Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed

21 reviews

lovefromhannah's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Death, Sexual harassment, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Rape, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Infertility, Incest, and Grief

rebyreadsandwrites's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Blood, Confinement, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Violence, Medical content, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Ableism

eed8's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Incest

readerlas's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Incest and Rape

jewelia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

this book is really well written with an interesting premise but its fuckin bleak yall, definitely have a browse of the content warnings before you read this one

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Infertility, Medical content, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

kitten_nuisance's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This was a very heavy book. It was well-written and richly imagined, and that’s great for reading, but also ups the disturbing factor when the subjects and ideas are so dark. I had to keep taking breaks, but actually, I could bring this up to five stars. I think this story needed to be heard.

Lots of content notes for almost all the things. I really appreciated the relative lack of animal suffering. Melamed didn’t use animals to up the stakes; she left their innocent lives alone, and I love her for that.
One content note I felt really needed to be there, but haven’t seen so far in reviews, is disordered eating. If that is something you have a history with, you should know that one character restricts in an extreme way, and it’s part of what gives her any control of her life (not just appearance). 
Actually far from the most upsetting part, though!… I have this weird feeling where I almost want to know more and less at the same time. A lot of topics are talked “around,” and you know what they mean, but it’s so hard to believe that it’s kind of like… maybe you really want someone to sit down and say it straight out. (I don’t mean the main gross thing that we learn is normal in this society. I’m good on that. 👍 But there are a LOT of details about how their society works that I want to know. Really does give me the feelings I had reading The Giver for the first time 25 or so years ago.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Incest, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, and Sexism

Moderate: Rape

Stillbirth

booknerdnative's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Suicide, and Incest

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, and Rape

morganperks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Murder

joyfulmellie's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

stormwise's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

4.0

This novel is not for the faint of heart, addressing themes of rape culture, child abuse and trauma in a dystopian setting. 

The story is told from the perspectives of the daughters, girls living in a world where the boundary between childhood and womanhood is sharply delineated by the onset of puberty.

As the plot unfolds, glimpses of the true nature of their community are revealed and it becomes evident to the reader that rather than a refuge from the supposed wastelands, the island is instead home to a cult that indoctrinates its members from childhood, using tradition as an excuse for abuse.

A deeply unsettling novel that warns against blindly following rules and customs without examining the harm they cause. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Suicide, Sexism, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Medical content, Incest, Gore, Death, Child death, Blood, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, and Ableism

Moderate: Rape, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, and Mental illness