Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

134 reviews

amysalwaysreading's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

Darling Girls begins with the discovery of a body buried beneath their childhood foster home brings three foster sisters back to the place they swore they'd never return. What unfolds will keep you guessing until the very last page.

I am a huge Sally Hepworth fan and couldn't wait to read her latest book. It's fantastic. While more character-driven than the previous novels I've read of her catalog, this was a very propulsive store that kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't flip the pages fast enough to unravel the twisty story of Darling Girls. This story is dark (please check content warnings!) but had some hilarious bits thrown in as well. The sisterhood bond displayed was also great. This would be a great book to toss in your beach bag, take on an upcoming, or sink into by the pool.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review..

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Cursing, Death of parent, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Gaslighting, Confinement, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Self harm

foster care, adoption

tasha_r's review

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Child death

sare1125's review

emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Child death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Confinement, and Cursing

Moderate: Abandonment, Rape, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Vomit

jennhesler's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Child death, Sexual harassment, Addiction, and Violence

kiwichill's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Character flaws caused by a chaotic upbringing in the foster care system.   The scenarios in this book may seem to be far-fetched but unfortunately they are not.  The whole system needs an overhaul because there are far too many kids with psychological damage from the foster care system 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Death, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Pregnancy, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Death of parent, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Cursing, Alcohol, and Body shaming

meghan_w's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Wow. This one was a hard read. I typically DNF books with references to child abuse or death, but I felt connected to this one in a different way. Hepworth does a very good job approaching the topic delicately and also straightforward without graphic detail which I really appreciated. I wasn’t totally sure how I felt after finishing. The book was addicting, well written, satisfying plot, but saying I enjoyed a book with these themes is hard for me. What got me in the end was actually the acknowledgments after the book finishes. Hepworth talks about her research speaking to foster children, parents, etc. She speaks of the importance of remembering that for all the evil in the world, there is also good. She speaks to the importance of chosen family, which I speak about often as well. It’s because of this, that I am choosing to rate this 5 stars even with the darker themes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Rape, Sexual assault, Addiction, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Drug use, Torture, and Child death

ashgross01's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Very dark. Not the best pick for me with young children- especially the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Domestic abuse

therealcarla's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Drug use, and Child death

smallsreadsbooks's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

3.0

What the fuck

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Child death

Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault

cyndi1966's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse

Minor: Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Panic attacks/disorders