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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
amykuc'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Racism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcoholism
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
jeannelovesbooks's review against another edition
- 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
my_plant_library'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Incest, Racism, and Rape
Moderate: Suicide and Addiction
Minor: Abortion
marie'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion and Addiction
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
celinechdh's review against another edition
reading this book broke me: it was so harsh and beautiful and sad and depicted the horrible truth, without covering any of it. the diff between the magical world of betty’s father, his connexion to nature, to realness and beauty, and the horror of real life was so wonderful
tw: everything
Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Xenophobia
tarotcarrot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Rape, Incest, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Addiction
kingaisnotcool'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? No
5.0
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction
phee'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? Yes
4.25
I really enjoyed this, though it did take me a while to truly get into it. It was full of heart and hope, but sad and traumatic at times too. Not for the faint of heart. A lot of content warnings for this book.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, and Self harm