Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

55 reviews

cookiecat73's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

This was a very raw, very honest book that absolutley did not shy away from tough topics. I loved the characters. The first 3/4 were amazing, but unfortunately the last quarter of the book went in a direction that was much less of my thing and I enjoyed it a lot less. Overall though, very good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Racism, Stalking, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Blood, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Abandonment, Colonisation, Rape, Sexual assault, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Excrement, Racial slurs, and Slavery

sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense 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

3.5

I'm not really sure what to rate this or how to even start this review so I'm just going to ramble a bit I guess. 

This story is about the medical horrors that Black folks have gone through at the hands of the United States government.

The pace was very slow compared to what I normally read so even though I was entertained I still felt the slowness of the book in the middle of it. I listened to the audiobook and I read along with a physical copy of the book so I could stay immersed there were times where we followed the main character but she wasn't really doing much of anything and the slowness of it all and the feeling that I was reading on and on and nothing was happening was driving me mad. 

I think the horror elements of this book were mainly based on body horror and psychological horror, and generational trauma and those worked well within the book. This was a beautifully told story, I love the way the author writes. This story was also really unique so I want to give the author props for that. 

Overall I enjoyed this read, though because of the slowness, I don't see myself reading this again.

I give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Stalking, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Chronic illness, Rape, Emotional abuse, Grief, Police brutality, Body horror, Car accident, Gore, Sexual content, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Animal death, Child abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Religious bigotry

strange_little_ranger's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Gore, Violence, and Death

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Death of parent, Misogyny, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Grief, Murder, Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Body horror, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Torture, Violence, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content

lilifane's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

I had no idea what I was getting into when I started reading the book. Usually I know at least a little bit of the plot or have some vague idea what it might be about. But this time I knew nothing. And I have to say, it's not a book I would usually pick up, but I flew through it, and I'm glad I read it. 

It's a story about Vern, who is raised in an isolated cult community. After she is forced to marry the reverend and gets pregnant, she flees the compound and tries to survive on her own.

It's a very raw and gritty story, with fantastical and horror elements. I really liked the writing, even though the graphic violence, gore, body horror and visceral descriptions were not my favorite thing. Although, they created a great atmosphere that fit the story. 

I was surprised how mysterious and introspective the story was while still being a page turner full of action. Important themes like racism, misogyny, religion, identity, belonging, motherhood and queerness were very prevalent in the book. I especially enjoyed the found family trope and the survival aspect of the story (please be aware that animals are harmed and eaten, though) as well as the diversity. There are queer, intersex and disabled characters and the protagonist is all of it combined. Vern is a very flawed but also resilient character, I loved her and was rooting for her. The character development is amazing, as well as the relationships and their development. And I absolutely adored Howling and Feral! 

I had some issues with parts of the plot and the pacing, but in the end everything fit so well together, and I was not expecting to like the ending as much as I did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Violence, Self harm, Sexual content, Transphobia, Animal death, Confinement, Murder, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Outing, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Child death, Grief, Homophobia, Racism, and Sexism

Minor: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, and Alcoholism

dazzle_spider_reader_1212's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Self harm, Blood, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Gore, Sexual content, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Murder, Child death, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Cannibalism, Gun violence, Cursing, Confinement, and Domestic abuse

sharene91's review

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.75

Loved this journey.  I gave 4.75 stars because

I wish there was of Vern figuring out her physical capabilities, and growing as a mother but I’m happy she achieved self-acceptance in other areas. I wanted more for Howling and Feral. They suffered neglect, jealousy, abandonment, cracked ribs and god knows how much psychological trauma at the hands of their mam. I know the book stressed what strong, smart and capable kids they are but they’re still kids. I suppose Vern was just a kid herself and almost every adult in her life failed her in some way. It’s kinda funny that the only good parental figures were childless or child/free

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Violence, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide, and Stalking

dustghosts's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

Sorrowland had a little bit of everything that I wanted from the other horror books I read this past October. Visceral and mysterious body horror intertwined with a really compelling and (unfortunately) timeless, unflinching look at the mycelium of systemic racism (colonialism, human experimentation, systemic poverty and the lengths it might drive someone to, religious bigotry, misogyny, homophobia and transphobia and interphobia— etcetera). I think this should be a must-read for people who lean too heavily on “blaming the system” while turning away from personal responsibility for the way that participation in those systems hurts people specifically. Vern is a complicated protagonist with mostly uncomplicated motives— and she compelled me more than anything else about this book. The supernatural “twist” to the story doesn’t soften the issues at hand, but underlines it. At times, it this read a bit too blunt/heavy-handed for me— but by and large this felt like a purposeful narrative choice, so it’s splitting hairs. The horror and the sorrow and the misery of it all is balanced, all the way through, by a thread of tender togetherness that I think will stay with me for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Torture, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Body horror, Child death, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, Murder, Torture, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Racism, Addiction, Cancer, Cannibalism, Car accident, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Gun violence, and Suicide

penofpossibilities's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense

• 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

4.75

GOD i did NOT heed the trigger warnings and I honestly don't even have an excuse like I knew this was a horror novel and still picked it up. don't make my mistake and please be safe. Anyway this BOOK!!!! /pos
absolute fucking masterpiece

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cursing, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Homophobia, Sexual content, Slavery, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Self harm, Stalking, and Torture

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Cultural appropriation, Vomit, Trafficking, Rape, Excrement, and Medical content

Minor: Suicide, Racial slurs, Transphobia, Infertility, Terminal illness, and Cancer

graphic: cult

happyhaley's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Torture, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Genocide, Hate crime, and Police brutality

Minor: Drug abuse

bluberrybooks's review

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Murder, Sexual content, and Racism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Ableism