Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Room by Emma Donoghue

76 reviews

kaylaannsreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Kidnapping

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Medical trauma

katsbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

4.0

“Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing.”

“Stories are a different kind of true.”

“I've seen the world and I'm tired now.”

I think it will come as no surprise that the most interesting part of this book is the point-of-view. I find it very compelling when authors use the perspectives of "innocents" like children to tell stories. It takes away some of the bias and assumptions that we have as the reader. And this novel goes even further by making the narrator incredibly young. Jack, the narrator, is just 5 years old and he's never known anything other than Room. Getting to experience the world for the first time through his eyes was so interesting and  provocative . My only major negative is also about the narrator, though. I've seen other people who've reviewed this book say that they found him annoying but for me, I just doubted that a 5 year old would be as articulate as he was sometimes portrayed. Granted, very few people can confirm or deny if it's actually possible but there were just instances when I felt like Jack was more articulate than any 5 year old would be even given the heinous and unique situation he was in. 

Given all that, this book was incredibly well written. The audiobook was incredibly well done. I really liked how the author didn't turn this into a run-of-the-mill true crime novel. The focus was 100% on Ma and Jack and how their characters grow and develop through the trauma of their ordeal. Old Nick, the perpetrator, is a part of the story, obviously, but he spends very little time on page. His backstory is never explained or rationalized and I love that. I am now very interested in seeing the film adaptation!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Miscarriage, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Minor: Self harm, Excrement, and Abortion

shoerliii's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child death

tsurette's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

I liked the first part, the middle part kept me on edge and the third part got a bit draggy. It was necessary but it was the harder part of the read. I didn't mind the child point of view, in fact I found myself being angry at the adults in his life more than a few times. It's a challenging subject and I thought the author handled the nuances of human behaviour pretty well. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Rape

louisecalder's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Suicide attempt

A story about resilience, love for a child even during adversity, hope and pure strength.

madisonjoy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

This book is in the perspective of a 5 year old boy who has never been outside of one teeny tiny room. It’s amazing to see this terrible thing through his pure eyes. I really really enjoyed this book (the movie is good too, but as usual the book was better) 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Kidnapping, and Abortion

martereadsbooks's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death and Miscarriage

eve_o's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Miscarriage, Medical content, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Pregnancy and Abandonment

agameofbooks's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

Somehow I really felt the need to read this book. Sort of like a modern classic.

It was an incredible story. Especially considering it was very loosely inspired by real life events. However, the writing style made me feel detached from it somehow. I couldn't really get into the story and feel like I was experiencing the suffering and hurt through the characters.

I am very happy I finally read this book, though.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Blood, Vomit, Abortion, and Pregnancy

l3xi3's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail