Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

68 reviews

jrae_miller's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, and Alcohol

Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit, Alcohol, Confinement, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Death of parent

cj5300's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent

emilyada11's review against another edition

reflective tense

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Animal cruelty

chloelovesmile4ever's review against another edition

5.0

Fucking brutal

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty

madeline_p4's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, and Sexual assault

sshabein's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Glad I finally read this, but WHEW, all the warnings if you're at all sensitive to dogs in peril or have particular feelings on pregnancy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Death of parent

searobin's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I was so close to DNFing this around 20-25% of the way through. It just didn't grab me at all, and I was still having a hard time getting to know the characters. I kept listening because I didn't have anything else ava lable at the library before catching a bus, and I'm glad I did! I really enjoyed how it all came together. Some parts of this had me grimacing through them, and others had me feeling so much for the characters. It was quite the book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

Minor: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Bullying

mondovertigo's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Death of parent

Moderate: Vomit, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, and Alcoholism

wynnter's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Animal cruelty

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

I received a copy of this book as a gift.
"Salvage the Bones" follows Esch and her family in the weeks leading up to a hurricane. Esch lives in Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, and they have not seen a bad hurricane since before she was born, but this hurricane, Hurricane Katrina, is threatening to ransack their lives. Esch and her family live in poverty, and they do not have access to a ton of resources to help them prepare, but they do have each other.
This story was intriguing to me because it took the approach of establishing character's stories before they were impacted by the hurricane. I already had empathy and concerns for them before the rain even started.
There is a plotline about a dog who has puppies that Skeetah, Esch's brother, wants to sell to help make more money for the family. Skeetah also has the dog engage in dog fights. There is no outright abuse, but I did not like to read about how they were treating this dog and what was happening with the puppies. Skeetah clearly loved the dog more than anything, but he pushed her to her limit.
Esch was a complicated character to like. She clearly had a good heart and loved her family more than anything. But I do not think she had that love for herself.
I think this is a great book for anyone who is looking for a story about survival against the toughest of odds.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Death, Rape, and Toxic relationship