Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe

37 reviews

cdkm9's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

A moving story, but some aspects of the writing style detracted from the book. One problem was that it wasn’t always clear when you were jumping forwards or backward in time. Another thing that bothered me is that the characters did not always have a consistent voice/tone— for example, a character could have a generally childish/nieve perspective but then out of nowhere there would be a sentence of their thoughts that was completely inconsistent with their usual tone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Drug abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Addiction, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Murder, Police brutality, and Rape

Minor: Confinement and Pregnancy

stellahadz's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

All I have to say is WOW. This is such a powerful, heart-wrenching story. While I can't relate to the specific situation of the characters, the book perfectly captures the feeling of growing out of childhood and retaining love for friends whose lives you no longer fit into. The demolition of the housing project echoes the loss of the characters' innocence and girlhood, which is just brilliant storytelling. Everything about this book feels nostalgic and melancholic. It's a beautiful and heartbreaking story of the grief, and ultimately the forgiveness, that comes with growing up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Gun violence, and Child death

Moderate: Pregnancy, Abandonment, Addiction, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality

fjswabey19's review against another edition

challenging inspiring reflective fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Child abuse, and Sexual assault

phillygirl2013's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

I liked this book a lot but it was a challenging read. The mood spoiler is that the ending

is nice and ends in a good note

. I liked all the characters a lot

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality

Moderate: Child abuse

danieleg's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

Really great book that was also a difficult read; heartbreaking portrait that resonated while also taking a lot out of me. Tw: child abuse/sexual assault for sure, and I do wish there was a little less god stuff but I understand how it can be a great place to turn to for community and hope.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault

distractible's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Pregnancy

hannahcomer4d's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Drug abuse, Trafficking, Police brutality, Child death, Death, Blood, Child abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

mamaofperfectpayton's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Child death, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Death, and Violence

natalieba's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective 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

3.5

I loved this story, it’s a tough one but it’s emotional (in a good way - not manipulative) and eye-opening. What brought this down for me was the unnecessary, almost awkward foreshadowing and explaining the author did. I think she could have given her readers more credit. I do want to read more about the Robert Taylor Homes after reading this book, though, and will be looking for a non-fiction book on the topic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual violence, and Child abuse

Moderate: Murder, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, and Bullying

znvisser's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Fiction that reads like a memoir. Coming of age story with children in heartbreaking circumstances and adults that influence their environments by the choices they had to make for themselves. Interesting characters and beautiful writing. Main character was a bit eager to save everyone and heavy on religion to me personally but I can appreciate how it tied into the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Child abuse, and Murder

Minor: Pregnancy