Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Betty, by Tiffany McDaniel

60 reviews

sophieheinrichs's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

donutcome4me's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Mental illness, Hate crime, Bullying, Blood, Animal death, Child abuse, Torture, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Child death, Incest, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Self harm, Rape, and Emotional abuse

mstjohn813's review

dark inspiring reflective sad medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Animal death, Child death, Murder, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abortion, Death of parent, and Physical abuse

molliundera_'s review

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Mental illness, and Self harm

Moderate: Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Violence

dws's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad

• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Ableism, Grief, Child abuse, Racism, Sexism, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Drug use, Misogyny, Rape, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Incest, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Pregnancy

savvylit's review

dark emotional sad slow-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

2.0

What I liked: Betty's father, Landon. He was the most fully developed character and a uniquely beautiful example of fatherhood. It's not often that a father is portrayed so well in literature. Landon's patience and compassion for his children was truly wonderful to read about.

What I didn't like: everything else. This book is incredibly long and yet it is nothing more than a catalog of suffering. Trauma porn, if you will. There is very little plot or characterization that isn't directly connected to something traumatic or awful happening to Betty or one of her family members. Just when it seemed like a character was finally becoming more than two-dimensional, they often (spoilers!!) died instead.

Oddly, even though Betty is clearly the focus of this book that's named after her, she also remained an enigma with a sad lack of characterization. Her purpose in this novel ultimately just seemed to be to suffer and bear witness to the incredible trauma of the rest of her family.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Animal death, Rape, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Racism, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Incest, Injury/injury detail, Sexual violence, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Grief, and Child death

ienbdri's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

i read a little life in july and betty was still the worst and best and hardest book to read this year. pls check trigger warnings beforehand though (:

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Death, Hate crime, Incest, Rape, Sexism, Suicide attempt, and Self harm

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Racism, Abortion, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Homophobia, Misogyny, Child death, and Injury/injury detail

christinacarrie's review

I wanted to love this book so much, but I can’t finish it. It simply makes me so angry from the sheer amount of abuse Betty has to go through from the racists at her school and town. Maybe I just don’t have the emotional ability to handle it because I loved all the parts with Betty and her dad and brother but my stomach churned everytime I tried to continue this book. I wanted to love it but I don’t think this one is for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Emotional abuse, and Violence

amandalorianxo's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

3.75

Brutal. Intense. Heavy amount of content that can possibly be triggering. Unprepared. Emotionally traumatizing. These are just a few of the adjectives / phrases that can accompany Betty by Tiffany McDaniel. A novel that is loosely based on the author’s mother’s life, Betty grows up with a mentally/emotionally  traumatized white mother and a Cherokee father. Betty and her multitude of siblings grow up in Breathed, Ohio during the 60’s-70’s era of the United States. Upfront racism and punishment with the ruler at school is in full effect as Betty tries to combat with awful students and the repulsive adults who do nothing to help her. My favorite aspect of this novel is the relationship Betty has with her father. Landon is someone who I think is one of the better written fictional Dad’s I’ve encountered in a while. Often times, novels depict daughters and fathers in an unforgiving light so I’m happy to see that Betty had so much love and light for her father. I too, have a stronger relationship with my own father so seeing emphasized was refreshing. I know this is perhaps more common in marginalized Native communities than I realize but reading this book has impacted me mind, body and soul. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Bullying, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism

Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy

sarahsverse's review

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Gaslighting, and Incest