Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan

38 reviews

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This one didn’t quite work for me. The characters felt one-dimensional and like they were written for the white gaze. I appreciated the setting in WWII Malaya though, which we need more books about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Slavery, Blood, Confinement, Gore, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Racism, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, War, and Vomit

jasminegalsreadinglog's review

challenging dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan, a historical fiction, is a story of a family who is affected by the Japanese invasion of Malaya, currently Malaysia. It's a story of survival amid the knowledge that one evil was traded for another.

Set in the period 1930s and 1940s, this novel is Cecily's and her children's story. Alternating between timelines and characters, this book gives us a glimpse of both the British rule and the Japanese rule of Malaya during this period. 

This book is not an easy read by no means. But then, topics of colonialism, marginalization, and colorism are not supposed to be easy. Topics of slave labor camps, racial profiling, and child exploitation are handled this book. My heart literally broke into pieces for Jasmin and Yuki. Without expressing the emotions of these characters, the author has conveyed a lot because the reader is prompted to think.

Thank you, Simon Element, MarySue Rucci Books, for this book.

CW: Infidelity, Spying, SA, graphic description of child abuse, betrayal, starvation, death

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Blood, Sexual violence, Bullying, Violence, War, Kidnapping, Confinement, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Classism, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Animal death, Racism, Hate crime, Rape, Grief, Death, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

beranceknows's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Racial slurs, Violence, Trafficking, Misogyny, Vomit, Torture, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Drug use, Sexism, Pedophilia, Excrement, Pregnancy, Blood, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Classism, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Death, Confinement, Colonisation, and Child death

katrinaslibrary's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Kidnapping, Slavery, Genocide, War, Colonisation, Murder, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Trafficking, and Pedophilia

Minor: Racism

This book is set during the Second Sino-Japanese war where the Japanese Imperial Army committed war crimes, across Asia. Please be mindful that for some readers can be triggered by generational trauma.

heatherd's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.25

I was really impressed with this novel and almost couldn't believe it was a debut. The characters are richly drawn and nuanced, and the focus on four separate characters in the same family, all experiencing the war in different ways, really gives the reader a feel for just how destructive and devastating this part of history was for the people of Malaysia. Trigger warnings are everywhere in this book, there is SO much difficult and depressing content, but it's worth the pain if you can get through it. At its core is a historical story that I haven't seen yet in fiction, with a family that you just want to root for, despite some awful decision making and heart-wrenching outcomes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Sexual violence

kay_bee33's review

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Racism, Violence, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, War, Grief, Child death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death, Colonisation, and Rape

magicshoes's review against another edition

challenging informative sad medium-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? Yes

3.5

I’m glad I read it, but there’s some graphic descriptions of child abuse I wish I’d been warned about. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Child death, Child abuse, War, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

heidirgorecki's review against another edition

dark informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

While the story was interesting and realistic, it was really sad and fairly depressing watching the brutality unfold of both the Japanese in Malaysia and the utter selfishness of Cecily and how destructive her decisions were. It really kind of felt like one bad situation after another, both from her own making and from her family members. I didn’t like any of the characters to be honest. 

The writing also wasn’t my favorite - it was more of a Tell rather than Show - as you watched from the outside. Overall I liked learning about the Malaysian people’s experiences during ww2, but it was a very dark book without any real redemption in the story. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Violence, and Rape