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Everybody warns about bad influences, but it’s these things already inside you that are going to take you down. The restlessness in your gut, like tomcats gone stupid with their blood feuds, prowling around in the moon-dead dark. The hopeless wishes that won’t quit stalking you: some perfect words you think you could say to somebody to make them see you, and love you, and stay.
Oh this book pulled at all of my most tender parts. Poverty, mother hunger, parental addiction, rehab. Kingsolver is a wonderful writer, I couldn't stop saving every line for later. This is absolutely going on my favorites shelf of which there are less than 10 books.
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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Abandonment
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Abortion, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Classism
Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment
Unfortunately, there were excessive graphic descriptions of drug use and sex. Every imaginable locker room crude sexual innuendo. It’s too bad the very good descriptive capabilities of the author was applied to trash you don’t want in your mind as well as nature and life.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abortion
Well written. Reminded me a lot of a modern Huckleberry Finn, but with the rough times didn't end when Huck's father dies.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
*****SPOILERS at this point
This book is way longer than it needs to be. So much of Damon's story could have been condensed. It felt like we were reading (I listened to) every day of every week for the few years of his life. It was like reading his daily diary.
I was happy that Damon found a way through all that he was living but there was nothing happy in this story. I understand that life was no picnic for the rural areas of mining country but surely there was something to be happy about? Additionally, this story made every character sound ignorant of any the perils of opioids.
The story is very predictable... of course a small-town boy that is in the crappy foster system finally finds a good place to stay and then a sport he is suddenly good at and becomes a temporary star because he blows out his knee and gets addicted to drugs and goes downhill from there, but in the end he magically is reformed and finally gets to see the only thing on his bucket list... the ocean (eye roll).
This is my first book from this author but I don't think there will be others. It just was not there for me.
I can definitely give 4 stars to the narrator Charlie Thurston. Excellent job at telling this story. Only thing is you need to practice on the female voices. (shrug)
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Abortion
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship