it. I found the second half a lot more compelling and interesting than the first half and I read it so much faster. 
this has the vibes of Shuggie Bain, but American. both novels are such interesting looks at vulnerable childhood lives, but the scope of this one feels bigger than Shuggie Bain. (I love both equally)
the narration is such a compelling one, funny and bitter but also heartfelt. so many characters and events built into a bigger narrative, artfully building towards disaster time and time again. there were times when I almost couldn't read because I couldn't deal with Demon being distressed and upset again! I also love the repeated motifs throughout the novel, knitting this massive scope together- particularly, the ocean, water and drowning motifs. Also the Mary Oliver-esque discovery of self in the moss and the woods, ugh, had my heart singing. 

• p2- 'save or be saved, these are questions. You want to think it's not over till the last page.'
• p296- 'she liked to tease me that if we lived to a hundred, she would still be the one to get there first. Which was true. No credit given for all the extra miles that take you nowhere.'
• p329- 'good people, bad people, what does that even mean? Get down to the rock and the hard place, and we're all just soft flesh and the weapon at hand.'
• p385- 'many had tried to do their best with us, but we came out of too-hungry mothers. Four demons spawned by four different starving hearts.'
• p409- 'you'll look at this person that's your whole world and offer to go get something, the little hit that so easily brings her back. You do it as an act of love. I've known no greater'
• p451-'I'd helped Emmy into the tunnel that day, but I also lied to her. If something scares you, you get your ass out of there. I should have said. Everything will not be okay.'
• p504- 'it comes down to velocity. this was a business of outrunning ghosts, and there was no end to my dead'
• p506- 'some tiny part of me woke up to the moss and said, Man. Where you been. This is the fucking wonderful world of colour.'
• p507- 'the light looked drinkable. it poured on a mountain so I saw the curve of every treetop edged in gold
• p529- 'if it had been July, my heart already would have cracked for the beauty. As it was, I might die of loneliness'
• p544- 'For a minute the sun came out, while it was snowing. People say that means the devil is beating his wife. Then the snow stopped, which I took to mean she was leaving the bastard.'
• p546- 'That's where we are. Well past the Christiansburg exit. Past Richmond, and still pointed east. Headed for the one big thing I know is not going to swallow me alive.' 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Toxic relationship

Minor: Animal death, Suicide, Blood, and Vomit

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Pregnancy

nialiversuch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death

laurenleigh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad 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? Yes

4.5

I truly struggled with this for the first 4 or 5 hours. It was so depressing. But Ben said it was a great book, so I persevered, and I’m really glad I did. This was not only an extremely well-written novel with a classic Bildungsroman structure, it was a timely message. My coastal elite privileged self has heard of stories like Demon’s, but to experience it so intimately is extremely powerful. It gives me more empathy for people who are probably very far from my political leanings, and I think that’s a good thing. Ben has also recommended I follow this read up with Empire of Pain. I’m sure that will be depressing too, but I want to better understand this opioid epidemic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

emily_koopmann's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Sexual content, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

franklola's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny inspiring reflective sad slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, and Abortion