Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

21 reviews

kiah04's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

Amazing book! The plot was well thought out and it gave a very sympathetic approach towards refugees and imigration which we don’t often see in the media. All The characters were loveable and the time jumps were done well.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Child abuse, and Grief

Minor: Rape

kalyaniwarrier's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

A fictionalised story, told in a narrative that sounds so close to reality, mentions of grave events in real life that makes one realise the horrors taking place around the world.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a brilliant piece of work that is heavily regarded in temporal distortion as the timelines shift after every chapter. But unlike other works where such skipping of timelines makes the plot difficult to visualise and piece together, Christy Lefteri has done an incredible job in the pacing and sequencing the plot, readers can be gratified by following the plot without having to give thought to the timelines despite the lack of linearity. 

Apart from the various sensitive topics discussed, what one could find most appealing about the novel is the characterisation of Nuri, the protagonist and narrator and his mental health struggles. After losing his son to war, Nuri suffers with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) as he tries to distance himself from the trauma he has suffered by making illusions of various sorts to cope with the distress. 

I could not point out flaws as the plot and characterisation of the novel does a wonderful job at portraying the tragedies of violence in an apolitical manner. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, Child death, Torture, Confinement, and War

Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Rape, and Police brutality

Minor: Xenophobia and Child abuse

your_true_shelf's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-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? No

4.25

Don't read this book unless you're feeling strong enough. It is incredibly traumatic, with a lot of death, violence, children being abducted and killed. I feel that I learnt a lot from the story within and I believe that if everyone read this, those seeking asylum would be treated very differently. The story was beautifully written, but is a very hard read emotionally (& that's just reading it, never mind living it...)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Murder, Child death, and War

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual violence

charnyreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Murder, Rape, War, Violence, Blood, and Classism

jennifershepherd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Death, Deportation, Sexual assault, Child death, Child abuse, Mental illness, and Grief

poppyhotchkiss's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

leoniefnk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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? No

4.0

The last quarter of the book saves the slow/confusing beginning.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Self harm, War, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Confinement, Death, Rape, Pedophilia, and Child abuse

helliepad's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, War, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexism

fsb95's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

A gripping insight into the reality of refugees, with complex characters to fall in love with. The author brings the varied settings to life, perfectly balancing scene-setting and plot progression with the intriguing though often troubled thoughts of the unreliable narrator.

The only thing I didn’t enjoy so much was that the author opted for the flashback, flashforward style of narration, where chapters alternate between the past and the present. I’m not in love with that narrative style at the best of times; but with this book in particular I felt it got in the way of things.

The fictitious nature of Mohammed in particular would have worked much better had the story been fully chronological, because the surreal nature of Nuri’s interactions with an imaginary Mohammed in the “present” made me suspect practically from the get-go that he was never real to begin with.

Overall, though, this book is a page-turner and a must-read for anyone who loves lifelike stories about lives so radically different from our “ordinary”, fortunate lives.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Rape, War, and Trafficking

Minor: Child abuse

lmaccabee's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and War

Minor: Trafficking and Child abuse