Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel

8 reviews

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

shelbybowers20's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-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, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Grief, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Violence, Drug use, Addiction, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Torture, Child abuse, Misogyny, Murder, and Physical abuse

Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

kitty03's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Self harm

marisasabino's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Cursing, Sexism, Rape, Infertility, Animal death, Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Murder, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Car accident, and Child abuse

briwithabook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Body horror, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pedophilia, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Bullying, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Grief, and Gun violence

So many content warnings for this book. If you have any triggers at all, I’d recommend researching content warnings before reading it.

lost_luna's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

5.0

This book has broken me repeatedly 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Car accident, Alcoholism, Addiction, Rape, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Torture, Sexual content, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, Animal death, Child death, Violence, Blood, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, Death, and Cursing

Moderate: Self harm

pomoevareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

5.0

Not for the faint of heart, On the Savage Side, Tiffany McDaniel’s upcoming book is affecting and important.

Loosely based on the Chillicothe Six, an unsolved case of missing and murdered women in Chillicothe, Ohio, this book is narrated by Arcade Doggs, who goes by Arc. Arc and her twin sister Daffodil (Daffy) spend their earliest years with their grandmother who gives them all the love they need that their parents can’t give them because of poverty and addiction. When Adelyn and Flood Doggs convince Mamaw that they are sober and ready to show their daughters a wonderful life, the girls go to live with them. But addiction is a mean thing. It is not long before the girls are being raised in an environment of sadness, addiction and sex work. A police officer who comes to the house at one point makes a comment on his way out to his partner that in a few years they will be returning to arrest these young girls for the same things their parents have been doing. Talk about being set up for failure…

The story moves between time periods and focusses its lens on the girls. When we come back to see the young women in early adulthood, they are living the same tragic life that their mother and their aunt live. Going to the river with their friends is a past time, sitting in an old half buried car, getting high. The women call themselves the Chillicothe Queens. Each of the women in this story have a very distinctive character and we see their most human side. They deal with bad johns, family, children and pregnancy in addition to having hope, creativity and strength of character. 

When a woman is found floating in the river, a new era in this small Appalachian town has begun. Soon one of the group disappears and turns up in the river and the group fears for their safety from the River Man. Reports to police are not taken seriously. Police comment on the risky lifestyles that the women lead as reasons to not assume they are missing. 

This is not a whodunit, although there will be many suspects. This story is to show that the women who have gone missing or found murdered were human beings. They were mothers, sisters, and daughters. 

I would recommend this book for people that understand hurt, enjoy Appalachian stories, true crime stories, detailed characters, great writing, and have good self-care practices as this one could be triggering for many. 

Thank you to @netgalley and @aaknopf for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. On the Savage Side comes out February 14, 2023. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, and Death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Death, Pregnancy, Body horror, Child abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Self harm, Abandonment, and Sexual assault

Minor: Animal cruelty

hippiequeen's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Hate crime, Death of parent, Alcohol, Vomit, Suicide, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Death, Blood, Physical abuse, and Violence