Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal

4 reviews

jordan_noel's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.25

I was expecting this book to be about three sisters reuniting while grieving over their newly-deceased mother. I was not expecting so many important societal issues to follow.

This book talks about the patriarchy (specifically in India), MeToo and women's rights movements, female feticide, marriage, spirituality, and how to connect and adapt to different situations in order to preserve the most important relationships.

I loved these characters and grew closer to them as they slowly learned to trust one another and deconstruct the difficulties of their childhoods together. The only real flaw to me was that the characters didn't feel entirely real as they began to transition into a better relationship with each other. It was close, but just not quite there I don't think.

Overall, I thought this book was great and necessary for anyone learning to sacrifice a bit of their pride to repair lost connects with people they love.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Abortion, Sexism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Racism

Minor: Police brutality, Rape, Alcoholism, Cursing, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

There is a section of the book (maybe 1 page detailing the event and 10 pages mentioning it) about police brutality. In this same area, a group of girls recite sexual assault statistics and detail a rape that occurred recently in a major city---it's very news-like. One character has an alcohol dependency, but it's only really mentioned in the first third of the book and she's making efforts to escape it from the time we know her. One character is in a toxic relationship and experiences emotional and physical abuse. There are heavy instances of misogyny and sexual harassment for the characters once they're in India.

Additionally, a big theme of the novel is women being forced to abort female fetuses in traditional Indian families.

Several characters get pregnant and one experiences multiple miscarriages. The book starts with the characters losing their mother to cancer. The daughters grieve their mother throughout the story as they fulfill her final wish for them.

calireisreading's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Abortion, Sexual harassment, Cancer, and Death of parent

linnkaren's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Sexism

Moderate: Abortion, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

kristenm's review

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

 (tw: sexual assault, abortion, suicide and abuse)

I think at this point, I will read whatever book Balli Kaur Jaswal writes next with very little hesitation. I really enjoyed this book, however, it was a lot heavier than I expected in terms of hard-hitting social issues. However, her skills in balancing these difficult and relevant topics with humour and charm is unmatched. Additionally, her ability to provide rich details about India, Sikhism and Punjabi culture makes her stories, especially this one, easy to sink your teeth into.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, and Domestic abuse

Abortion plotline