Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

25 reviews

stellahadz's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Racism, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Abortion, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Classism, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry

cozyfantasyfaetay's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, Child death, Death, and Rape

Moderate: Abortion, Vomit, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide attempt, Blood, Bullying, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racial slurs, and Addiction

strawberry_seagull's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This book is written beautifully. It is a fairly simple read, yet it is still chock-full of story and metaphors. My only hesitation with recommending this book to others is the amount of content warnings (which I will list). There are a LOT of different triggering scenes that are extremely graphic. However, despite the high intensity of the novel, I did thoroughly enjoy it. The characters are lovable and the stories they tell can resonate with anyone, even if someone hasn’t experienced the same issues the Carpenters have. My personal favorite dynamic was between Landon and Betty because I was able to see my dad and I in their father-daughter relationship.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Rape, Child death, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Abortion, Bullying, Blood, Alcohol, Child abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Incest, and Drug abuse

Minor: Violence, Pregnancy, and Homophobia

syellico's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Incest, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Abortion, Animal death, Grief, Suicide, Death, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Self harm, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child death, Pedophilia, and Racism

snowiceblackfruit77's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Incest, Pedophilia, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Drug use, Self harm, Medical content, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Misogyny, Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

elliott_the_clementine's review

dark emotional hopeful sad fast-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

I will leave this book unrated. Incredibly written, painfully dark, and intensely important. Please check the trigger warnings before reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Death of parent, Medical content, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Self harm, Torture, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Gore, Ableism, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Incest, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Rape, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Colonisation, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

jco1016's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Death, Child death, Abortion, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Bullying, Sexual content, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death of parent, Incest, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, and Suicide attempt

airr's review

adventurous challenging emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Rape, Alcohol, Bullying, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death, Toxic relationship, Racism, Animal death, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Medical content, Gun violence, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage

jacq_s's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated

3.5

Moments of really beautiful writing, but overall very heavy handed with unrealistically profound monologues coming from every character. Horrific accounts of violence/abuse and animal cruelty. Truly loveable characters mixed in with the awful. It stuck with me and will, but felt like the book really beat its message into me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Incest, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, Grief, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Abortion and Alcohol

madisone's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Incest, Sexual assault, Death, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Child death

Moderate: Sexism, Racial slurs, Racism, Abortion, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Blood, Homophobia, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, and Bullying

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, and Classism