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emmahamel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Abortion, and Pregnancy
just_one_more_paige'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
Graphic: Gaslighting, Hate crime, Incest, Rape, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Violence, Classism, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Xenophobia, and Abortion
Moderate: Medical content, Addiction, Ableism, and Fire/Fire injury
annabelle42688'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Abortion, Child death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Animal death, Miscarriage, Murder, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt
beebeewin's review
- 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
Graphic: Sexism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Violence, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Incest, and Child abuse
Moderate: Racism, Child death, Death of parent, and Racial slurs
Minor: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Abortion, Addiction, and Drug abuse
imogens_corner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Animal death, Self harm, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexism, Incest, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Murder, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Medical trauma
elyxir's review
3.75
Graphic: Abortion, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence
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
sderrig's review
- 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
Graphic: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
clem'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
2.0
Please heed the content warnings on this one. If you can think of something disturbing, it is probably graphically described here.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
jeannelovesbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Where I came from was a family of eight children. More than one of us would die in the prize-winning years of youth.’
Written by Tiffany McDaniel, the novel is based on her mother’s childhood in 1960s rural Appalachia. Betty, born to a white mother and Cherokee father, is the only Carpenter child who shares her father’s dark hair and complexion. For this she is relentlessly bullied; at school, in the community, and by her own family. Meanwhile the extent of tragedy - murder, rape, accidents, abuse - that befalls the Carpenter family is nothing short of rampant.
Deeply disturbing, Betty’s an unforgettable read. But both its brilliance and its shortcomings stem from the fact it’s a family memoir. Imagine writing an exposé of your family’s darkest secrets, with dear old Mum as the central protagonist. And she’s still alive, which is remarkable given her upbringing but tricky territory to navigate. The challenge lies in portraying the victims & perpetrators as anything other than heroes & villains and consequently some family members, Betty included, are curiously one-dimensional. Another issue is the freedom, or lack of, to deviate from the family script. Without a narrative arc, we get A Series of Unfortunate Events interspersed with brief moments of respite which typically focus on Betty and her father, Landon. The pattern became so predictable that after every heart-warming exchange I steeled myself for the next onslaught.
The brilliance lies in the author’s descriptive powers. Mum’s accounts of abuse include details so cruel and calculated there’s no doubting their authenticity. The sense of time and place is vividly imagined and the sheer resilience of Betty and her own mother Alka is inspiring. For me this was Alka’s story. Ordeal heaped upon ordeal and somehow she soldiered on.
The author evidently shares the same strength. Apparently the first agents she approached refused to believe that the women in her family had experienced such abuse. Thank goodness she persevered because memoirs as powerful and hard-hitting as this have the potential to break the taboos that force silence on so many girls and women.
Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Hate crime, Incest, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content