Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris

43 reviews

jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

nathanmcgarry's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Physical abuse

bexwalsh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

alvenb00's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Heater Morris tells the amazing stories of survivors and she does a great job capturing the pain and reality of what happened during and after WWII.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Rape, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Death, and Child death

bexh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Vomit

tdowner's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad 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

4.0

I first met Cilka in The Tatooist of Auschwitz.  As a prisoner at Auschwitz-Berkenau, she was "saved" from the gas chambers by one of the camp leaders who chose her as his concubine. When the camp was liberated by the Russian army, Cilka was tried and convicted as a Nazi collaborator because of this forced relationship, and sentenced to 15 years in a Siberian labor camp.  This book follows Cilka's journey to the camp, and her survival there, in conditions that were almost as brutal as the Nazi concentration camps. Cilka was pragmatic...do what you must to survive...but never lost her humanity as she built relationships with her fellow hut mates, and used what few privileges she earned to help them survive, too. 

Cilka's Journery, like The Tatooist, are fictional but based on real people and real events.  Cilka was a survivor of Auschwitz-Berkenau, and was imprisoned in Siberia. Some of the people she met in the book are real, some are compilations of people and some are fictional.  Likewise, the specific events are a mix of fact and extrapolation.  In the Afterword, Morris explains where she filled in missing details.  Her books are the result of personal interviews and research, and are a well written mix.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Antisemitism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Rape

punnypenguin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

I read this book cover to cover in less than 12 hours, it is so gripping. I highly recommend anything written by Heather Morris

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Medical content, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Infertility, Rape, and Violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Body shaming, Gun violence, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

lucys_library's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

alomie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

This book is extremely sad, it's a fictionalised novel about the life of a real woman who. Survived Auschwitz as a young woman, but while there is raped and works for the Nazi's to keep herself alive, and then once liberated is sentenced to 10 years in a Russian Gulag for "sleeping with the enemy". 
It was tough to get through and I had to stop and come back several times, it's hardly believable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Xenophobia, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Self harm, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Medical content, Infertility, Hate crime, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Death, Death of parent, Confinement, Cursing, and Antisemitism

booksbythekilo's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Violence, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Rape and Violence