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gabriellejane's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
I feel like this book has flown under the radar on social media/rec lists which is devastating to me. I would read this if you like A Little Life or Against the Loveless World AND love poetic, lyrical, and winding prose. Best enjoyed when you can be fully carried away by Betty and her family. Highly recommend reading for 6 hours straight and not even looking at your phone or caring about the outside world.
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Racism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual assault, Rape, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Drug use, and Abortion
There is the use of one racial slur that I felt did not need to be included. It was alluded to in previous chapters and was a little jarring/out of place in its use towards the last third of the book as it did nothing to move the story/plot line. There were other slurs used but were part of Betty's coming of age and fighting against racism/believing in herself through discussions with her dad. Would be interested in others' opinions on this!roksana's review against another edition
- 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: Death of parent, Rape, Death, Racism, Incest, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Self harm, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
Minor: Bullying, Religious bigotry, Blood, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Drug use
etherisapoet'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: Toxic relationship, Racism, Xenophobia, Rape, Sexism, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Colonisation, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, Violence, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Bullying, Cursing, Child death, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Child abuse, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Incest, Animal death, Hate crime, and Grief
anxiousbookclub's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Abortion, Grief, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Cursing, Misogyny, Rape, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Gun violence and Vomit
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
kolorful_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
gabtiffin'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: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racism, and Racial slurs
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
elhay03's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Addiction, and Vomit