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grisgrisgris's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, War, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Infertility, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Abortion, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Outing, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Medical content
louise010's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Racism, Death, Suicide attempt, Rape, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Incest, Animal death, Racial slurs, Child death, and Death of parent
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
- 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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🌿 The plot: Betty Carpenter grows up in a world of fierce love and bitter cruelty. Her Cherokee father teaches her to love her ancestry and the wildness of the Ohio hills she grows up in, but the rest of the world seems hell-bent on teaching her to see herself as something unnatural. As she learns to navigate the changing social mores of the 1950s-70s, she must also learn how to live with the pain she bears witness to, and the strength she carries inside herself.
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This book is every bit as good as everyone has already said it is. I could talk about its beautiful treatment of the natural world, its stirring descriptions of womanhood, its gut-wrenching portrayal of racism and white supremacy. The beautiful prose, the way the characters feel so real that if you cut the page they would bleed. Mainly I just want to tell you to read it, because it’s an amazing thing to get lost in such a vivid world.
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I thought a lot about trauma and storytelling while reading this book. The ways that we hold stories for other people, how other people’s pain can become part of us - though not a part we can ever own or explain, a story we can’t tell for ourselves. Except maybe in fiction. It’s a place where we can be honest without being truthful. Betty is able to hold her family’s pain because she’s a storyteller and because she’s strong, and those two qualities seem to feed each other throughout. I loved her as a character and seeing the person she becomes by the end of the novel is a bittersweet reward for all she has to go through to get there.
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🏔 Read it if you like sad books, family sagas, complex, difficult women characters and warm, caring father figures. Plus lots of descriptions of nature and a mythical storytelling style.
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🚫 Avoid it if you’re sensitive to scenes of rape, incest, sexual violence, racism and death. This book does not take it easy on its readers and I’d recommend looking at TWs if you’re concerned. Also if you want an uplifting read - this is beautiful and, I think, has a note of hope to it, but it is definitely a certified Sad Book™️
Graphic: Pedophilia, Incest, Racism, Rape, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Racial slurs and Violence
Minor: Gun violence
alice_clay's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Violence, Racism, Misogyny, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Gun violence
rotatinglibrary's review
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Animal cruelty, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Abortion, Miscarriage, Grief, Death of parent, and Self harm
There are Bible verses at each chapter headingmomentsofmine's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt