Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

23 reviews

aliciavalenski's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

theiagrace's review against another edition

funny mysterious 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

4.5

This is the first fiction book I've actually finished in years. The preface would catch you off guard and the break in the fourth wall stopped me multiple times to check if I've been actually paying attention. It was a fun read. Every single character is flawed and slowly built up into a fiery reveal. However, I don't know how I feel about the biggest twist at the end, I haven't decided yet. But that doesn't take away from how much a good time this book is.

P.S. I've experienced needing to rent snow chains from Jindabyne and run a sedan up the snowy mountains on turtle pace and because of that I've decided early on that I like Ernest, from shared trauma.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Suicide

Themes sprinkled in are very heavy but treated lightheartedly

as that is how the narrator deals with difficult things.

aloeverra's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.75

A very fun read and listen (I did a little of both). The author has a great way with words and descriptions. I loved the family dynamic and how it transitions in the book. It was great to enjoy a surprising plot that also looks hard at family problems and the idea of hero and anti-hero.  I only didn't make 5 stars for me because there were still sometimes I felt the plot and how it was presented to us became overly convoluted, but in the end things wrap up nicely. I can't wait to pick up his next book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

Emotional Abuse Content

The main character's mother is terrible about ostracizing and actively disowning the main character. They both gain understanding later in the book, but it's pretty hard to read at the start

Torture Context

this involves past description of choking and suffocating, though it is not described as it happens from any of the victim's perspectives. It is brought up and talked about 3 or 4 times.

ecstarr's review

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

cianarae's review against another edition

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

cmc027's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction

ashmak06's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Torture, Blood, and Medical content

bubblehead_1994's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

cartridgepink's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Great book. I was having so much fun I stopped trying to work out the mystery and just enjoyed reading instead. (I did work it out anyway but that's not the point.) Funny, layered without being overly convoluted, great characters, and a satisfying mystery to boot.

Last year I went to a Melb Writers Festival event where Ben was a speaker. I hadn't read the book but was a fan of him + his brother's musical comedy. Panel goes well, Ben cracks jokes all the way through, then they open it up to Q&A and an elderly lady in the front row says, "Are you actually a comedian?" Honestly as brutal as some of the murders in the book. Gotta respect it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Infertility, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Emotional abuse and Pregnancy

mainjane's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death

Minor: Child abuse and Emotional abuse