Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

91 reviews

thissagreads's review against another edition

ALL OF THE TRIGGERS!! I couldn’t finish this book because the pace was slow. The amount of triggering trauma happening to this *child* was overwhelmingly heavy, without reprieve. After the second hour of listening I was hopeful that the main character Kiara- would catch a break. But she didn’t, and the amount of TW was wild. Yes I understood that the author was shining light on very bleak situations that anyone can find themselves in, if given scraps and being abandoned. 

By the 6th hour, there continued to be a lot of “well I just have to do what I have to do” mentality, on top of having to trick/prostitute  while trying to take care of the neighbor’s kid since his mom is just looking for her next fix …. I don’t really understand the appeal, even if the author is a young, award winning poet and started writing this book at 16 years old. Very disappointing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Gun violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, Blood, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Addiction, Abandonment, Child abuse, Rape, Death, and Sexual assault

TRIGGER WARNING!! Kiara’s brother is a shitty rapper who’s not working to pay the bills in the tiny apartment they both share. He won’t step up so Kiara’s been working but still struggling. She’s already asked her brother to help out but he’s whining about wanting to rap and asks for a month to “make it”. She agrees but one night she goes to see her brother’s ex girlfriend (at the bar she works at) and accidentally gets drunk. Then she sees a GROWN MAN who’s into her, and they walk off to -what Kiara thought- was going to be a consensual hook up, but he ends raping her. Then after throwing money at her, Kiara gets the idea to start prostituting herself while her brother gets the month to “release his album”. But unfortunately she gets pulled into the underworld quickly, accepts a gig with cops and then of course everyone takes advantage of her. So Kiara’s life just gets worse. ESPECIALLY after her brother tells her he won’t support her! And on top of that her mom is AWFUL and couldn’t give a damn about her 2 kids struggling to keep the lights on, this monster killed their little sister in the bathtub and refuses to take accountability so she’s been in prison and a Safeway house. This book was just fucking awful and riddled with trauma that I felt was overdone and unnecessary.

mollymdull's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Police brutality

Moderate: Drug abuse

lisettemarie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Murder, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Trafficking

chaoticenby's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

Read this book. It’s worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Rape, Grief, Death, Abandonment, Addiction, Trafficking, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

bananahan's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Cursing, Child death, Rape, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Sexism, Racism, Police brutality, Child abuse, Sexual violence, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, Vomit, Classism, Gun violence, Addiction, Racism, Pregnancy, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Transphobia

cirrenamarie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Rape

Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, and Child abuse

Minor: Trafficking, Violence, and Self harm

libellumartinae's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I don't know how to feel this book. I didn't expect an easy read when I first started it but I certainly didn't expect either what it came with. The story is so scarily terrifying, especially upon discovering it's based on real facts, and I absolutely felt interesting the whole context and plot in which the author developed it, switching swiftly from a more journalistic style or a more personal one that allows to see in time everything the main character feels while also following the trail of events.

I didn't fully enjoy the writing and I thought that the ending was a mess, because although I understood how it finished at the same time I felt like it could have handled with a bit more of slowness.

It's utterly a story that will stay on my chest for days and won't leave me. It's an haunting tale that I'd encourage you to read - obviously being aware of the tws - because it certainly will help you on understanding and opening your eyes on different aspects of our rotten society.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Transphobia, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Racism, Police brutality, Violence, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Gun violence, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Child death, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

misssharpe's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

Beautiful writing. But the story was low and by the middle I was just ready for it to be over.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Trafficking, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Self harm, Misogyny, Rape, and Stalking

Moderate: Abandonment and Addiction

Minor: Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Cancer, Child death, Child abuse, Racism, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Drug use

kenzkaufman's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Gun violence, Sexual content, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Rape

ak_96's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Rape, Drug abuse, Murder, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Racism, Abandonment, and Suicide