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adventureinreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault
alicebme's review against another edition
2.0
The need to belong outweighs the need to survive...or the opposite. I knew he’d attack her again. This book was an accurate swirl of mind fuckery. Exhausting.
brannonkrkhuang's review against another edition
3.0
Really solid opening, but it kinda loses me with the nazi math teacher and then loses me even more with the rich guy and his daughter’s dog. Feels directionless, and like three separate stories that all got forced into happening to one character.
kirbrary's review against another edition
5.0
this was so intense, but i heard it was a mild version of "a little life" by hanya yanagihara...
adrienneturner's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
cozycoe's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sd1313's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 ⭐️
Inizio perfetto, ma solo l’inizio. Non mi è piaciuto il messaggio del libro, non ho apprezzato l’accanimento dell’autrice sulla protagonista.
Inizio perfetto, ma solo l’inizio. Non mi è piaciuto il messaggio del libro, non ho apprezzato l’accanimento dell’autrice sulla protagonista.
ggrillion's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
5.0
When Violet Rue Kerrigan is twelve, she comes downstairs in the middle of the night to hear a confusing conversation between two of her older brothers. It will be a few days before she puts together the pieces of a conversation about fixing a car and hiding a baseball bat with the murder of a black high school student. The Kerrigans are a large Irish family with an unpredictable father, whose moods are carefully monitored by the rest of the family, especially by Violet's mother and sisters. Her brothers are rapidly becoming as domineering and prone to violence, although they still defer to their father. As their family, along with the working class Irish Catholic community as a whole, draw together to protect the boys, Violet is feeling increasingly unsafe around her brothers, a fear she shares with a teacher in a vulnerable moment. That moment will shatter Violet's life.
Joyce Carol Oates writes best when she's describing the experience of being a girl growing up in dysfunctional patriarchal households, of being unsafe and knowing that the very men that you love can easily do you great harm, and often do. With this novel, JCO is writing to her strengths and the result is a powerful and emotionally resonant novel about belonging, identity and resilience. I don't think I've ever read anything that so perfectly explains why an abused child will desperately try to return to the very environment that endangers her. JCO's singular writing style is perfectly suited to the voice of Violet Rue and while this isn't a novel that pulls any punches with what happens to children removed from whatever security they may have known and the battles Violet wages just to survive, she also tempers this all with grace notes and moments where Violet discovers that she's stronger than she thought she was.
This may well be my favorite work by this author.
Joyce Carol Oates writes best when she's describing the experience of being a girl growing up in dysfunctional patriarchal households, of being unsafe and knowing that the very men that you love can easily do you great harm, and often do. With this novel, JCO is writing to her strengths and the result is a powerful and emotionally resonant novel about belonging, identity and resilience. I don't think I've ever read anything that so perfectly explains why an abused child will desperately try to return to the very environment that endangers her. JCO's singular writing style is perfectly suited to the voice of Violet Rue and while this isn't a novel that pulls any punches with what happens to children removed from whatever security they may have known and the battles Violet wages just to survive, she also tempers this all with grace notes and moments where Violet discovers that she's stronger than she thought she was.
This may well be my favorite work by this author.
ashlyntravis's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5