Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Betty: The International Bestseller by Tiffany McDaniel

266 reviews

kridenour's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I would bargain that Betty will remain to be the best book I've read all of 2024. I can't help but fall in love with stories that are so drenched in the little section of the Appalachian region that I was raised in and get to call home. Despite being set in the past, I saw so much of why I love this place and so much of why I want better for it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Mental illness, Blood, Suicide attempt, Rape, Classism, Racism, Grief, Death, Sexual harassment, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Abortion, Bullying, Child death, and Death of parent

kirsty26's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Child death, Animal death, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Child abuse, and Racism

hnagarne's review against another edition

emotional sad

there's a lot going on here. will have to think on it some more before settling on a rating (it's either mid-4s or 5).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Incest, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Death of parent, Abortion, Racism, and Rape

faythfarrar's review against another edition

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Self harm, Bullying, Death, Incest, Racism, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Rape

Moderate: Ableism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Addiction

mariep97's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Incest, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child death, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Racism, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Colonisation, Sexism, Self harm, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Death of parent, Rape, Medical content, Abortion, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Child death

polly_baker's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Wallop.  A coming-of-age, family saga the tracks the paths of inheritance, equal parts darkness and light.  

I absolutely loved Betty.  Her first person narration, channeled through McDaniel's lyrical prose, amplified the wonder, the confusion, the joy and the hurt that punctuated her childhood and adolescence.  

It is all at once a celebration and a damnation of the things we acquire, generation to generation.  Parallels are drawn between the indigenous wisdom Betty is gifted from her Cherokee father, and the generational trauma she endures from her mother's abusive past.  Betty's narrative gives voice to the many children who bear the burdens of their elders, carrying pain silently, burying it in jam-jars deep beneath the ground.  

Betty's father is portrayed through her child's eyes as god-like and mythical, strengthened through his indigenous stories and the knowledge and reverence he held for the Earth.  The Cherokee heritage is celebrated and foregrounded, even amidst a world working its hardest to erase it.  Betty struggles with her identity as tales of the matriarchal power and strength of the Cherokee collide with a patriarchal and capitalist America, which systematically dismantles indigenous pride, and cultivates shame in its place.

It is a challenging read (worth checking the trigger warnings for) as Betty has borne witness to a multitude of traumatic incidents during her upbringing.  But this is not trauma porn... Betty is based on the story of McDaniel's own mother, rooted very much in reality and in the shaping of Betty Carpenter, a new favourite character, and human, who I already deeply miss. 

<i>“I realized then that not only did Dad need us to believe his stories, we needed to believe them as well. To believe in unripe stars and eagles able to do extraordinary things. What it boiled down to was a frenzied hope that there was more to life than the reality around us. Only then could we claim a destiny we did not feel cursed to.”</i>

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, and Suicide attempt

mamasquare's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This was a challenging read, but ultimately so rewarding. At times it was very hard to continue reading, but I also could not put it down. I loved this book, despite all it put me through as a reader, and now I really want to read interviews with the author. I highly recommend checking the content warnings on this book, especially if you have strong sensitivities regarding children and animals.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Death of parent and Drug use

elliott_the_clementine's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad fast-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

I will leave this book unrated. Incredibly written, painfully dark, and intensely important. Please check the trigger warnings before reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Death of parent, Medical content, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Self harm, Torture, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Gore, Ableism, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Incest, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Rape, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Colonisation, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

lauralfp's review against another edition

challenging 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Animal cruelty, Child death, Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent, and Blood

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Abortion

Minor: Addiction and Ableism

aliciawithoutkeys's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Blood, Child abuse, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Sexism, Child death, Incest, Grief, Racial slurs, Animal death, Self harm, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Drug use