Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Toffee by Sarah Crossan

27 reviews

hilarylouise's review against another edition

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

4.0


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bug_lightyear's review against another edition

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5.0

I found the poetry-like format weird at first, but it actually reads easily. The story is really sweet, despite being a runaway kid, Allison is a caring person and helping the old lady more than her own son and carers. She understands Marla's memory issues and does her best to be reassuring and helpful. 

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chrissy_booknook's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I cried.

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lenni_sc's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny 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

5.0


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meg_lay11's review

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-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? Yes

4.5


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haniaaaa's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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allthatissim's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

My first read by Sarah Crossan and how amazing it was!

TWs: domestic abuse and violence, homelessness, chronic illness

Two women from different generations end up being dependent and close to each other while sharing the common trauma of domestic abuse among other issues while trying to find their own identity in the chaos. Or while trying simply to survive.

One old, one young- generation apart, yet the common binding is that of pain and sorrow. One trying to remember who she is and the other trying to forget her past life.

Allison is a young girl who runs away from her abusive home. She wants to live with her father but canโ€™t understand where to find the silver lining. She wants to forget her past life so she takes refuge in a lonely cottage at a beach. But to her surprise, there lives a 70-something woman Marla who is struggling to remember herself. She has Dementia and hence she mistakenly thinks Allison is her long-lost friend Toffee. And this misunderstanding forms a beautiful relationship between the two, which is the backbone of the story.

๐˜ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ.
๐˜ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถโ€™๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ.

๐˜–๐˜ฉ, ๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด. ๐˜ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ
๐˜‰๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆโ€ฆ
๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ.

The story deals with some serious topics of domestic abuse, dementia, and homelessness among others and yet it was heartwarming! The relationship between the two women shows the importance of friendship no matter the age. It is intensely compelling and emotional. So much so that for the first time I couldnโ€™t help myself but made some doodles along these lines.

This is a book written in verse so you can easily fly through it but the emotions hit you hard. Domestic abuse is always a hard topic to read about. It is the toxicity of it, that makes one believe that they deserve it, that it is their fault that no one loves them. And it is what Allison is struggling through, to get the love of her father.

I felt the ending was a bit rushed. But other than that, it was truly amazing. I connected to these characters, and I felt for them. The emotions are strong and the storytelling is perfect.

Definitely recommended ๐Ÿ’œ
 

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thatsevenbetter's review

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challenging emotional inspiring sad
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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lauren_ashleigh's review

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emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5


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ma1a's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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