Reviews with content warning for Abortion - Betty

Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

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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lashanda's review

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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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lgiery's review

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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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stellahadz's review

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adventurous dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

I can't start this review without saying that Tiffany McDaniel is an immensely talented writer. You can tell that she really put her heart into writing this book, which is based on her own mother's early life. The prose is beautiful and lyrical, contrasting deeply with the heartbreaking story. This is an unforgettable book. Every character feels so real, and every event in the story of their lives makes the reader feel real anger, sadness, and joy right along with them.

This is easily one of the best books I've read this year, and I can see it becoming an American classic. I highly recommend it, but I also suggest reading the trigger warnings beforehand, since it contains *many* emotionally heavy topics.

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lerix4relur's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

What can I say, I love girlhood, coming-of-age stories. I loved Betty and related to her a lot. Sometimes the saddest part of coming-of-age is facing the realities of the world. At times I hated the mom, Flossie, Fraya, the dad, but you understand them, why they are that way. I reread the beginning as soon as I ended and it is definitely something I want to read again in the future.

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