Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

28 reviews

tbell0211's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

I almost took away a star because I don’t think the title fits the book at all Lmfao but the book is great honestly. It set up for a sequel if Stage ever wants to write one but is great stand alone as well. It’s traumatizing in all the warmest of ways. It didn’t give me nightmares, but it made me feel genuine emotions like fear, pity, sympathy, anger, anguish. I think Hannah is one of the most beautifully written complicated antagonists I’ve encountered in years, maybe since Severus Snape. As a psych major, this book leaves a lot to unpack after it’s finished, and I adore books that make me think. “The child you love to hate” isn’t a phrase I thought I’d ever say out loud, lol. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence

frankieray's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I almost couldn’t get into this book because it triggers me so much. I still don’t know if I should have read it, it stressed me out a lot, but I also think it was well written and the story was intriguing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Violence, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, and Toxic relationship

kierstm's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical trauma, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Medical content, and Sexual content

lilacwhisker's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Very crazy and made me want to vomit. It likes how at the start of the book the main focus is on Hanna’s mental issues/psychotic behaviors, and then near the end we also get to see how Suzette reflects many of these. I thought the comparisons of mothers and their daughters throughout the story (Suzette’s mother, Suzette, and Hanna) was interesting even without the horror bits. Even so, this book could be a little repetitive at some points and I can understand why some people didn’t like it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Body horror, Cursing, Excrement, Medical content, Sexual content, Child abuse, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Eating disorder and Abandonment

Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, and Incest

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

What a creepy book. It reminded me of The Push in some ways. Psychopathic children terrify the ever loving shit out of me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence

brindolyn's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Sexual content

elenatamsen's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Sexual content, Chronic illness, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Blood, Gaslighting, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Medical trauma

cursivewolf's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I liked the dual perspectives, seeing both sides of the situations. Seeing how Hanna rationalized her own behavior. Extremely well-written. Reviews compared it to We Need To Talk About Kevin, and I agree. But it’s good in its own way, it takes that concept in its own direction. The ending fell flat to me, and I do wish the last chapter had been cut. I feel like that would have made for a better ending. But overall I enjoyed it. 

I wanted to beat Alex Jensen with a mallet. Suzette Jensen I am so sorry you endured the shit you did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Blood, Emotional abuse, Violence, Cursing, Torture, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

abbeyhuffine94's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

The little girl is very eerie and the story is enthralling but I was a little disappointed by how predictable the ending was.

Side note: this further confirmed my decision not to have children.
Another side note: Is it bad that I related a little to Hanna (remembering child me)? I wasn't psychopathic like Hanna but I definitely liked causing trouble and felt smarter than everyone. I would never have been able to be silent though lol

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical content

onegirlandtheworld's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Not a book I would have chosen if it wasn't for book club but the premise was intriguing. The use of the mother/daughter viewpoints worked really well but even then just as you thought you knew what each character was thinking or how they would respond the rug would be pulled put from underneath you. None of the characters were very loveable but that is kind of the point. Hanna is my favourite but I would not want her as my child! I frequently wanted to shake the parents and the ending really showed their true colours. I would be interested in a sequel but the book is equally good as a standalone story.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Medical content, Violence, and Toxic relationship