Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

397 reviews

perfectcupoftea's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Homophobia

kdmirich's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Grief

Minor: Abortion

Beautiful and heartbreaking all at once.

iordanmoore's review

dark emotional funny hopeful 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

I loved the narrator’s voice! A retelling of David Copperfield but through the modern lens of being in Appalachia and also dealing with the opioid crisis. Despite all of the troubles life deals Demon, he’s a main character you can’t help but root for and I loved his relationship with Angus.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit

mmp1002's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective 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: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

sha's review

emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Demon Copperhead is a fully realised character study that immerses the reader in the life of its narrator, a boy growing up in rural Appalachia. As a modern retelling of David Copperfield, the novel explores themes of poverty, resilience, and systemic injustice, all while maintaining a deeply personal and emotionally engaging perspective.

Much like Shuggie Bain, Demon Copperhead sensitively portrays a young boy’s struggle to survive in a world that seems determined to break him. Kingsolver doesn’t shy away from the horrors of addiction, neglect, and exploitation—particularly in her searing depiction of the opioid crisis—but she does so with compassion, never reducing her characters to mere symbols of suffering. Instead, she gives them depth, agency, and moments of unexpected grace.

The novel’s immersive prose brings Demon’s voice to life with humor, grit, and unflinching honesty. Kingsolver captures both the harsh realities and the small joys of his world, making his journey all the more compelling. The result is a story that is both devastating and hopeful, a testament to the enduring power of storytelling and survival.

This is a type of story I don’t normally enjoy, but surprisingly it kept my attention in the form of an audiobook! Although, some parts in the middle dragged on, and became repetitive.

Torn between 3.5-4/5 ⭐️

Just as an aside - I greatly enjoyed the detailed writing on farming in Demon’s first temporary foster placement.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

aelan_girl's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Abandonment

Moderate: Child abuse and Child death

Book is set in the heart of the opioid crisis in Appalachia

gfiore11's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

This is undoubtedly a great piece of literature, so I’m not really sure why I can’t give it a higher rating. The character development is unparalleled, and Kingsolver has some truly remarkable nuggets of beauty and wisdom nestled in her prose. However, I couldn’t help feeling like I wasn’t sure why the protagonist was writing this book, and I wasn’t convinced that this would be his voice. Also, I felt that there was unnecessary suspense and foreshadowing for a book that is all about growing up and institutional poverty. Could edge into the realm of preachy at times too. I’m happy it ended on a hopeful note - I think the characters deserve that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Abandonment, and Classism

acorn33's review

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring 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

5.0

This is in my Top 5 favorites of all time, sitting with The Help, Night, Cerulean Sea, and The Eyes and the Impossible. 

Demon’s story was enthralling from the first page to the last. It was heartbreaking and hopeful and frustrating and enlightening. I would love to see the world read this book and walk away with any number of the new perspectives Barbara Kingsolver shines a light on. This book and Demon’s demons will stay with me for a lifetime. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Grief, and Medical trauma

amelmore's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Death of parent, and Abandonment

jessbailey24's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I think this has made it to my top 5 favorite books. I just finished it and need time to sit with it before writing a real review

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Mental illness, Vomit, Trafficking, and Classism