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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
evetucker'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: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
just_one_more_paige'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury
bonnie9595'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
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
gabriellejane's review against another edition
- 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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
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!briannad4'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Homophobia, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation
hippiequeen's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
beebeewin'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
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Suicide, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury
phantasyia'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, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, and Sexual harassment