Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

314 reviews

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

ash_mack's review

dark emotional reflective 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

1.0

I read this based off a BookTok recommendation and hated it. I should've read content warnings or something, but I continue to hate reading about rape. Throughout the book it just made me feel sad, angry, and upset, and just kept going. There's a slightly hopeful note at the end with the narrator but I don't think the fantastical stories shared throughout the book make up for all the rest of the depressing storyline. I don't want to ever think of this book again and the only reason I finished is to see if it got any better. Nope.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Murder, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Pregnancy, Medical content, Incest, Xenophobia, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Homophobia, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, and Drug use

toffeebox's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Heart wrenching and magically written. I loved the lyrical writing and the various folklores that came with Cherokee father. Fantastic usage of symbolism - chocolate bars, thunderstorms, etc.

This book also felt very complete: every theme felt like it was explored thoroughly. A lot of books just toss out a subject matter but leave it undeveloped.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Abortion, Incest, Sexual assault, and Sexism

Minor: Suicide attempt

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

lashanda's review

dark 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? Yes

3.0

 

I have mixed feelings about this book. I picked it up because its description seemed intriguing. It was also highly rated for its writing and content. To be an outlier to these raving reviews feels a bit strange, but I hope this helps anyone looking for an honest review. 

 

McDaniel took inspiration from her mother’s family to write this work of fiction, so it straddles memoir/biography. This fact alone is why I find it hard to rate the book. Lots of things I would pick at in a “regular” fiction book, like characterization, plot, etc. I find hard to do here, knowing that this is based on true events. I think ultimately, Betty should have just been a memoir or biography. If it were, my review would not exist, and I would have likely rated the book higher. I think Betty’s overarching issue is its format. 

 

Betty lacks a real plot. I read the first half very quickly, in hopes a plotline would emerge, but by about halfway, I realized there wasn’t one, and intrigue dropped dramatically. I had no real desire to keep reading. 

 

Because of Betty’s lack of plot, the traumas in this book are undigestible and seem to have no real reason. I can’t stress enough how horribly traumatic the book is. Incest, rape, animal abuse, abortion, suicide, drug use, death—if there’s a trigger, it’s in this book. Again, this isn’t entirely a work of fiction, so it is hard to criticize. These horrors are unfortunately probable in real life. But, coupled with zero plot, this just reads as trauma after trauma with no end in sight. 

The jacket cover description also talks about how Betty copes with her family's horrors through writing. I was arguably most intrigued by this, but this plotline was almost non-existent.

Betty would write about the horrible things and then bury them. We see some of her poems. Her father also gifts her a typewriter when he dies.

I was quite disappointed with how flat this plotline was, as a writer myself. 

Landon Carpenter, Betty’s father, is a sweet, caring, if wishful, man.  He is absolutely the best character in the book. His hopeful fairy tales and metaphors give a sense of whimsy to the book, which is much needed. However, I found it grating and unrealistic after a while. He essentially has no real idea of the horrors going on in the family and coupled with his overdrawn, fantastical stories, it becomes annoying. Again, this is hard to criticize, as Landon is a real man, and his Cherokee heritage is what influences his storytelling. As a work of fiction however, this character doesn’t fully work for me. 

 

Another issue for me was how unrealistic the dialogue and writing were. Every word between the family was a drawn-out metaphor that just read as overly didactic at times. I understand this is where people find the beauty in this book i.e. the writing, and while I agree, I don’t think putting a metaphor into every sentence and chapter constitutes good writing. The writing in general reads as trite and preachy at times. I can’t deny that McDaniel is a talented writer, but to shove a lesson in the form of metaphor at every turn and bend doesn’t make for a great reading experience. 

 

I can’t say I heavily disliked or enjoyed the book. I hope McDaniel feels a sense of accomplishment for telling her family’s story—Betty does a wonderful job at that. As a work of fiction, I found it fell flat in the above-mentioned areas and made it a less than stellar reading experience for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Incest, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racial slurs, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, and Sexism

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

carrieella81's review

dark 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Animal cruelty, Racism, Child death, Miscarriage, Self harm, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, and Incest

amyjno's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense

5.0

This was a FANTASTIC book, but the subject matter makes it hard.  Make sure to be in a good headspace when you are reading this because it's rough.  It's absolutely worth it, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal cruelty