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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 headingkolorful_kay_reads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
📝: Describing this book is difficult. First, the book is fiction. Much of the story is born in truth of what was passed-down as memories; these memories are then modified and told by the author (Tiffany) who is a generation down the line from those who lived these stories. In terms of describing the content, I would call this a starkly depressing coming-of-age novel set in Ohio in the 1950s and probably stop there.
👩: This was a book that I read wth my feminist book club! We picked this based on interviews with the author (who said she had trouble publishing it due the female-centric storylines); additionally, other people have noted the content itself is very empowering to women. Overall, this book failed my feminism assessment. More on this later.
🎨: Every artist makes decisions that aren't necessarily right or wrong - but will hit or not hit certain people. For my own experience with this novel, numerous choices simply didn't work. The first-person, past-tense narrative was chosen for this story but with *very little* future insight from our narrator. This works well for readers who want to read about the conversations of an 8-12 year old girl for 450 pages. In my viewpoint, this child views the people in her life with very little exploration; her family members are little more than their hobbies or trauma in her eyes - the actor, artist, victim, or ill. This is probably a very precise artist approach to take; however, this limits the amount of insight allowed to the reader and is a stagnant choice considering the length of the book. I personally have no desire for 450 pages of a children's view on the world, regardless of how "adult" her problems may be. That's my own beef - not necessarily something the author did "wrong."
❓This book left me with so many questions!
* What about this is a feminist novel? The eight year old demands to wear pants and not be a victim of sexual assault, sure. But the majority of feminist theory is directly related to the father's re-telling of his matriarchal and indigenous roots. Betty never sees her sisters as humans but in the rare moments they bond over trauma; I get that she's eight... but an 8 year old's version of feminism is not necessarily what fits the bill as outright "feminist."
* Why - in this book in which the family is seemingly not at all religious - is every chapter led by a biblical quote? I get that it foreshadows the chapter... but why the bible?
* What little future insight we received from our narrator was random and confusing. She would let you know that a character would die of xxx and the next page they're alive again! What's the point of future plot if there is no future insight? Why were those choices made?
* Did any readers find the value of the newspaper storyline to equate to the amount of space it took-up? If so, why?
* Why did characters appear for 2-10 pages, only to be never seen again? And their impact seemingly never carrying through the remainder of the novel?
* What would future Betty tell us about her father? He received so much kindness in her eyes as a child but clearly had his own issues with dissociation, like most other members of the family; she accepted his dissociation for most of the novel because he rooted himself in his religion and culture. But there's a difference between being observant and oblivious and I'd be curious to know what the Betty of today thinks of him. Did it change? Is it the same? Based on the authors interviews, I would assume that Betty's opinion has not changed with time.
View my full review and conversation at KolorfulKayReads on Instagram
Graphic: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Dysphoria, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia
hayleyc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
jaeyc's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
However, do not be fooled by the cover. There are so many horrors and TW in this book including abuse, rape, incest, animal abuse, racism, child loss, suicide etc. It was really hard to read at times and to imagine this poor girl having to witness so much violence in her childhood. I was not at all prepared for the family trauma. Can you forgive someone who was supposed to love you inflicting so much pain on you? especially when that someone is supposed to be our closest kin? Can you forgive someone's doing because she turned out this way from her past scars and trauma? There is grief, there is joy and this book is perfectly wonderful in terms of her magical writing! Perfect for readers who love coming of age books!
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Self harm, and Racism
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Incest
bookscoffeehayley's review
- 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
Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Drug abuse and Vomit
momentsofmine'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
spellboundchapters's review against another edition
- 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
“One day,’ I told him, ‘God will turn out all the lights to remind people like you that in the dark, you won’t be able to tell who is white like you and who ain’t. We’ll have to treat one another equally. We’ll learn it’s not our skin color that makes us good or bad. And only when we learn that, will God turn the lights back on.”
I was originally going to rate this book 4 stars, but I finished it about a month ago and haven't stopped thinking about it ever since.
This book is the story of Betty Carpenter, the daughter of a Cherokee man and a white woman, growing up in the 1950s-1960s in rural Ohio. Out of all her siblings, Betty is the one that looks the most like their father.
This book isn't similar to A Little Life at all, it isn't "torture porn" in any way. But similarly to A Little Life, even though I loved it, I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone as it's so triggering and really hard to get through. I sobbed so much and had to stop reading several times because everything was really intense.
Here's a list of all the trigger warnings (almost all of them are pretty graphic) : racism, racial slurs, abortion, animal cruelty, animal death, blood, bullying, incest, misogyny, suicide attempt, rape, child death, drug abuse, sexual violence, sexual assault, mental illness.
Overall this book is very dark, but Tiffany McDaniel's writing style is so poetic and magical. There's always this little glimpse of light and hope, of seeing the good things in the middle of all these horrible things. It portrays so well how family can be so beautiful but so dysfunctional at the same time, and how secrets can tear people apart.
The characters are all so well crafted. Some of them you will hate, other you will love with every fibre in your being. For some of them it's a bit more nuanced than that. But each of them is deeply flawed and realistic.
Betty's dad is one of the best characters I've ever read about. The way he stayed so nice and positive throughout his life, even after the worse things happened to him. And the way he transmitted his stories and his love for nature to his children... ugh, he's just too pure. Reading about this kind of father and healthy father-child relationships always makes me so soft.
“Some men know the exact amount of money in their bank accounts,” she continued. “Other men know how many miles are on their car and how many more miles it’ll handle. Other men know the batting average of their favorite baseball player and more other men know the exact sum Uncle Sam has screwed ’em. Your father knows no such figures. The only numbers Landon Carpenter has in his head are the numbers of stars in the sky on the days his children were born. I don’t know about you, but I would say that a man who has skies in his head full of the stars of his children, is a man who deserves his child’s love. Especially from the child with the most stars.”
If you think you can handle it and are ready to have your heart torn into pieces, definitely give this book a go.
Graphic: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Death, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Drug abuse and Mental illness
josephinereadsbooks's review
Graphic: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
unfiltered_fiction's review
- 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
I knew within a dozen pages that this book would take root in my heart, and stay there for a long time to come. I ordered Tiffany McDaniel's other book (The Summer That Melted Everything) as soon as I finished Betty, and ordered a second copy of Betty as a gift before I was even halfway through the book.
This book will claw at you and comfort you. It weaves beauty and goodness with evil and cruelty, creating a densely rich tapestry of human nature. You will finish it cherishing every good relationship with another human being that you have ever had, and knowing that you can survive whatever the world throws at you in the time to come. You will be wrung out and reinvigorated, renewed in the way that only the very best art can achieve.
Every time the tragedies of the Carpenter family seem unbearable, McDaniel lifts the reader, gasping for air, into a moment of sublime beauty. The odes to nature, art, and family throughout this book speak directly from one soul to another. In the beauty of the natural world, the skill of each character's artistry, and the unfathomable capacity of even the most wounded hearts to love, McDaniel reminds us why and how we persevere through times that seem impossible to survive.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough; but please bear in mind that it comes with heavy trigger warnings for violence, sexual abuse, racism, and death.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide attempt, and Violence
danakaufman's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death