Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

68 reviews

jennifer_bush_73's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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? No

3.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️=it was fine. 
This was a good story, and, overall, I liked it. It was more fairytale than fantasy. But the poor grammar and mechanics were a distraction from story. The story got bogged down in too much detail. A good editor could have made the story more readable by cutting the redundant details and correcting the grammar errors.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Violence, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Rape, Domestic abuse, Genocide, and Murder

Fantasy

apworden's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I really hate the ending. Otherwise, fantastic.

both leads end up staying in the toxic marriages and it is played as romantic and happy

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship

nomora's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

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

4.75

 Ahhh, ovo mi je došlo kao naručeno. Jedina stvar koja me kod ove knjige ljuti je ta što ima kraj. Zaista bih htjela vidjeti što se još s Wandom i Irinom izdogađalo, a bome i

kako se Miryemina obitelj nosila s tim da imaju ledenu sigu koju više ne mrze za zeta,

hhh. U biti, za svaku od naše tri junakinje mogla bih komotno pročitati po još jednu knjigu. Četvrt zvijezdice do savršenstva je čisto pitanje raspodjele poglavlja. Voljela bih da se zadržao po jedan POV po poglavlju, iako mi je jasno da ih je nagurano više kao bi se pokazala istovremenost radnje. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism and Body horror

Minor: Animal death, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, and Sexism

mdegraffe's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism and Physical abuse

spinesinaline's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

Well that was very good.

I had nothing to go on when starting this book but I assumed it’d be some kind of fairytale retelling. While it is a retelling of sorts, the main fairytale it draws from is Rumpelstiltskin, it felt wholly inventive and new. There are elements of Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, and Red Riding Hood too but they feel more like familiar hints of old fairytales in the face of Novik’s creative world.

The story is presented through alternating 3rd-person POVs. Initially the main character is Miryem, the Jewish daughter of a moneylender who constantly deals with the antisemitism, thinly veiled or outright, from her village. I really enjoyed having a Jewish character in the centre of a fairytale and the descriptions of family life and celebrations, though her and her family face a lot of attacks and threats because of their faith. As the story progresses, we also get the perspectives of Wanda, a farmer’s daughter living in poverty, and Irina, the daughter of a duke dealing with the threat of the tsar.

It feels like a girl-power book without being explicit about it and I loved getting to see these girls find ways to take control of their situations – whether that’s with their knowledge of family, negotiations, or the courts. Each girl has her own strengths and while they aren’t always knowingly working together, as their stories converge later on, each of their contributions are needed in battling their common foes. I found it a little odd that in the second half of the book we got even more perspectives from side characters as it felt awkward and sudden, but it did make sense in a narrative way that we’d still want to follow those storylines. I would’ve preferred to have ended with the 3 MCs’ perspectives though, because our last looks at some of them were presented through a side character’s eyes and it felt very detached.

This is a YA so perhaps it’s to be expected that there will be romance but I felt iffy about it, especially as the relationships are formed out of very manipulative and emotionally (and at times physically) abusive situations. It’s not a major part of the book but a big warning for toxic relationships here. I would recommend looking up content warnings if you’re hesitant before reading this book as there’s quite a lot of violence.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Vomit

toadlett's review against another edition

hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

What a great book to finish just before New Year. Novik is great at weaving fairytale themes distinct with her polish cultural heritage into big adventures with lots to say and fantastic, deeply human characters. This isn't a twist on the story of rumplestiltskin so much as an expansion, and becomes a huge story about the cost of things, debts and how we honour them, and smart women stepping in to fix the mistakes of incompetent men. it was so fantastic to see a Jewish protagonist whose faith and culture informs so much of the story, though I'd love to hear the opinion of a jewish person on this. Also I did foster a hope for much of the book that it'd be gayer, and it felt a little mean to have the only unequivocally queer character in the book be hopelessly pining for a man he'd never have a chance with, but the book as it actually is, rather than as I might daydream about, is fantastic and had me hooked throughout. though I've added in content warnings as these are themes in the book, they never feel gratuitous, and in all the action and characters of the book are defined by the loving relationships and growth they build for eachother, rather than their traumas.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Violence, Grief, and Gore

Minor: Child death, Sexual assault, and Rape

kathytwitch's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Another satisfying adult fairy tale style story from Naomi Novik, I think I liked this one better than Uprooted. 

This twist on Rumplestiltskin also has a Slavic slant, accented by a narrator with a Russian-type accent. Told in several voices, this story brings three young women together in a way that allows them to each triumph over their separate trials. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Sexual content, and Torture

One main character faces strong anti-Semitism, and her family fears to antagonize the townsfolk in any way, lest they be killed. One main character faces severe poverty and physical abuse by an alcoholic father, while her brothers suffer child abuse when they cannot hide. Starvation is a real threat to this family. One main character faces a very different trial, an arranged marriage to a powerful man who is possessed by a violent demon that is intent upon killing her, slowly and painfully. The poverty-striken family buried many babies under a tree, only to bury their mother there as well. There's abuse from the father of this heroine, and torture by his demon of another heroine's unwanted husband. Our third heroine is also subjected to an unwanted marriage to the powerful, hostile elven king. Both unhappily married women spend much of the book trying (successfully) to avoid the consummation of their marriages. When, at the end, events change both of the unwanted husbands, we are left to speculate about their happily ever after. While there are no bedroom scenes, there's plenty of talk about how to avoid what happens on one's wedding night.