Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

150 reviews

dark emotional funny inspiring sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Grim but beautiful. The story really highlights the systems and pathways that fail people despite their best intentions. So many adults fail this child over and over and over, but so many others do the right thing, and there are plenty that touch both ends of the spectrum. The characters are so complicated and alive... it is hard to take in due to how sad it is but worth the challenge.

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Okay. I enjoyed this book all the way until the end. One of the reasons I love Barbara Kingsolver so much is because she’s really great at painting the perspectives of people in tough places. 
As some who grew up in rural Appalachia, this story hit home from the very beginning. The rundown homes. The MLM’s. The cat piss smell when there aren’t any cats present. The othering experience of growing up poor. It’s HARD. Then it lead into the broken football star to opioid addict pipeline and boy howdy…
As someone who was one of the “jackpots of hopeless futures” convinced by the recruiters in shiny buttons to join the military to escape my small town. I always felt like my life could have ended up exactly like Demon’s. 

But the fucking ending?!? Are you serious Barbara. You had to go with THAT love interest?!?! 😒😒

Spoilers below:





Definitely glosses over the racism that I KNOW is rampant in rural Appalachia. It’s hinted at, in things like “only 10 “people like him” living in Lee county” when talking about the Black teacher. Or how there must be something wrong with the pretty white teacher that he’s married to… 😒😒

Are you fucking serious. Angus?!?! If you have to write it “is she my sister or something more” it’s an automatic noooooooooooooo!!!!!!! They grew up being raised as siblings, even if they aren’t blood siblings. They should not have ended up as the love interest….. ewwwwww. This is one fucking rural stereotype that I wish would go the way of the dodo



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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Wow. I don’t know how to rate this. These types of books were my main reads in high school because I liked reading about families more messed up than my own.

But wow. I knew stuff like this happened in the Bible Belt but shit…I’ve seen documentaries over the years on this section of the USA and wow. It really needs help. And the opioid epidemic is a uniquely American problem due to the way they run their healthcare. It’s messed up.

The first half of the book is about his life in and out of foster homes etc and when it hits the second half, that’s when the opioid epidemic sets in. 

And the kid is the same age as my son (at the beginning of the book). 

When his guidance counsellor said “You got the wreck you didn’t ask for and you walked out of it.”, it really shows how just one person can change your life for the better if they believe in you.

His inevitable path was predictable and from then on it was a sad downward spiral toward the end of the book. However, the ending was left hopeful and I like to think it all works out.

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I'm finally finished. 
I'm honestly not sure what to rate this one. I read it because so many people talk about how good the audiobook is, and it is really well narrated. But 22 hours is so long. It really didn't need to be that long in my opinion. The beginning and the end were very good, but the middle just felt like it dragged on for me. I had to take a break and read something else and pick it back up. 
But the parts that were good and kept my attention were really good! If you are thinking about reading it, check the trigger warnings before you do. A lot of things happen to kids in foster care and a lot of those things are discussed or at least mentioned in this book. 

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Hard read but so well written

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sad
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Absolutely incredible. I am a puddle. 

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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