Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

25 reviews

rebekah_florence's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

If you’re a fan of the show Greenleaf, I would highly recommend this book.  As a Black woman who grew up in the church (specifically with family members who were pastors of an A.M.E. Zion church) this book felt like coming home to me.  The mothers of the church-their drama, adages, gossiping, compassion- were written in such an authentic way that I could hear their voices as they spoke.  I could gush about this book all day.  I love that the title is a nod to not just the mothers of the church but also the mothers of our three main characters in the novel.  Each of their mothers has traumatized them in one way or another, and that trauma has brought them to they way each of them navigates their own life presently.  I loved that the story was told from multiple points of view.  Maybe it’s the theatre-lover in me but each time the “Mothers” narrated the story, I felt that they operated as a Greek chorus of sorts. If I had to make a complaint about this book, I would say that I wish the ending was a little more fleshed out without

the major time jump

but perhaps that’s for the best.  Much like Nadia’s situation and relationships, some things will

always be left unresolved

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Abortion, and Violence

Minor: Sexual violence

sophiekingo's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Suicide

Moderate: Abortion and Sexual violence

brittandwaffles's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual violence, Abortion, Suicide, Infertility, Child abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Violence

nothingforpomegranted's review

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Six months after the gruesome suicide of her mother, Nadia is processing her grief by isolating herself from her friends, her church, her father, instead finding comfort in the sensation of anonymous bodies pressing against hers and imbibing alcohol. Secretly, she develops a relationship with the pastor's son, Luke, who was recently forced to abandon his college football career due to a debilitating injury. When Nadia becomes pregnant, she is wrenched back into reality, considering her conceptions of motherhood and what it means to love and be loved. Nadia slowly develops a friendship with born-again church girl Aubrey, and it is fascinating to watch her deliberate her actions and exhibit greater empathy over the course of the novel. 

The first-person plural narration by "the mothers," the female church elders, establishes a sense of nostalgia and spirituality in the novel, and I loved all of their gossipy interjections. Bennett demonstrates a mastery of description, adding details about each character without getting bogged down in adjectives, and every character comes to life on the page. The development of the plot was predictable, yet still engaging with an overarching intrigue that propelled the story forward even when not much was happening at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Suicide, Grief, and Infidelity

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

laurataylor's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Moderate: Chronic illness, Toxic friendship, Violence, and War

Minor: Racism

mthansen's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Death of parent, Suicide, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Infidelity

moraofthestory's review against another edition

hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Abortion, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use

thiccandspicy's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.0

Such a strange book to have read to completion for me.

I’m strongly pro-choice, and I guess I was expecting this book to take that stance or at least firmly plant me in the characters’ shoes, but it simply didn’t (a common complaint, judging by the reviews). The only character I really felt for was Aubrey, but even her issues were never explored in detail, relegating her to a tertiary position after Nadia and Luke (who were both utterly intolerable).

The writing style was very engaging, expected from someone with Brit Bennett’s current fame, so I could still put up with the second half of the book though it was considerably slower. The ending was incredibly confusing, and I really don’t know what to make of it

other than ab*rtion bad and ruins everyone’s lives apparently ?????? what a strange message

 

TL;DR The atmosphere got really claustrophobic after a while, and I didn’t quite get the point of the book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Sexual violence

mishmash911's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Infidelity, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Rape, and Pregnancy

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, and Religious bigotry

whatannikareads's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

i finished this book as i got to my destination on the subway and it felt like the universe was present w me. thank you brit bennett for reminding me what it feels like to be completely sucked into a book. but also i wanna fight you bc how could write a debut (!!!) novel this damn good. i think one has got to be my favorite between this and the vanishing half. soooo many good sentences i had to reread bc they were so poignant and made you think.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Car accident, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Suicide