Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

84 reviews

escsteger's review against another edition

dark hopeful inspiring sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

This book ripped my heart into a million pieces and it also is just divinely beautiful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Incest, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Violence, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Outing, Rape, Animal cruelty, and Sexism

Moderate: Drug abuse

_moonsongenthusiast_'s review

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Homophobia, Bullying, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Incest, Child abuse, Rape, Racism, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Miscarriage, Infertility, Animal death, Murder, Blood, Death, Abortion, Drug use, Classism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Suicide, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Body shaming, and Fire/Fire injury

heidiwelsch's review

dark emotional sad medium-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

3.0

Way too much violence and trauma for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Abortion, Suicide, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, Child death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Death, Sexism, Rape, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Blood, Racism, Racial slurs, Bullying, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Self harm, and Incest

laurenkimoto's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This falls in the niche genre that is “the authors love letter to their mother knowing they may never read it”. 
This book is here for all the female relationships one will have as a child and how these shape you and can almost break you. I am emotionally devastated 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Child death, Excrement, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Addiction, Cursing, Grief, Pedophilia, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Ableism, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Self harm, Religious bigotry, and Racial slurs

ohheytaylorrae's review

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Grief, Incest, Death, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Rape, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs

emfrmc's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Death, Child death, Violence, Physical abuse, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Suicide, Self harm, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, and Animal death

eena's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

Reading this book reminded me why I never want to read A Little Life. I purchased this book because it’s in the secondhand section and the bookshop staff told me that it’s her favourite read of the year, which made me just buy it and not read anything about it, so I guess the lesson is to always read the content warnings.

The writing is without a doubt beautiful. I also appreciated that this is written in a child’s point of view to show how a child could truly be helpless in this messed up world. Growing up with Betty through these pages made me feel like I’m grappling for air with every page I turn and that’s the reason why I gave this book 2.5 stars only.

I’m honestly afraid to rate it because it’s semi biographical and inspired by the author’s mother and I’m afraid to judge a somehow real life story because what if big chunks of it were reality. However, parts of it are still fiction and maybe it’s just not my preference to have one trauma over the other that I don’t know what to do with those experiences I’ve read anymore. So yeah I guess the rating is on the lower end too because it should have had content warnings, majority of the book is packed with triggering things, from animal abuse, SA, racist attacks, and anything you can think of. These traumatic experiences didn’t fully serve a strong purpose like a lot of it were just thrown to either give a shock or that certain feeling that a lot of readers crave for.

I wanted to love this book, I really do, but despite the devastating things that happened there wasn’t a strong new lesson in life that I can carry. I also thought that there will be a lot of things that I’ll learn from the author’s culture but they were just fragments and most of them we already know about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Racism, Incest, Abortion, Animal death, and Physical abuse

ceilingloft's review

It's a very well written book but the detailed descriptions of trauma and abuse were too much for me. I can see why people really like the book though

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Emotional abuse

rayepernsteiner's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Blood, Racism, Bullying, Death, Self harm, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicide, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

ventellina's review against another edition

emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Animal death, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Abortion, Emotional abuse, Incest, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, and Sexism