Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

195 reviews

andreweaver88's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? No

5.0

I did not think a book could touch The Burning God is the best book I've read so far but this one may surpass it.
This book is so good yet heartbreaking. I don't recommend it to everyone but I feel like it NEEDS to be read. This is my first time reading Tananarive Due and it will NOT be my last of her. I will be thinking of this book for a while. 
‼️‼️TRIGGER WARNINGS‼️‼️
Pedophilia, sexual assault, child porn(pictures), racism,  and death. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture

mackenzienoelle'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Listened to the audiobook which I think helped it not drag as much. Loved the ending, thought the last half was well paced. It’s a horror story about a children’s reformatory for boys in the Jim Crow south, so yeah it’s very upsetting in general. Check content warnings

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Terminal illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Blood, and Police brutality

faithemt'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

important look at Florida in the horrible jim crow days......and a particular school....

full review is here:

https://goldintheclouds-faith.blogspot.com/2024/08/2024-book-review-34the-reformatory.html

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Classism

etpreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Rape

iellv's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.75

When I tell you I screamed over a timestamp.

What do I even say? I want to rate this 5 stars, I really do. This was extremely well thought out and well-written. Personally, I thought the pacing was almost perfect (I didn’t think it was too slow. Honestly I kind of wished this book was a bit longer), and I loved how seemingly different Robbie’s and Gloria’s chapters were in tone, but they all showed the fear, frustration, sorrow, and rage that made up the siblings’ shared suffering. No matter that they were both so far apart from one another. I’m only rating this 4.75 because I would have loved a longer ending! There was so much to cover in this book; I desperately needed a breather at the end. There were also more details I’d hoped to encounter, but that might just be because I have a general preference for very reflective books. 

I am also not 100% sold on the decision to make Haddock THE villain to the point where all others paled in comparison. Personally I would have liked to know more about the neighbors, but I also understand that there was no way Tananarive could have included that without ruining the pacing of this book. Though I am surprised that Loehmann just fell off. I don’t think he could have helped any other way besides securing that slot for Gloria and Miz Lottie, but I thought it was funny that he just fell off and readers would likely completely forget about him, as I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Vomit

merirobie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Racism, Terminal illness, Grief, and Murder

kurumipanda's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism

twobooksonenerd's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

As a mother of a teenage boy, this wasn’t an easy read. I feel like all parents should read this. While based almost 100 years ago, I don’t see very much different in how minorities/poc are treated. Painfully scary without all the Hollywood glitter.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, and Death of parent

leahcatching's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

theybie_spice's review against another edition

dark 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? No

5.0

The subject matter is tragic and awful. But the book is incredibly well written and will stick with me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder