Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

151 reviews

misssleepy's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

This was on my tbr for 2024 because of its place as a classic in American literature. 

I really loved hearing the story be told in Maya Angelou’s voice. She has a very soothing and deep voice that added depth to the story.

There were very challenging chapters in this book, but they were told with the perspective and understanding of a child. Her honesty and child-like writing style created a unique perspective that one can only really experience through writing. 

Chapter 29 is one I hope to visit again. The ending describes the difference in attitudes towards illegality and crime by white and black Americans. It then works its way until the differences in how they use langue. It’s a striking and honest encapsulation of the Black experience from a perspective that maybe white people don’t dare to explore or ponder.

This book has motivated me to want to continue to read more of Angelou’s work and I think I will start making an effort to read one of her works each year.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Child abuse

evella_epub's review against another edition

challenging hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.25

Wonderful book overall, and a beautiful, ending to a story that starts uncertain of itself.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault

Moderate: Violence and Murder

Minor: Sexual harassment

violetends's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Child abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Pregnancy

mirandaleighhhh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

Ohhhhhhhh wow. What a treat to listen to Maya Angelou tell her story (and even sing!). This was very difficult to listen to in the beginning pertaining to what happened when she was 8 years old, and I had to take a break before journeying on. I loved how she mentioned her journey with reading since she was very young, and I was flabbergasted at some of her experiences (the junk yard!). This is an important read.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Child abuse, Racism, Murder, Racial slurs, and Violence

jalexpulliamkepler's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

4.0

Interesting and often moving but sometimes felt more like a series of essays than a memoir

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Child abuse, Classism, Sexism, Pedophilia, Rape, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and War

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Dysphoria, Body horror, Ableism, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Classism, Pregnancy, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Abortion, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Excrement, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, and Slavery

bookishkarina's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

5.0

Highly, HIGHLY recommend the audiobook! Maya Angelou's voice is just absolutely magnificent. It draws you in immediately, brings you into the story and holds you there from beginning to end. Angelou's voice just does something to you. Check your trigger warnings tough.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, and Child abuse

Moderate: Racism

ed_moore's review against another edition

informative inspiring fast-paced

3.0

Maya Angelou’s ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ is a memoir of her time facing racism, sexism and questions of her sexuality as a child and teenager. It is also difficult to review a memoir as it is almost as if I am reviewing and praising or criticising another’s life and experiences, though am still inclined to come to some conclusion on such. It follows her and her brother Bailey navigating childhood in the Deep South of America before returning to their parents in the North. 

 

This potion of her life was illuminating, turbulent and interesting though I struggled to entirety engage with the book, though narrated by Angelou herself with so much passion, both memoirs aren’t my typical genre and the book felt really fragmented. I am still unsure if this may be because I could’ve listened to an abridged version, though am not even sure wether it was abridged or not as I have found nothing to say otherwise though my audiobook recording felt really short. Abridged or otherwise, Angelou’s decision to split her autobiography across 7 books, ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ only being the first, it still lacked any satisfying closure and just seemed to end without warning, not even setting itself up for the second book. 

 

Each fragmented event was interesting and held literary merit in itself, but as a chronology they really didn’t work for me and just felt tacked together with no particular rhyme nor reason. I will also highlight that there are highly detailed scenes of SA that occur in Angelou’s life and therefore autobiography, it is handled well illuminating to see the shifting emotions as Angelou grappled with understanding her victimisation, but still worth being aware of if undertaking this book. It was certainly interesting, whereas I don’t think the first part (and most praised) was enough to persuade me to undertaking the vast number of further parts in Angelou’s collection of memoirs. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Racism, and Rape

Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, and Sexual content

Minor: Car accident

branamalyssa10's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring tense medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racism, and Murder

robinsons515's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Abandonment, Rape, Hate crime, Classism, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Death, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexual content, and Child abuse