Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

We the Animals by Justin Torres

38 reviews

sorenzs's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Beautiful writing style. Beautiful book. Some parts were hard to get through - in the emotional sense - but I couldn’t stop reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Outing

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Alcohol, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Rape, Incest, and Pedophilia

Minor: Infidelity and Addiction

uhhjeepers's review

emotional reflective fast-paced

3.75

Read for school.

This is a fast-paced, vignette styled narrative that tells the coming of age story of the youngest of three brothers. This book really came together for me at the end, and I strongly recommend it. It is emotional and honest and the writing is spectacular. The growth from the narrative feeling like it’s told from a child to a teenager really stuck with me, like I could read the changes on the page.

Check for TWs. They’re brief and don’t go into excruciating detail, but I still definitely felt them.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Outing, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization

kananineko's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Abandonment, Body horror, Cursing, Homophobia, Outing, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Minor: Infidelity, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Racism, Alcohol, Blood, Self harm, and Bullying

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.5

 We The Animals is a gut punch of a book written with such power. The bond of the three brothers as they navigated dysfunctional family dynamics as children, plus the way homophobia challenged those bonds when they were older teens will stay with me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Homophobia

telliot's review

emotional fast-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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

tentwentyfourty's review against another edition

medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Homophobia

sieriad's review

adventurous funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Beautiful prose, I could really feel the messy chaos and wonder of the three brothers growing up. I didn’t like the ending at all though. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

sassyram's review

challenging dark emotional sad fast-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, and Homophobia

librarymouse's review

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad

• 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

5.0

This book pulls at the threads of humanity, fraying the fabric until it's distilled to its purest parts. The narrator shows the core memories of childhood, building up into the moment of the fracturing of his family unit and the unit that was made up of his brothers. Their childlike, experimenting, queered, and crushed mother makes such a complex character, as does their father and the juxtaposition of his tenderness and machismo. This book is truly unsettling and full of life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Outing, Sexism, Child abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcohol, Homophobia, and Incest

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

sirenaluna's review

emotional reflective medium-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? Yes

4.5

This coming of age story is told in vignettes of different events in the childhood of the main character and his brothers. Torres’ writing is beautiful, lyrical and breathtaking in a way that had me pause to read certain lines over and over again. It is definitely a shorter book, and some of the vignettes are a little vague/sparse, but this little book really digs itself a place in your heart and takes root.

Only thing is that I wish the ending had a bit more subtle build up throughout. There were some hints sprinkled in certain parts if you read back but I definitely think there could’ve been more to really drive the ending home. It is still impactful, but could’ve been much more so.

But overall, it is a beautifully story about a complicated family and how the consequences of the parent’s behavior manifest in their children.

As a Puerto Rican myself, I related to and understood a lot of the cultural aspects the book touches on, and especially loved how it critiques the machismo that is so prevalent in minority communities.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse