Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

100 reviews

ayoderable's review against another edition

dark tense 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

3.75

Very weird in a good way. Sometimes the writing was a bit too flowery for me but it wasn't totally distracting. The story disturbing in a good way, felt like a fever dream. Power dynamics. Appropriation of native peoples. Karma. For some reason the descriptions of the Mc eating flesh were the things that stood out the most for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, and Torture

sarahholliday's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.25

This was my first Cassandra Khaw, but it will not be my last! Relentlessly dark and brutal, The Salt Grows Heavy gives reader just enough of a glimpse into a world filled with teeth and blood. Our main characters, whose names we never learn but who feel deeply textured and full of both pain and resilience (not to mention a desire for revenge), are utterly unique.

Khaw's writing won't be for everyone. 90% of the time I found it magical and got lost in the sentences dripping with the kind of words and turns of phrase you rarely see in literature anymore (much less horror stories). There were times where it all felt a bit overwritten, and I could've used a break where the language was a bit stripped down, but I think that's down to personal preference.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Blood, Gore, Body horror, Death, Child death, Murder, Torture, and Violence

ajsteele1699's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Child death, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

reggiethebird's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

This book is in black and white and red. Lots of red. I feel like the author went through an anatomy textbook, found all the strange and unused verbs, and strung a story together as an excuse to print them out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, and Torture

carolined314's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.75

Brutal, precise, haunting

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Murder, Gore, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Grief, Medical content, Confinement, and Pregnancy

blackheart's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-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

5.0

This book was fantastic. Dark, gory, and heart wrenching. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Cannibalism, Grief, Torture, Vomit, Child death, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Death, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, and Violence

kelleykamanda's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

Really fascinating idea but I thought the length did great disservice. I felt that maybe if it was longer with more character depth and lead in, the story would have been more captivating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Violence, Death, Child abuse, Child death, Medical content, and Medical trauma

msradiosilence's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Gore, Violence, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Torture, and Toxic relationship

ofbooksandechos's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gore, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gore, Medical content, Blood, and Child abuse

Minor: Pregnancy, Cannibalism, Torture, and Domestic abuse

additional content warnings: dismemberment, evisceration, corpse mutilation, cult like society, being forced to eat one self’s body parts

aprilthelibrarian's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Cannibalism, and Torture