Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Dominicana by Angie Cruz

26 reviews

clagarnach_'s review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, and Sexual violence

sweetpeach's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Fatphobia

cintia's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Infidelity and Sexual violence

joelleen's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

I had a really hard time getting through this story. I appreciate that it is based on real experiences and learned a lot but it was a hard read 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Racism, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Gun violence, Death, Confinement, Child death, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, War, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Bullying

cozylifewithabby's review against another edition

I can't read this story. Too much trauma. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Pedophilia, and Rape

cayv97's review

challenging emotional inspiring slow-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Sexual violence

marae216's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Blood and Medical content

criverareads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism

joanasimao's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced

• 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? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Blood

annreadsabook's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Dominicana is such a powerful and stirring read—I tore through it over the course of 24 hours because I couldn’t put it down! The novel begins with Ana Canción, a fifteen-year-old girl living in the Dominican Republic when she is married off to a 32-year-old man, with whom she moves to New York City. We watch from afar as the Dominican Republic descends into sociopolitical upheaval, and we feel Ana’s despair at being so far removed from the land and people she loves. This book is a close look at life as a young immigrant, the struggles of learning a new language and navigating a new country, and what it means to be a girl subjugated to the whims and wills of men. Despite her young age, Ana is forced to grow in self-confidence and independence; I mourned that she was forced into early adulthood due to the significant trials and hardships she faced.

Similar to Severance, something that took a lot of getting used to was the lack of quotation marks. For one thing (and this may just be a personal problem), I found it difficult to distinguish when people were speaking from narration or internal thoughts. Stylistically, however, I think it actually lends itself to a more internalized way of engaging with the narrative—you are in Ana’s head almost completely. The lack of quotations, for me, additionally reflected the isolation Ana felt in a foreign country combined with her forced marriage to an abusive man.

Overall, this was such an excellent and challenging read—it’s not very long, but it holds a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Racism and Death

Minor: Animal death and Suicidal thoughts