Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

16 reviews

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

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

legendarymeep's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

ginadapooh's review against another edition

emotional 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Grief, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Classism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Vomit, and Alcoholism

writerkit's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Grief, and Blood

Moderate: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Animal death, Alcohol, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Death, and Alcoholism

Minor: Sexism, Misogyny, Car accident, Medical content, Violence, and Miscarriage

laynemandros's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Grief, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Blood, Vomit, Sexism, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Death of parent, Classism, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, and Death

e1oise's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This book is very graphic and moves very slowly. There is not much development given to any characters except the protagonist. I would recommend this book for people who like intense reads, and want to see what it is like to lives as a very poor family in the south. This book shares many important lessons about families, motherhood, and domestic violence.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Cursing

Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism

Minor: Car accident, Xenophobia, and Drug use

amanda_fagan's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This book is definitely not for someone squeamish, as it goes into lots of detail about a few less-than-pleasing topics. Once you can get past that, "Salvage the Bones" was an ok read, although the changing pace made it difficult to sit down and read sometimes. This was a good book, but definitely not one of my favorites.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

aargot1's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism and Animal death

brennach's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Pregnancy, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent, Grief, Sexual content, and Violence