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josiemeyer's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Self harm, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, and Toxic relationship
reneek's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual content, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Classism, and Cursing
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Cancer, Eating disorder, Vomit, and Abortion
franklola's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Medical content, Vomit, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Trafficking
Minor: Abortion, Animal death, and Bullying
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
"Demon Copperhead" is the story of a boy born to a single teenage mother. Their lives were never easy, but after Demon's mother dies of a drug overdose and Demon is placed into the foster care system, his life becomes even more challenging.
This book was very dense and I never really got into the story. Demon's story is heartbreaking, and you cannot help but feel badly for him, but I also was not interested in his story. I think there is a lot to be said about overcoming where you come from, and I wanted more of that story. Demon is the one who found his mother when she overdosed, and I felt like he would have fought more to stay away from drugs in his teenage years.
This book is fast paced in that I felt Demon aged really quickly, but the story just felt liked it dragged overall. I wanted to see more of Demon's interactions with his mother before she overdosed. I feel like that could have created a better narrative of where Demon came from, so that I was more interested in the rest of the story.
Overall, I was kind of disappointed in this story.
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Bullying, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Classism, Alcoholism, Abandonment, and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual violence
bethbarron's review against another edition
5.0
It took me probably a month to read this - it is brutally dark and full of trauma. Do not read this expecting happiness at all. But, damn, a story that needed to be told (do we have another novel this compelling about the opioid crisis?), and what a way to do it with a retelling of David Copperfield.
I haven't read Dickens since high school and I'm sure having some distance from Copperfield helped this feel original for me. I had my doubts about a retelling, but I think Kingsolver created a masterpiece and (further) cemented herself as a great Southern author.
Graphic: Death, Addiction, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Abortion and Rape
qqjj's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Trafficking, Vomit, Self harm, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Eating disorder, Domestic abuse, Death, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Drug use, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
percys_panda_pillow_pet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The only other book I have read by Barbara Kingsolver was The Poisonwood Bible a couple of years ago, so I will make some comparisons based on that. Truly, the two books aren't that similar. Demon Copperhead is a reimagining of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, just set in the modern day with a look at poverty and issues of our times, versus Dickens's own commentary of his time period. However, The Poisonwood Bible also touches on issues that persist today, just those that pertain to the colonization of the African continent, in particular, the colonization of what used to be known as the Congo. Kingsolver is a genius when it comes to showing you a world outside of your own, whether that is an African community or the Appalachian country folk. Her prose is also still something to be lauded, as she really transformed language to make that which occurred in Demon's life sometimes more tragic, and sometimes straight up hilarious in the face of tragedy.
I am comfortable recommending this book, though I am not sure how much those who have not read Kingsolver before will enjoy it. It can get quite depressing at times, and I highly recommend checking out content warnings for those who could be triggered by the heavy themes within the book. This is not a book for some light reading.
Still, I hope others check it out as I loved the look into Appalachian culture as someone who lives in Virginia, though Northern, and is aware of the rural parts of our state but never quite visited long enough to learn more than what was taught in school. And, as Kingsolver says in her acknowledgments, "For the kids who wake up hungry in those dark places every day, who've lost their families to poverty and pain pills, whose caseworkers keep losing their files, who feel invisible, or wish they were: this book is for you."
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Death
Moderate: Chronic illness, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexism, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Torture, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Eating disorder, Racism, and Physical abuse