Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

76 reviews

gillzzzo's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Child death and Incest

Minor: Sexual content, Self harm, Rape, and Physical abuse

mistyknights's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

3.75

 don't remember how old I was when I first read this, but it was too young to properly process the religious horror, physical/sexual/psychological abuse, misogyny, and whole lot of other trauma themes littered throughout the text. Add a poltergeist and a small town in Maine and this would be a Stephen King book. Not saying it was a mistake for me to read it as a pre-teen but I still would not jump up and offer it as an option to pre-teen as an adult woman.

That said, everything that made this a classic is still there. It's better written than I expected it to be, though it does meander in the middle and could have been 100 pages shorter

. Also, the incest is at times romanticized by the main character ( it's first person and intentionally mirrors her parent's experience) and shown as twisted because it is always manifested within violence and mental abuse.

But trigger warnings for that and for a brief moment of spontaneous racism just in case you forget this book was published in 1979.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Incest, Rape, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, and Toxic relationship

turpial23's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

1.0

Basically a narrative of many types of child abuse, in graphic detail. No actual plot, no character growth, not even exceptional writing - just misery and terror. Not apt for children. I would never recommend this series to anyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Body shaming, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Grief, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Rape

blxnc_'s review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Body horror, and Child abuse

mhh831666's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child death, Confinement, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Child abuse, Death, Incest, and Sexual content

_clicklike_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

The book was very disturbing, and I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone because it got graphic in a few of the chapters. It was quite sad honestly but sometimes the children were insufferable with how they constantly bickered.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Physical abuse, and Child death

kaitlynleigh's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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? No

4.0

I liked this so much more than I thought I would! Once the time started picking up in the book, I was truly captivated and wanted to know how it ended! I'm excited to read the rest of the series ! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Murder, Misogyny, Death, Incest, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Torture, Emotional abuse, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Grief

sana98's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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: Child abuse, Incest, and Child death

Moderate: Rape, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

books_hay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5

I first read this book some where around 8th grade and just now 30ish years later. 
I'm 8th grade it seamed a bit of a love story. This time is was a tale of horrible abuse and imprisonment.

This book takes on shocking turns. It's a good read, but it's horrifying at times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Child death, Incest, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

Moderate: Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Blood, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Torture, Religious bigotry, and Physical abuse

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

rronnniii's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Rape, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit