Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

21 reviews

sabrinalefebvre's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Deadnaming, Child abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Transphobia and Gun violence

sarah984's review against another edition

dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I really liked this book - the history is interesting and the characters are well drawn. I didn't think the horror was that scary and a few parts were a bit silly to me but overall this is a great story about family, revenge, and the meaning of forgiveness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Grief, Racism, Transphobia, Violence, Gun violence, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Ableism, Abandonment, Child death, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Medical content, Pregnancy, Slavery, and Misogyny

minervacerridwen's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.5

"Lone Women" is a masterful take on the old theme of "Who is the real monster here?". I loved the writing style, which kept me rushing through the pages far past my bedtime. Those short chapters are dangerously tempting!
While the first half left me a little underwhelmed and thinking it would all play out rather predictably, it turned out to be the setup for some brilliant storytelling and interesting twists.

I loved the ending, and not only because Elizabeth was actually named a dragon after all the hints!

I even learned some history.

I was happy that the book club suggested this book because I must admit this would never have been on my radar otherwise, as a western horror story isn't something I would naturally gravitate towards. I'm afraid that is also the reason why I personally can't give this a higher rating: it was a lot to stomach sometimes, and not a book I think I'll easily reread myself. In some parts, it became too real for me to work as a relaxing read. I definitely think the book club discussion will be interesting, as the reader is left with a lot of food for thought.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Ableism, Confinement, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Body horror, Death, Murder, Racial slurs, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, and Homophobia

emzhay's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

Women!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Child abuse, Animal death, Racism, and Murder

Minor: Sexual content

silvae's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Animal death, Racism, Murder, and Transphobia

johnlock's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Racism, and Transphobia

loveinpanels's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Gun violence, Cannibalism, Deadnaming, Child abuse, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Racism

Minor: War and Slavery

peachani's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Animal death, and Violence

Moderate: Dysphoria, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Deadnaming, and Confinement

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Cannibalism, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Racism, and Transphobia

michellereadatrix's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Child death

lexistwick's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Although a frequent reader of the 'thriller' genre, horror is pretty new to me - and this was a beautifully executed introduction! I love the setting of the American West (specifically Montana in 1914), and it works perfectly as the backdrop for this strange tale about eccentric folks with things to hide. It takes a particularly talented hand to transform fears into hope, and I'm obsessed with the imaginative ending. A great reminder that belonging and acceptance - but sometimes harsh justice, too - are the ingredients to creating a future robust enough to hold the complexities of our most repulsive, unlovable parts.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, and Death