Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

154 reviews

noura's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Abortion

mac23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I have a lot of questions, as a critical thinker. I thought it was a good novel, but I found myself consistently asking the same questions of the author…”how would you know?” It’s written by a straight white older woman from the perspective of a heterosexual male person of color, who goes through some seriously traumatic experiences, and written from their first person point of view. Admittedly, the light research that I’ve done on the author does not show that she has been in any of these experiences first hand, especially addiction. If you haven’t experienced that directly, I don’t feel that it is appropriate or accurate to write about that experience as though you have, first hand. There is a level of nuance there that is seriously missing, IMO. It read to me as obtuse. For the prizes this book won, I’m surprised, but also not surprised, that it got this much attention for as problematic as it was.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, 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

ginnydw's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Abortion, and Abandonment

kil_sea's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.25

I really enjoyed this book. The narrative voice really suited the story and I really enjoyed the style of writing that verged on stream-of-consciousness at times. For covering so many deeply sad topics/events, the book managed to keep up a good pace while still allowing the story to have emotional heft. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Homophobia, Abortion, Pregnancy, and War

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

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

cetoria's review

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? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, and Abandonment

Moderate: Homophobia and Racism

Minor: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Abortion

kateywaldhart's review

adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail