Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Blackouts by Justin Torres

3 reviews

waytoomanybooks's review

challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

This is a beautifully written and sensitively told story about grief, loss, and love in the respective queer communities of the two main characters (approximately from the 1930s to the 1990s). The novel is an interesting blend of fact and fiction, and is told through blackout/erasure poetry, as well as narratives from the two leads. I found the erasure poetry and the inserted images to add positively to my reading experience.

The main characters also experience literal memory blackouts that influence the narrative, which makes it a bit tricky to follow at some points, but if you take the time to math it out, you can make a decent timeline of important dates and the characters’ ages. Sometimes it is tricky to tell what is a memory and what is a dream/hope/wish/fear/desire, which is an intentional stylistic choice, but one that I don’t personally like.

One aspect I don’t like about any book—not just this one—is when a book just ends without closure or a hint at closure. I can’t stand it when the narrative does a hard cut into acknowledgments.

Though just because this book isn’t stylistically my jam, I would still recommend reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, Child abuse, Outing, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Transphobia, Ableism, Chronic illness, Dementia, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Confinement, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Self harm, and Homophobia

mirandyli's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

A beautifully written, heart wrenching story about intergenerational queer friendship. Will make you want to hug and kiss the queer elders in your life. This book won a bunch of awards and deserved all of them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Dementia, Drug use, Infidelity, Biphobia, Child abuse, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Racism, Addiction, Homophobia, Medical content, Death of parent, Grief, and Adult/minor relationship

jessthanthree's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Death

Moderate: Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Terminal illness, Dementia, Homophobia, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Medical trauma, Racism, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Violence, Abandonment, Transphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, War, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis