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hippiequeen's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
amspen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism
rosies_book_shelf's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
nwara's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
nadia's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Betty really did pick up for me and became incredibly moving. There were a lot of uncomfortable and sad scenes though, so not one to go into lightly!
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
anxiousbookclub's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Gun violence and Vomit
elyxir's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
grisgrisgris's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
louise010's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
- 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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🌿 The plot: Betty Carpenter grows up in a world of fierce love and bitter cruelty. Her Cherokee father teaches her to love her ancestry and the wildness of the Ohio hills she grows up in, but the rest of the world seems hell-bent on teaching her to see herself as something unnatural. As she learns to navigate the changing social mores of the 1950s-70s, she must also learn how to live with the pain she bears witness to, and the strength she carries inside herself.
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This book is every bit as good as everyone has already said it is. I could talk about its beautiful treatment of the natural world, its stirring descriptions of womanhood, its gut-wrenching portrayal of racism and white supremacy. The beautiful prose, the way the characters feel so real that if you cut the page they would bleed. Mainly I just want to tell you to read it, because it’s an amazing thing to get lost in such a vivid world.
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I thought a lot about trauma and storytelling while reading this book. The ways that we hold stories for other people, how other people’s pain can become part of us - though not a part we can ever own or explain, a story we can’t tell for ourselves. Except maybe in fiction. It’s a place where we can be honest without being truthful. Betty is able to hold her family’s pain because she’s a storyteller and because she’s strong, and those two qualities seem to feed each other throughout. I loved her as a character and seeing the person she becomes by the end of the novel is a bittersweet reward for all she has to go through to get there.
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🏔 Read it if you like sad books, family sagas, complex, difficult women characters and warm, caring father figures. Plus lots of descriptions of nature and a mythical storytelling style.
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🚫 Avoid it if you’re sensitive to scenes of rape, incest, sexual violence, racism and death. This book does not take it easy on its readers and I’d recommend looking at TWs if you’re concerned. Also if you want an uplifting read - this is beautiful and, I think, has a note of hope to it, but it is definitely a certified Sad Book™️
Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Racial slurs and Violence
Minor: Gun violence