Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

230 reviews

michelles_book_nook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

⚠️ CW: racism, violence, bullying, homophobia, murder, mental health, suicide, abortion, incest, rape, sexual abuse, paedophilia and child death ⚠️ If you're looking for a beautifully devastating and complex coming of age story then this one is for you! Born in a bathtub in 1954 to a white mother and a Cherokee father, Betty is the sixth of eight siblings. The world they inhabit in the rural town of Breathed, Ohio, is one of poverty and loss, of lush landscapes and blazing stars. Despite the hardships she encounters, Betty is resilient. Her curiosity about the natural world, her fierce love for her sisters and her father's brilliant stories are kindling for the fire of her own imagination. And in the face of everything she witnesses, including the horrors of her family's past and present, she discovers an escape in writing. This book was everything I hoped for and more. It is so tragic, but also so beautiful and I don't really know how to explain what I mean by that right now but if you've read this you'll understand. Betty is the most incredible character who will stay with me for a very long time. A lot of the themes running through this book really hit hard for me and I definitely needed some tissues to get through it, but the resilience Betty built through her own will and the teachings from her father about life in general and her Cherokee ancestry were just so incredibly powerful. To put it simply I adored this book and it may easily be my favourite of the year. Overall, I highly recommend this book but please check the CW's before diving in.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Child death, Violence, Homophobia, Incest, Rape, Racism, Murder, Bullying, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Abortion

polly_baker's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

Wallop.  A coming-of-age, family saga the tracks the paths of inheritance, equal parts darkness and light.  

I absolutely loved Betty.  Her first person narration, channeled through McDaniel's lyrical prose, amplified the wonder, the confusion, the joy and the hurt that punctuated her childhood and adolescence.  

It is all at once a celebration and a damnation of the things we acquire, generation to generation.  Parallels are drawn between the indigenous wisdom Betty is gifted from her Cherokee father, and the generational trauma she endures from her mother's abusive past.  Betty's narrative gives voice to the many children who bear the burdens of their elders, carrying pain silently, burying it in jam-jars deep beneath the ground.  

Betty's father is portrayed through her child's eyes as god-like and mythical, strengthened through his indigenous stories and the knowledge and reverence he held for the Earth.  The Cherokee heritage is celebrated and foregrounded, even amidst a world working its hardest to erase it.  Betty struggles with her identity as tales of the matriarchal power and strength of the Cherokee collide with a patriarchal and capitalist America, which systematically dismantles indigenous pride, and cultivates shame in its place.

It is a challenging read (worth checking the trigger warnings for) as Betty has borne witness to a multitude of traumatic incidents during her upbringing.  But this is not trauma porn... Betty is based on the story of McDaniel's own mother, rooted very much in reality and in the shaping of Betty Carpenter, a new favourite character, and human, who I already deeply miss. 

<i>“I realized then that not only did Dad need us to believe his stories, we needed to believe them as well. To believe in unripe stars and eagles able to do extraordinary things. What it boiled down to was a frenzied hope that there was more to life than the reality around us. Only then could we claim a destiny we did not feel cursed to.”</i>

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, and Suicide attempt

mamasquare's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This was a challenging read, but ultimately so rewarding. At times it was very hard to continue reading, but I also could not put it down. I loved this book, despite all it put me through as a reader, and now I really want to read interviews with the author. I highly recommend checking the content warnings on this book, especially if you have strong sensitivities regarding children and animals.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Death of parent and Drug use

elliott_the_clementine's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad 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

I will leave this book unrated. Incredibly written, painfully dark, and intensely important. Please check the trigger warnings before reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Death of parent, Medical content, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Self harm, Torture, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Gore, Ableism, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Incest, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Rape, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Colonisation, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

ellysiap's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense 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

5.0

“The heaviest thing in the world is a man on top of you when you don’t want him to be.” 

Some of the best writing I have read in a while, every line was meant to be felt. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Rape, Racial slurs, Death, Abortion, Blood, Bullying, Sexual violence, Child death, Incest, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, and Suicide

Moderate: Classism, Animal death, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

jco1016's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Death, Child death, Abortion, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Bullying, Sexual content, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death of parent, Incest, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, and Suicide attempt

quartir's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Abortion, Death, Gaslighting, Child death, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Animal death, and Murder

lauralfp's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Animal cruelty, Child death, Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent, and Blood

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Abortion

Minor: Addiction and Ableism

aliciawithoutkeys's review against another edition

dark 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Blood, Child abuse, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Sexism, Child death, Incest, Grief, Racial slurs, Animal death, Self harm, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Drug use

lexi_ag's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I will carry this story in my heart forever. This book was really fucking sad and hard to read, but the story was still so beautiful, and offered just enough hope.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Incest, and Suicide