Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

There There by Tommy Orange

23 reviews

greatexpectations77's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

God, I devoured this book. So intense, so real, so complex. If you're thinking about reading this book, just do it. An important book about Native communities and just all communities. How we've failed our neighbors on a systemic level since the inception of this country that was built on stolen land.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Violence, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Abandonment, and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Classism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Fatphobia, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Toxic relationship, Child death, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Drug abuse, Racism, Abortion, Bullying, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

faduma's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Murder, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Mass/school shootings, and Self harm

jennshelfishlife's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-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

4.0

There There is a powerful story that connects the stories of urban Native Americans.
The dozen or so characters all have plans to attend the Big Oakland Powwow, which is how their stories interconnect along with the shared heritage. All of their stories were quite sad and had triggers (e.g. domestic abuse, guns, substance use, abandonment). Each character expresses a range of emotions from sadness to anger to joy. Tommy Orange's work is quite brilliant and sheds light on the experiences of some indigenous people. I recommend this novel to readers that enjoy sociology, culture, and the human experience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Blood, Emotional abuse, Mass/school shootings, Abandonment, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, and Animal cruelty

ashylibrarian's review

challenging emotional informative sad medium-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? Yes

I finished the audiobook of There There by Tommy Orange yesterday. The stories are raw. They are real. They are emotional. 

Orange tells the story of twelve (12) characters who live intertwined lives with one another. They all  attend a powwow in Oakland, California, for different reasons, though their lives are not all to different from one another. 

I was immediately drawn in to the ties and knots that connected each character together. Orange crafted the lives of each character so individualistically but also so very interconnectedly. 

I won’t make any spoilers here, but the ending truly ripped a piece of me and left me frustrated, sad, upset, and confused. These stories may be fictional, but I can only assume there is  truth behind the words that Orange wrote, sharing Native voices and stories, expanding hidden truths, and exposing unseen traumas. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Murder, Addiction, Alcoholism, Violence, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Blood, Body shaming, Mass/school shootings, and Gun violence

Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy

kulera's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Murder, Suicide, Violence, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Minor: Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Sexual assault, and Abortion

cheesepuppy's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

Very powerful

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Mass/school shootings, Classism, Death of parent, and Blood

Moderate: Colonisation, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Emotional abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Abandonment

Minor: Mental illness

masomunos's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

It's a struggle to find any flaw in Tommy Orange's There There. Connected through theme and plot, a multitude of characters struggle with Native identity and the difficulties of modern Native life. Characters are complex, life-like, and likeable; the plot builds slowly then all at once. The reader leaves breathless, thinking about the story and its characters as well as the reality they are based upon.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Colonisation, Genocide, and Gun violence

Minor: Violence, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Suicide, Alcoholism, Racism, Emotional abuse, and Grief

marisa_n's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Native American, mutliple POV, mass shooting

massivepizzacrust's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Brilliant like a hot knife through your chest. 
This is a complex read that pieces together the stories of many characters and how they influence each other's lives. There are so many things to talk about with this one that I think you could lead a whole class on it. I fell in love with the characters and just wanted them to find peace. For some reason I went into the book thinking it was going to be more wholesome and about identity, and it was about identity but it was also about colonialism, racism and the cycle of violence. It is unflinching and only relents a little at the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Rape and Pregnancy

dannythestreet's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

That's the kind of book that helps you become a better person and reader, it dives deep into exploring human emotion and behaviour which is exactly the reason I read books.
Honestly, this book made me care for every single character in it (there are a lot btw). Can't wait to come back to it and read it again

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, Death of parent, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts