Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

21 reviews

anniefwrites's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad slow-paced

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

I'm not sure if this one was for me. I think I prefer books that are a bit more subtextual rather than quite so direct like this one. While there were significant obstacles in Adunni's life, I felt that the outcomes could veer into the predictable. It was still super interesting to read a story set in a country that I don't normally read about, especially as Adunni was learning the "Nigeria facts" along the way with me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Domestic abuse, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Excrement, Infertility, and Sexism

Minor: Alcohol, Cursing, and Pregnancy

laurataylor's review

emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Slavery, and Trafficking

amberinbookland's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Infertility, Infidelity, Grief, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Sexual content, Child abuse, Death of parent, Blood, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Terminal illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, and Death

bethshuff's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse

Moderate: Death of parent, Slavery, Rape, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Blood, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, and Child abuse

crykea's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

beautifully written! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Classism, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Excrement, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Terminal illness, Vomit, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Torture

Adunni is forced to marry an old man (Morufu) at the age of 14. He regularly rapes her in an attempt to get her pregnant and has done this twice before with two other women. Adunni also undergoes a second near-assault with Big Daddy near the end of the novel.

The eating disorder is not an intentional one but rather the continuous mentioning that Adunni is starved by Big Madam. Big Daddy and Adunni's papa are alcoholics Adunni is bullied verbally, emotionally, and physically by Labake and Big Madam. She is bead reguarly and the beatings are described in detail. Big Madam is beaten physically by her husband regularly. There is classism directed at Adunni and the other workers from the rich women in the social club. They mock her English and accent. Adunni's mother dies of a terminal illness offscreen and grieves her throughout. Tia's mother also has a terminal illness that nearly kills her. Adunni's description of Big Madam could be considered fatphobic. There are mentions of excrement (and vomit) in Iya's home when

Iya shoves Adunni in the room to escape her father

and by the end of the novel when Tia asks if the beatings have stopped. There are mentions of pregnancy throughout the book. Adunni is expected to get pregnant with Morufu's baby. She takes a pill to negate pregnancy. Pregnancy is mentioned amongst her friends when she sees them and with her husband's other wives. Khadija is pregnant in the novel and

ends up dying due to complications with birth

. Tia is constantly teased about not having children

and decides she'd like to have children later in the novel after meeting Adunni

. SHe is tortured by some religious leaders under the guise of having a bath to help along the pregnancy. trafficking/slaver:

Adunni is trafficked by Mr. Kola, Iya's brother, when she is trying to run from Morufu. The majority of the novel takes place in this location she has been trafficked to where she works as a servant or 'chainless slave' as Adunni calls it.

ekmook's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Trafficking, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Sexual violence, and Slavery

davidbythebay's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

That was an incredibly powerful story. I felt that the start was a little slow, that there are several elements which sit and remain unfinished, and that are resolved very quickly at the end. However, I really did enjoy this book in the end. 

Reading (or listening) in a dialect can be a struggle for me. I found listening to this book was best for me. Once I got into the rhythm of it, I found it immersive. Paired with the slow start, which provides a lot of great material to expand the story, I struggled a bit to get into the story. I also struggled because I was trying to figure out what kind of story this was. Part coming of age novel, part mystery, part literary dive into another culture very different from my own. I was best served with just enjoying the ride and not worrying about the genre. It successfully was all of those and more. 

Trigger warnings are a must! Child marriage, child rape, marital rape, physical and emotional abuse, assault and violence. There are a TON of heavy topics handled delicately and beautifully throughout. It was hard to read those scenes, yet it made it all the more real and powerful. 

The ending is open enough to be satisfying yet wanting that taste more. And the final action did feel a little rushed with elements and events you really want to see come to pass not happening. I could easily see this being the start of a duology or series of books following Adunni from her youth throughout her life and experiences. I would like that, but am happy enough with where this book has settled me. 

A wonderful book to bridge February and March, brining together Black and Women into one focus and frame that highlights the intersectional struggles of a young poor girl in Nigeria. A story of heart and fight, one where you feel like you are reading a thriller because it is exciting, this should be a must read for anyone. That is why,despite my few peeves, I'm still giving this a5 star rating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Death, Emotional abuse, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Grief, Abortion, Blood, and Infidelity

Minor: Alcohol, Infertility, Chronic illness, and Confinement

curatoriallyyours's review

challenging hopeful reflective tense 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? No

4.0

I struggled at first with this book - some truly awful things happen to the main character and I had to set it aside until I was feeling mentally stronger. It does get better - even though bad things happen in the second half of the book too, there is a more hopeful feeling once she has allies. There is a plot point in the second half of the book that was annoying to me - her innocence was over-done, in my opinion, when she was trying to work out what happened to Rebecca. Other incidences where she does not understand seem more contextually consistent but I found it hard to believe that she could not put two and two together to work out at least the base level of what had gone on. Even so, the book was compelling and I particularly enjoyed listening to the performance on audiobook, as it really brought life to the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Violence, Trafficking, Sexual content, Sexism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Grief, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Bullying

linesiunderline's review

challenging emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• 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

4.0

Books leave impressions on us in all sorts of ways. In this book, it’s Adunni’s voice that pulled me into the story and it is what will stay with me.

For me, the most impressive achievement of this book is how Adunni feels entirely real. You can’t help but imagine her in the world, and wish good things for her. The rhythm of the language came to life in the audiobook, which was brilliantly narrated.

Some of the secondary characters didn’t feel as well realized as I like, but  with Adunni at the heart of the story, I didn’t really mind.

As much as the novel is full of trauma and suffering, this is also story of resilience and longing and the fight to reach for your future.

I’ll be watching out for what this author creates next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, and Violence

maryjames's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Racism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Sexual content, and Death of parent