Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Stealing by Margaret Verble

28 reviews

lizzyjacka's review

emotional

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Sexual assault

Minor: Physical abuse and Murder

sarahweyand's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? No

3.5

The synopsis describes this as a "gut-punch" of a novel and I think that's better wording than whatever I was going to come up with. I do think the blurb was slightly misleading; this book focused a lot more on Kit's pre-boarding school days than I had anticipated, which was a little disappointing to me. Now, I don't know that I really want to spend more time reading about Kit's school experiences, since those were the most nauseating chapters, but I do think those sections could have been better developed.

I really enjoyed the writing style and perspective that Verble chose. Reading (or listening, in my case) to this story in the first-person perspective of a young kid provides special insight into how Kit sees the world, what she doesn't understand, and how hard it can be to communicate how you feel as a child.

While the ending and convergence of timelines felt a little rushed and I fear this book won't stand out among others that I read this year, I do think this was an interesting title worth taking a look at, if you feel you can stomach the content.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Racism and Murder

mike_the_goblin's review

challenging dark emotional 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? No

5.0

Read the book. It's hard. It is no where near a light read, but it is powerful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Racism and Sexism

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.5

 Stealing was a fantastic, well-told story and I loved the spunky protagonist Kit. Her mother has died and she’s living with her grief stricken father out in the country, spending a lot of her time alone gardening, fishing in the bayou or reading. When a glamorous single woman moves into the area she and Kit strike up a firm friendship. Until a judgemental busybody interferes, tragedy ensues and Kit ends up being sent to a religious boarding school. Kit is part Cherokee and the reasons for her being sent there as opposed to being able to live with family members and her experiences while there are probably exactly what you are imagining. But what stops this book being totally depressing and overwhelming is Kit’s personality. She’s sharp, smart, increasingly wise to the ways of sneaky two-faced adults, and while terrible things happen to her - and they are sensitively not graphically depicted - she is no mere victim. Rather she is a survivor, strong and determined, instrumental in engineering what looks to be a successful escape and hopefully a takedown of abusive church and school leavers. I also loved the portrayal of the environment, Kit’s supportive family, her involved if imperfect father, and the relationship between her and Bella. While Kit is an unreliable narrator in some ways I can certainly understand why she didn’t reveal certain things. Partly she was a child who did not fully understand the world; partly she was a child who already understood the world all to well and knew she couldn’t trust systems to do right by her and her family because they were Cherokee. A compelling story on the harrowing impact of racism and abuse under the guise of religion on one young Indigenous girl.
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault

wiscojulius's review

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

1kelsey_jw's review

emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Written like a journal into the past from the view point of nine year old Kit, a young Cherokee girl living her life in the 1950s in Louisiana. What I enjoyed about this story was the historical significance in the haunting retelling of what it was like for a young indigenous girl in the 1950s who was taken from her home due to traumatic events and what it was like to be shipped to a Christian boarding school. I greatly appreciated the gentleness and sensitivity the author took in the moments at the boarding school. 

However, the format for this book was not for me. Following the narrative of a nine year old did feel like following incomplete sentences and thoughts, which at one point the narrator does admit to. As a uncorrected copy, this may change, but the ending did feel a little abrupt. I’m torn as a mood reader in giving it 3.5 or 3.75 stars. #netgalley #stealing 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault

readingtomydogs's review against another edition

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I really loved the perspective, told by a 9 year old girl. It was so insightful and raw, your heart just broke for Kit. But I loved her grit and resolve, passed down by her grandmother, mother, and aunts and uncles.  It showed the horrors of residential schools for Native children and how religion can be a tool for evil. I liked that the ending was open-ended. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Rape, Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Racism, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Alcoholism, Grief, Animal death, and Colonisation

annabulkowski's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Homophobia, Medical content, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Sexual harassment, and Terminal illness