You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
butlerebecca's review against another edition
- 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
This is exactly how you write stories of trauma - with reflection and compassion, and balanced with a gorgeous prose defined by its fine-tuned attention to detail
Check the trigger warnings because there’s some graphic stuff in this book but if you can stomach it it’s absolutely worth the read
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Pregnancy
amreynrt's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
The set up is great, and the author mentions she tried to do justice to Ohio. You can feel the nature and the Lanes (not streets) of Breathed. You can feel the river and the winter and the hills. Tiffany McDaniel did an incredible job of writing a book from a child's perspective. In this book, everything feels terribly real.
Never have I ever loved reading such a tough story. Many have said it this way, and I wholeheartedly agree - it is a book I would love to reread, but I'm not sure I'd ever want to put myself through this again. A heartbreaking story put together through incredible writing. I had never felt so uncomfortable reading a book I would give 5 stars to.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Minor: Vomit
abbylawr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
mbrunner's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Incest, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Abortion, and Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
libbyyjo's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
andrearenee42's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy
strawberry_seagull's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Blood, Grief, Abortion, and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia, Violence, and Pregnancy
angrylittlegartho's review against another edition
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Classism
benchless's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
To be a woman in this novel was to suffer.
"You know what the heaviest thing in the world is, Betty? It's a man on top of you when you don't want him to be."
"By that time, I was at a point in my life where I had a very particular image of God in my head. I imagined God was a woman in a torn satin bed jacket with falling curlers in her messy hair. She sat in a bed of dirty sheets, surrounded by a canopy of sheer curtains spiders clung to. She ate chocolates from a box until her teeth were rotted and the box was empty, ready to be piled with the smashed boxes already on the floor. Blush was streaked across her cheeks like something trying to run away. Lipstick bled outside the lines of her lips as if they were melting. She was a woman used and left by humanity in ways only we know how to consume and leave."
With all this suffering, I was amazed by how much hope remained threaded throughout every chapter. Why? Betty had the most loving, imaginative father you could imagine. He was a Cherokee man married to a white woman in a time when nothing kind came from having brown skin. He struggled and failed to give his children what they needed at times, but he persevered and loved them all, even the bad ones. He filled their minds with the most beautiful stories that tried to make them feel special and worth something in a world that was constantly pushing them down.
"The first woman was given antlers on her head to branch her power out into the world," he said, digging the rake deeper. "Slugs are frightened of that power because they are spineless creatures, and all spineless creatures are frightened of a woman's power."
"He would stretch her hands out to either side of her. 'You're my centimeter, inch, and foot. The distance between your hands is the distance that measures everything between the sun and the moon. Only a woman can measure such things.' 'Why?' Fraya asked to remind herself. 'Because you're powerful.'"
"He kissed my forehead. 'I don't know if I've ever told you that I love you, Little Indian. I don't know if I've ever said those words.' 'You said them every time you told me a story.' I looked into his eyes...'Have I ever told you I loved you?' I asked because I really didn't know. 'Every time you listened to one of my stories.'"
The relationship between Betty and her father is built on these stories, and they get Betty past all the hurdles of "coming of age against the knife" to become a writer herself. I adored him and Betty, and I left this book with great respect for Tiffany McDaniel's family history.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail