Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel

68 reviews

ellyra's review against another edition

DNF 50 pages in.

I loved the author two other books but this one is a massive no for me.

I loved the writing style in the other books but I found it very unpleasant in this one : the author tried to much to be creative or original and the result is a barely coherent prose.

Also if the author's other books had a nice balance of beautiful writings and tough topics, a sort of balance between light and dark, this one was all misery and the worst of humanity. The first 50 pages alone have drugs, child neglect, prostitution, child abuse, pedophilia... YEP nope !

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Child abuse, and Drug use

estellegodard's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

the writing style in this book was far too lyrical and poetic for my taste. I found the metaphorical language unrealistic and cringey and it consistently took me out of the story. thus, reading it wasn’t very enjoyable and I was disappointed. the story overall was quite good, though I felt like I never got to know the characters very well due to how repetitive it was. I also found that I lacked the emotional connection with the peripheral characters, so the deaths never felt very impactful. I think this book would have benefited from being shorter and more concise. I thought the last 50 pages were very strong and there were certain standout passages throughout. I also really enjoyed the perspective of the river in the early parts of the book as well as the inclusions of drawings. I thought these were unique additions that broke up the monotonous pace. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Rape

theelmstreetlibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Child abuse, Addiction, Miscarriage, and Rape

snowiceblackfruit77's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Gore, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Blood, Stalking, Violence, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Body horror, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Vomit, Murder, and Physical abuse

madeline29's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Unrelentingly grim and harrowing, I had to put this down a few times to emotionally recover.  The prose is very lyrical and became a little too abstract for me, I found myself skimming paragraphs but I also think this represented well the inner life of the characters. Much of this book felt like being in a dream (or nightmare).
 
I think story is (unfortunately) very true to the lives of women in poverty in rural America and I’m glad I read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Murder, Rape, and Drug abuse

lisaadam's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Violence, Drug abuse, Child death, Rape, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Blood, Drug use, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Murder

ruby_mae_read's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Addiction, Sexual assault, Rape, and Murder

twentythreeandahalf's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

-1 star because of the length (struggled to keep going in the middle) but amazing plot twist at the end, which in turn could have been longer...
Nearly all the trigger warnings are applied, and is thus not an enjoyable read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Death of parent

bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• 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

4.0

I found ON THE SAVAGE SIDE difficult to read, so unflinching in its depiction of poverty and addiction that I read with a clenched stomach, gripped in empathetic pain. But without this level of violence and trauma, this book would be lying to itself, and for that reason, I consider it a winner.

The novel only fell apart for me (and only slightly!) in the repetition of its lyricism. Sometimes I felt like McDaniel was being intentionally opaque, and while it was always beautiful, I occasionally lost interest. But that is just one picky complaint of an otherwise stirring novel. I'm glad I read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Pedophilia, Death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Car accident, Drug abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Abandonment, Child death, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Blood, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Addiction, Terminal illness, and Violence

siobhanward's review against another edition

emotional slow-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

4.0

McDaniel has a gift for writing a heartbreaking story that manages to keep you guessing. I was on the edge of whether or not to give this 4* and then the ending came and I was truly shocked and that was impressive enough to keep it at a 4* rating, despite being a bit too long at times. As always, McDaniel creates a story that is absolutely devastating, while feeling true to life. I really appreciate her style, even though it can be a challenge to read at points. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Child abuse, Rape, Miscarriage, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Death, and Pregnancy