Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

85 reviews

jennaviolet's review against another edition

dark funny hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

staceyinthesticks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Addiction, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Mental illness, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, and Physical abuse

Minor: Sexual content, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts

erinsca's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Addiction

Moderate: Sexual content, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Violence, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Abandonment, Death, Alcoholism, Abortion, Bullying, and Addiction

lolo_lew's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

Incredibly well-written, tackles tough and complex topics in an approachable and meaningful way. Highly recommend but contains content that might be sensitive to some.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Death, Child abuse, Classism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Vomit, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Abortion, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Sexual violence

lizmarasse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Self harm, Homophobia, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

bronzeageholly's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

Tackling this book felt like an immense task but I'm so so glad I completed it. 

For those who know David Copperfield, it is a close enough interpretation to make you go "oh no! I know where this is going! stop the ride!" at least once a chapter. But, in saying that, it is also a very unique concept, an incredible tale of the care system and opioid crisis in the US.

Each character was so well fleshed out, in particular Demon; his narratorial voice was so strong, moving, and hilarious. His thoughtfulness, his anger, his empathy are heartbreaking. The accounts of each of the characters moved me to tears many times; I wanted desperately to reach into the pages and swoop Demon and the others away to safety. 

I found the pacing quite difficult to get into and had to swap from the physical book to an audiobook around 1/5 of the way in. The lack of abstraction throughout meant that when there were descriptions of intense suffering my reading quickened ("I need to keep going to make sure they're okay"), and then would slow dramatically during the 'bildungsroman' areas. Because of this I had an on-again-off-again relationship with the book, however the audiobook helped immensely and I found myself unable to put it down for the last few hours.

The central themes of addiction, judgement, loss, and love are devastating and important, and I would implore every adult to read it. There are so many lines that I will hold with me forever.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Classism, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Bullying, and Kidnapping

abi_dutton's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Addiction, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Mental illness, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug use, and Grief

dua_liepard's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Addiction, Bullying, Classism, Medical trauma, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Physical abuse, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, Car accident, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child death, Gore, Racism, Pregnancy, Medical content, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

mercurysflame's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad tense slow-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

3.0

well written but it really had pacing issues after the first third of the book. also, it just felt like tragedy tourism/poverty porn and was meant to shock people into being upset while also entertaining them. also i just do not find it fun to read about people in active addiction but this was a book club book and i couldn’t show up unprepared. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Trafficking

stinky_phytoseiid's review against another edition

emotional informative 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Death of parent

Moderate: Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Vomit, Violence, and Abortion