Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

8 reviews

aahalo's review

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.25

This was the first set of short stories. I have read in a while, and the first that I had culturally identified with in a long time. These are the stories of our mothers and grandmothers and aunts. There is a sense of familiarity and a sense of sadness that comes with a familiarity. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Death of parent, Abortion, and Bullying

clarabooksit's review against another edition

emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Pedophilia, Abandonment, Sexual content, Grief, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Racism

Minor: Abortion, Violence, Death of parent, Death, Bullying, and Murder

alexisgarcia's review

emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

i didn’t think i could ever give a story collection 5 stars. this collection had absolutely no misses, a few were better than others, but none were even close to bad. i loved loved this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Cursing, Dementia, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Bullying, Classism, Domestic abuse, Infertility, and Sexual assault

clairew97's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Child death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship

kimveach's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book is about sexual relationships, not just the kind most Christian churches would like you to have. The writing was excellent, and you got to know these characters despite the short stories.

The narration was good, but it could have benefitted from having more than one narrator. While I enjoyed listening to her, it felt like it was just one character telling all the stories, which is not the case.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny

shieldbearer's review

emotional reflective 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

5.0

Every story was so well crafted with nuanced characters.  Highly recommended. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Child abuse, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Infidelity, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Grief, Racism, Physical abuse, Lesbophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Dementia, and Racial slurs

Minor: Car accident, Child death, and Cancer

kayschwe's review

emotional medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Grief, Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Racism, and Death of parent

Minor: Abortion

meggiekate03's review

emotional funny inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Dementia, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Lesbophobia, and Racism