Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

397 reviews

samathan's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

katiesbookmarks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Read this for a book club - definitely not something I would have picked up on my own. So much packed into this story, all of it tough and funny and heartbreaking. I enjoyed it but wished it was shorter, also wish the author had included a few trigger warnings at the beginning. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Abandonment

desiree_zeuxis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

Everybody warns about bad influences, but it’s these things already inside you that are going to take you down. The restlessness in your gut, like tomcats gone stupid with their blood feuds, prowling around in the moon-dead dark. The hopeless wishes that won’t quit stalking you: some perfect words you think you could say to somebody to make them see you, and love you, and stay. 

Oh this book pulled at all of my most tender parts. Poverty, mother hunger, parental addiction, rehab. Kingsolver is a wonderful writer, I couldn't stop saving every line for later. This is absolutely going on my favorites shelf of which there are less than 10 books. 

For the kids who wake up hungry in those dark places every day, who’ve lost their families to poverty and pain pills, whose caseworkers keep losing their files, who feel invisible, or wish they were: this book is for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

sineadw9's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

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

5.0

This book gradually blew me away. Demon is such a clear, compelling, resilient, tragic, tender protagonist and it all comes out in how Kingsolver captures his voice. She perfectly embodies “show, don’t tell” in how the narration shows you so much about living and the lives in Appalachia. Definitely a gut-punch of a novel that I’m so glad to have read. I just finished it and already miss Demon.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Classism

alexceleratedreader's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Grief

Minor: Death, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Violence, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

revmomeis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective tense 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

4.5

This is a brilliant novel that has been on my  bookshelf for quite a while, and I'm so glad I finally picked it up. I was immediately drawn in by Demon's story and couldn't wait to find out how it played out. It's a tough novel to read - not a happy-go-lucky book - and at times I got impatient while things in Demon's life continued to be difficult. But I really enjoyed the read and was sad when it was over. It makes me want to read David Copperfield!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Drug abuse

Moderate: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

catlover_801'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Mental illness, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment

chloelmills's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted 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

My god, this book is breathtakingly beautiful, sad, funny, tragic, full of hope, joy, loss and pain, and just when you think you get it, it veers you in another direction, the story never takes you where you think it’s going, sometimes in the best ways and sometimes in the saddest. Such brilliant writing. Plainly put, this book is exceptional. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

theycallmerash's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny reflective sad 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse and Toxic relationship

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Abortion

jd2create's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy