Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

17 reviews

drrock's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

Best book I’ve read in years - nothing more to say!! The great Appalachian Novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Infidelity, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Child abuse, Alcohol, Addiction, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Alcoholism, and Abortion

kelsimarirobb's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Classism, Miscarriage, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Mental illness, Death, Child abuse, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

crossinthepnw's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative 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

Oh man…where to even start with this one. Demon Copperhead is easily one of my top three reads for 2023, and will always hold a special place in my heart. To be clear - this is my first Kingsolver work I’ve read (and now I will be reading more of her stories!), and I’ve never read David Copperfield by Charles Dickens…but now I am curious to read the source behind the inspiration for her novel.

Demon Copperhead will piss you off. It will make you cry. You will try to remind yourself that this is a work of fiction, but is clearly based in reality, which will in turn make you even more upset that this kind of shit is still happening. If you didn’t hate Big Pharma before (which if you already don’t…come on), you will after reading this novel. It also made me think about the joke of the war on drugs and the opioid crisis. How our foster care system is screwed. How some folks are just fucked before they even get a start in life.

But the novel isn’t all doom and gloom, I promise. There is hope, love, joy, and laughs along the way. It’s also a coming of age story about a boy who many people wouldn’t give a second thought about on account of where he grew up. The first person narrative of Demon took this tale to another level; Kingsolver has a way of transporting you to his world and his life.

 I am so happy that Kingsolver took the time to tell this story, about the “rednecks”, “hillbillies”, or “trailer trash” folks don't seem to give a shit about, and how the opioid epidemic has done so much damage in Appalachia. Please, read this one; I read it in five days because I could not put it down!

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Cancer, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Suicide

nialiversuch's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Moderate: Animal death

lindseyas's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense slow-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

Such a beautifully written book with a wonderfully meaningful, political undertone. The story of a young boy who overcomes addiction, family death, abuse, mental health struggles, solitude, misunderstanding, classism and so much more. Over its 550 page run, this book is the story of boyhood in the Deep South, where growing up as someone deemed "different" is close enough to a death sentence. Damon, or "Demon's," journey towards self-acceptance and healing is a great, modern epic in its own right — his failures, his triumphs and his in-betweens were real and raw. That's the core of his novel — real life isn't glamorous or magical, but it's full of blood, sweat and tears. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug abuse, Racism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Drug use, Racial slurs, Miscarriage, Classism, Death of parent, and Mental illness

ceramirezmcfarlin's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Misogyny, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Abandonment, and Racism

Despite the heavy story content, this book is brilliant and beautiful.

britgirlreading's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship