Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Bad Girls by Camila Sosa Villada

10 reviews

onlyonebookshelf's review against another edition

challenging reflective 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicide, and Transphobia

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, and Abandonment

cantfindmybookmark's review

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide, Police brutality, Rape, Deadnaming, Bullying, Abandonment, Homophobia, and Transphobia

elinna's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad fast-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

Una historia maravillosa que te aprieta el corazón, pero que al mismo tiempo ese amor entre penumbras y de noche te va cuidando.
Escucharlo en voz de la autora fue una experiencia maravillosa.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Blood, Drug use, Abandonment, Addiction, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Violence

196books's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Deadnaming

lidia7's review against another edition

dark sad 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Ableism, Child death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Suicide, Grief, and Racism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Medical content, Vomit, Abandonment, Cancer, Deadnaming, Excrement, Gun violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Animal death, Bullying, and Self harm

maxgdy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Abandonment, Cursing, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Bullying, Alcohol, Outing, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Violence, Addiction, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Death, Grief, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Suicide

internationalreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Drug use, Excrement, Grief, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Transphobia, and Vomit

ca_r's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Death, Child abuse, Addiction, Violence, Suicide, Sexual assault, Rape, Abandonment, Misogyny, and Grief

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Addiction, and Classism

carolinacortez's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Que buena novela, que podría pasar por una crónica facilmente, que cruda realidad la que viven las mujeres trans del mundo, pero en este caso específicamente las latinoamericanas, Camila nos cuenta su vida como prostituta cuando estaba en sus earlies 20s, de la comunidad que se hace entre las mujeres trans con esta misma profesión, pero sobre todo de lo cruel que es el mundo con ellas, tanto hombres como mujeres, tanto personas heteros u hoosexuales, como las mujeres trans se sentían excluidas y bajo sus propias palabras, como las cucarachas de la sociedad, Camila tiene una manera muy poética de describir y narrar todas las cosas por las que vivió ella desde su casa con su familia hasta su vida en las calles, una novela muy cruda pero a la vez muy bella de leer, concuerdo con el prólogo cuando dijo que Las Malas es de esos libros que acabas y quieres que todo el mundo lea.

pd. checar trigger warnings antes de leer.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Transphobia

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Rape, Murder, Medical content, Hate crime, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Pregnancy, Misogyny, and Mental illness

littlebookterror's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

 (This is a heavy book, I advise looking into content warnings.)


Told in the first-person perspective of Camila, a not even 23 years old transgender sex worker, the story revolves around her daily life and that of her trans sisters, watched over by Tía Encarna. While the present timeline follows them finding an abandoned baby in the park and going the motions of their lives (which often includes, drugs, alcohol and dealing with inconsiderate clients), we also go back and learn about the history of many of the women who surround Camila, as well as her own childhood. It's personal and raw, at times it reads like a personal diary, at other times it takes on a fairytale-like quality - finding morals and explanations for the horrors they had to endure and the happiness they got to experience. The main 'plot' is actually focused on Tía Encarna and the baby boy she decides to keep and how that changes the dynamic in the group. Camila is on the fringes, watching it all unfold.

Villada hold nothing back; there are scenes of abuse and assault, mistreatment, dysphoric moments and all the struggles that come with being poor, trans, and alone. She writes about all these shocking events with a neutrality that does not allow for glamorization or sensationalism. You can feel her emotions dripping of the page.


There is also an aspect of magical realism to the story (I think that is quite common with titles from Latin America, correct me if I'm wrong). It is mostly in the small details (headless lovers, a werewolf sister) that I quite liked. It reshaped some of the horrors in a different light and offered an alternative viewpoint to their bleak realities.
The ending is both expected and devastating.

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If you are looking for an English title with similar themes, I would suggest The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad. It's Young Adult, and therefore not as graphic, and leans more into the fantasy aspect but both stories feature a group of queer women of colour at the center who have run away from abuse and past assault. Both stories also feature a first-person narrator (plural in the case of The Wild Ones) that tells the story from another main character (Tía Encarna and Paheli, specifically). Both show the harsh reality of life while offering an escape. (The Wild Ones is a more hopeful book overall.) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Police brutality, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Addiction, Drug use, Alcohol, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Rape, Pregnancy, and Hate crime

Minor: Vomit and Animal death

sexual contact between minors (wanted and unwanted), unsafe sex practices (AIDS), main character mentions her deadname once