Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel

25 reviews

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

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

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

fredrikamarias's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Addiction, Pedophilia, Drug use, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Grief, Gore, and Mental illness

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, and Sexism

glitteringeyes418's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Child death, Pedophilia, Drug use, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Murder

alisonvh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

4.0

This book is beautifully written, but so sad. I was really hoping it would have a happy ending, but no such luck.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Death, Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Death of parent, Sexism, Sexual content, Murder, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

frmeden's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Grief, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Rape, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Child death

ember_is_gay's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

this was hauntingly beautiful and i want to read it all over again. i am stunned and i don’t think i have the words to describe how i feel about this book. i think this is genuinely one of the best books i have read in a while.

the last few chapters had me so thrown and i just was not expecting that twist. and i was so hopeful for the end, i was so hopeful for arc getting out. but i know that’s not what life is like, i was just wishing and hoping it would be different for her, but of course it couldn’t be.

to all the lost women, i will remember you and think of you often. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Trafficking, Violence, Sexual assault, Blood, Rape, Child death, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Torture, Addiction, Animal death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Death, Miscarriage, and Murder