Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

84 reviews

booksadithareaddy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

I went into this book pretty blind. I knew it was a rendition of David Copperfield set in Appalachia but did not know anything else about it. This book exceeded whatever expectations I did have. 

There was a part of the book in the middle that felt like it dragged a little because (seemingly) nothing was happening. Life was good for Demon BUT I knew there had to be more  bad stuff coming and just wanted to get through it. However, after finishing the book, I realized that part was almost necessary or the book would've just been one giant trauma dump and there wouldn't have been a reason that Demon was capable of overcoming all he did. 

Over all, not for the faint of heart but highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction

Moderate: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Sexual assault

erinsca's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Addiction

Moderate: Sexual content, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Violence, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Abandonment, Death, Alcoholism, Abortion, Bullying, and Addiction

rosiecotton_dancing's review

challenging dark emotional lighthearted reflective sad fast-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: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Vomit

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, and Grief

Minor: Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

dua_liepard's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Addiction, Bullying, Classism, Medical trauma, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Physical abuse, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, Car accident, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child death, Gore, Racism, Pregnancy, Medical content, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

misformarie's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.5

The author is able to layer / knit together a social, political, economic, ecological, and racial commentary so beautifully. None of the commentary feels contrived or out of place. The story is about a boy growing up in Appalachia during the opioid epidemic. And it's also about 100 other things. It's so great. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Classism, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Addiction

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

mercurysflame's review

dark emotional funny sad tense slow-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? Yes

3.0

well written but it really had pacing issues after the first third of the book. also, it just felt like tragedy tourism/poverty porn and was meant to shock people into being upset while also entertaining them. also i just do not find it fun to read about people in active addiction but this was a book club book and i couldn’t show up unprepared. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Trafficking

sabripolin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective slow-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

4.5

At first I was confident this would be a 5-star-er. About 3/4 the way through I seriously started to doubt the time I spent on this marathon of a read. Then the last… 1/8 really brought me back in. All the dots get connected. Themes come full circle. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Addiction, Child death, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Miscarriage, and Murder

Minor: Sexual assault

rmlknisely's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Trafficking, Alcohol, Classism, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Addiction, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Racism, Child abuse, Death, and Emotional abuse

soyboysimon's review

adventurous emotional funny sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Knew from the first line that it was going to be a good read. "First, I got myself born." Demon is clever and witty and full of heart from that first sentence to the last. This book will make you cry, laugh, cringe, and shout for joy, sometimes all on the same page.

I won't say that it was easy to read(it took me a month), but it was definitely fun to read. Who cares about sentences making sense and following grammar rules? Not Demon.

Great book! Hits some hard topics but in a way that shines light on the problems and makes me feel more knowledgable about them. My takeaway from it is that no matter where life starts you out, there are always choices to be made and consequences to be had. Maybe sins are most of the time passed down from the generations, but maybe they don't have to be. The cycle can be broken. Ain't no hill for a climber.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cursing, Excrement, Vomit, Animal death, Alcohol, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Abortion, and Alcoholism

Minor: Suicide, Stalking, and Car accident

jewels_pg's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense 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

4.0

This was a hard book to put down. Heartbreaking and thought-provoking in turn. The ending is hopeful, but it's a wild ride to get there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Cursing, Drug abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, and Racism

Minor: Suicide and Confinement