Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

121 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.

mgmsharpe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.25

This was really good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Violence, Child death, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Death, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Vomit, Pedophilia, Drug use, Addiction, Sexual content, Rape, Death of parent, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Self harm, Child abuse, Police brutality, and Grief

mags_222's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child abuse, Addiction, Police brutality, Trafficking, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, and Sexual violence

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

mondovertigo's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Rape, Abandonment, Racism, Child death, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Excrement, Death of parent, and Gun violence

Minor: Vomit

pickashelf's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, Sexual content, and Police brutality

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Suicide

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

acorny's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Police brutality

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated

4.0

This book gives a first-hand look at the ways power corrupts and makes victims of young women, especially women of color. I found myself rooting so hard for something to go right in Kiara’s life but that just never seems to manifest. I felt sad for her and helpless knowing her situation yet being on the outside looking in and being unable to assist. This book is very realistic and will make you angry — wanting to fix all the things that are so wrong in our society and the world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Racism, Death of parent, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, Torture, Suicide, Child abuse, Child death, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Rape, Grief, Drug use, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Addiction, Blood, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse

siobhanward's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

This was a challenging read, but good nonetheless. The narrative was good and Kiara was a great character. It can be hard to read a character as complex as Kiara, but she was so well-written and felt so human. I did struggle with how much was going on in the book, however. So much going around Kiara that was either left unresolved or barely addressed at all made a lot of the book feel like it was wasted. I understand why Mottley ended the book the way she did, but it felt like so much happened in the book that was never mentioned again. I really wish I'd liked this book a bit more because it had a strong premise, but I struggled at points where it felt like Mottley lost her direction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Death of parent