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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
By the second chapter this weird hillbilly has raped his teenaged daughter in the moonlight, written like from a detective noir book. There’s nothing redeemable about any character, I don’t care what happens to them so I’ve put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence
I really just found it unnecessarily wordy. Long winded descriptions for things that didn't really seem important, I felt like it took away from the story.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Horrible book subject to start the new year. Great writing. Characters well developed. Storyline about incest. Couldn’t put it down. I wanted to see what happened to the characters at the end.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Hated it. It was overwritten and disturbing. horrible things just kept happening and he kept on describing them, in way too much detail. Not sure why I finished it. I was hoping it would get better? It didn't.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Death of parent
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oof. This book was a devastating way to start off my 2020 Reading Challenge. Tallent presents his audience with an unlikely and unusual heroine, the 14 year-old Turtle (nee Julia), who lives largely removed from society (although she does begrudgingly attend school) with her father, Martin. Turtle's family history is bare, but we do know that her mother died (or fled?) the family when Turtle was young, leaving her in the hands of her father who is equal parts charming and sadistic. Under Martin's eye, Turtle has learned to deftly navigate the wilderness surrounding their family's home and is equally comfortable field-stripping her Sig Sauer pistol or skeet shooting off the family's deck. All of this, Tallent presents without hyperbole - using Turtle's voice, the circumstances of her life are presented a mere facts, things that come second-nature to her after years of tutelage. She is less adept at school, which isolates her from her peers and other adults, like her teacher Anna, who want to reach out and connect with the girl they see as wayward and lost. The irony being that Turtle is never lost - she walks barefoot for miles in the Northern California woods, ultimately rescuing two classmates (Brett and Jason) who do happen to be lost and become her first true friends. The heartbreak of this story is watching Turtle navigate this world with such confidence (spooling off plant names, gauging ocean currents, diving for crabs) while listening to her internal voice that has been poisoned by her misogynistic, violent father. She describes herself in his language - denigrating herself down to the core, making herself believe that only her father can truly love her, and she doesn't deserve a life beyond what she has. After meeting Brett and Jason, Turtle glimpses the world outside her family compound (and even gets little bits of her own history from Brett's mom, a former best friend of Turtle's own mother) and she starts to discover her own voice, which puts her on a crash-course with her father that she knows will be devastating. I have never read a book before that made me literally cringe with discomfort - some of the descriptions of injury and abuse being that painful to read - and I felt fairly certain within about 100 pages how it would have to end. But I honestly could not stop reading it. I desperately wanted to get to the point when Turtle turned the corner to see what happened and Tallent did not disappoint in his 3rd Act.