Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

221 reviews

stefs1974's review

dark emotional sad 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

Betty is one of my all time favorite books!  Beautifully written, heart wrenching, and thought provoking.  This book will always hold a special place in my heart!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Grief, Death of parent, Classism, Racism, Addiction, Animal death, and Child abuse

britttain's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Incest, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

butlerebecca's review

dark emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

Just fucking masterful

This is exactly how you write stories of trauma - with reflection and compassion, and balanced with a gorgeous prose defined by its fine-tuned attention to detail

Check the trigger warnings because there’s some graphic stuff in this book but if you can stomach it it’s absolutely worth the read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Death, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Animal death, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Murder, Racism, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Addiction, Sexism, Emotional abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Pregnancy and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

talia1353's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Racism, Child abuse, Incest, Suicide attempt, Child death, and Rape

vavocado's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Animal death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Rape, Incest, Death, and Child abuse

lgiery's review

dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

2.5

"Betty" draws from the author's mother's childhood, blurring the lines between biography and fiction. Despite this, I found many scenes unbelievable. The characters were flat and lacked depth, and I missed their complexity. 

Additionally, some scenes of abuse, violence, racism, and sexism seemed unnecessary and insensitively executed. There is also so much cruelty packed into this book with very little human complexity. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Rape, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Incest

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Homophobia

stellahadz's review

adventurous dark sad 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

I can't start this review without saying that Tiffany McDaniel is an immensely talented writer. You can tell that she really put her heart into writing this book, which is based on her own mother's early life. The prose is beautiful and lyrical, contrasting deeply with the heartbreaking story. This is an unforgettable book. Every character feels so real, and every event in the story of their lives makes the reader feel real anger, sadness, and joy right along with them. 

This is easily one of the best books I've read this year, and I can see it becoming an American classic. I highly recommend it, but I also suggest reading the trigger warnings beforehand, since it contains *many* emotionally heavy topics. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Racism, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Abortion, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Classism, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry

amreynrt's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

5.0

I thought about what rating I wanted to give Betty. It is an incredible story written in a way that makes you forget everything around you, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst. Betty is a story of racism, abuse, love and magic. It is about very flawed people being a family. It is about a very flawed society through the 1960s. It is about a man loving his children and giving life the most he could. It is about traditions and relationships all seen from a growing kid's eyes.

The set up is great, and the author mentions she tried to do justice to Ohio. You can feel the nature and the Lanes (not streets) of Breathed. You can feel the river and the winter and the hills. Tiffany McDaniel did an incredible job of writing a book from a child's perspective. In this book, everything feels terribly real. 

Never have I ever loved reading such a tough story. Many have said it this way, and I wholeheartedly agree - it is a book I would love to reread, but I'm not sure I'd ever want to put myself through this again. A heartbreaking story put together through incredible writing. I had never felt so uncomfortable reading a book I would give 5 stars to. 

I loved when Betty confronted Leland at the end.  All this time she kept quiet for the sake of Fraya and because she did not understand how and whom to tell this story. I wanted Betty to confront or tell on Leland throughout the whole book, and it felt so real that she would do so only at the very end. Not all stories are fair, not all secrets are told in real life. She did it not when it mattered the most, but she did it nonetheless.

So, so many traumatising scenes. Nova on the train tracks. Trustin. Fraya. Alka when she was a little girl. The kittens. The racism. Sometimes, it was a little hard to take it all in. Yet you just keep going, because it is written beautifully and because you want to understand those characters that feel maybe a little too real.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Animal death, Racism, Child death, Incest, and Sexual assault

Minor: Vomit

lselin's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Physical abuse, Incest, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, and Child abuse

Minor: Alcoholism and Addiction

libbyyjo's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Rape, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Animal death, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Cultural appropriation, Physical abuse, Child death, Abortion, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Violence, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Body shaming, Self harm, Pedophilia, Incest, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, and Addiction