Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill

6 reviews

emmyisaturtle's review

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.25

Very very emotional but beautiful read 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Violence, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Rape, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Addiction, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail

Take the trigger warnings very seriously — very very heavy book

benjiisabookworm's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

4.75

I loved this book! It’s on my ‘weird girlhood’ list! It’s hard to read and dark but weirdly hopeful and makes me feel seen even though I’ve never experienced the things that Baby did. Amazing and complicated characters. AMAZING writing :))) 
<3333

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Drug abuse

PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION AND READ TRIGGER WARNINGS!!!

peachyhooligan's review

emotional funny reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Addiction, Cursing, Ableism, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Rape, and Domestic abuse

savvylit's review

dark emotional 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

Lullabies for Little Criminals is incredibly bleak. Yet I couldn't stop reading. O'Neill has a gorgeous way of writing about brutal events that kept me craving more and more of Baby's story. Baby is an incredibly real-seeming narrator and character. O'Neill perfectly captured the thought patterns of a child and the ultimate effect is devastating. No matter what terrible things befall Baby, she only wants to be loved. That need for love gets her into even more awful situations that genuinely broke my heart to read about. As I read, I came to realize that O'Neill displays a clarity when writing about life on the streets as a child in Montreal that could only stem from familiarity. As it turns out, she was also a poor child in Montreal in the same time period as Baby. One can only presume that much of this book is drawn from what she did and/or saw in her own youth.

I'm very much looking forward to reading more of O'Neill's work after this. There's almost a melodic quality to her prose that I am eager to experience again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Rape, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Alcohol

deandra_lalonde's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Trafficking, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual violence

valeriyansteel's review

dark emotional sad slow-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Self harm, and Physical abuse

Minor: Trafficking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal cruelty, and Animal death