You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
a_dot_phil's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
apotofhoney'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, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
sab3467's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
I have a hard time with reviewing this book, as I thought it was so beautifully written and couldn't really put it down. I was captivated by the environment, the family bond between Betty and her father and between most of the siblings. Some themes were interesting to mix in this story, but some seemed a bit far fetched... and way too violent and graphic. Unfortunately, there is no trigger warning and after a while, I almost felt sick reading it. I felt the repercussion of this book for days after, feeling like I had been through these traumatic experiences myself, which I could've lived without.
Also, to me it felt like the characters were missing some ambiguity. The "bad" ones were demonized, while Betty felt always morally correct, perfectly stable and reacted to everything around her with grace, poise and innocence. It felt a bit too black and white, which took me out of the story.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Incest, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Abortion, and Pregnancy
lizziaha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Gun violence, and Pregnancy
kaidenxo'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
4.5
Graphic: Incest, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use
jazminrice's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
floppyleaves's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, and Alcohol
badwolfreads's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
Tiffany McDaniels
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
You know those really terrible 20-car pileups? That's what this book reminded me of. And not in a bad way (although there really isn't anything good about a car accident). It was like watching cars slowly crash into each other. It's terrible, but you don't want to stop looking. Traumatic event after traumatic event crashing into each other.
This book is about the Carpenter family, mostly about Betty. Alka & Landon, the parents, didn't meet in a particularly special way, but what was special was that Landon beat the shit out of Alka's dad after he found out he beat her. They ran off and had 8 kids, 2 of whom didn't last long. Landon is Native American with dark-skin, and so is Betty. This being in the time they were in and in Ohio, racial discrimination was pretty brutal, even among themselves. Alka, who was white, would tell Betty terrible things about how she looked. And so did her sister, Flossie. Then there was rape - 2 of the female characters were r*ped and Betty herself was almost raped, and these incidents weren't by strangers. Alka Carpenter isn't the greatest mom, but when you consider what happened to her, it makes more sense. There just so much that happens. The book takes place over the span of many years, which makes it seem really slow. There isn't a lot of happiness that comes through in this book, at least not for me. But it kept me reading and wanting to know what happens to certain characters. I would recommend with caution...this one is kind of heavy.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
marigolds_and_lavander'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: Child abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
em_h_ma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting