Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Stealing by Margaret Verble

6 reviews

sjanke2's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Racism, Classism, Genocide, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Addiction, and Alcoholism

gwenswoons's review

challenging dark informative sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts

katrinky's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense

3.5

the most telling thing about this book for me was the acknowledgements section,where verble said she wrote this book in 2006-2007 but held onto it for years because non-native readers and editors didn't know what Indian residential schools were and couldn't fathom the depth of their depravity; that what happened to kit at one was too much of a break from verble's otherwise crystal clear, realistic writing style. so the publication of this book was really only made possible by the horror of discovery by white folks in the last 5-10 years that she had not actually been exaggerating in the slightest.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Racism, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Sexual assault, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Gun violence, and Grief

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

srivalli's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

 3 Stars 

One Liner: The topic deserves more

1950s, Arkansas

Kit Crockett lived with her father after her mother’s death. Her lonely days change for the better when she meets Bella, her new neighbor. However, a gruesome incident rips Kit from her Cherokee family. She is sent to Ashley Lordard, a religious school where Natives are ‘civilized’. 

Kit narrates her story by writing it down to remember the things she has forgotten. She is determined to get out of the school to escape the ill-treatment and abuse. Can Kit survive this fight for her identity and freedom? 

The story comes in Kit’s first-person POV. 

Don’t read the Goodreads blurb, as it summarizes the entire book. 

What I Like: 

The book presented the hardships faced by Native Indians and the constant interference of religious people intent on converting them.  It also dealt with how different tribes of Native Indians had their own opinions and prejudices of other tribes.  

The scenes with Kit and Bella were rather sweet. Kit’s a smart kid and capable too. Her interactions with other characters presented a lot of information through insights that helped me visualize them easily. 

The scenes at the Reverend’s house were some of the best in the book. We don’t need much to see the intent and the lengths to which people go to make things happen the way they want. And, of course, the power imbalance in society causing irreparable damage to countless innocent kids.  

The limited scenes set in Ashley Lordard boarding school gave a glimpse of what little kids faced in the name of being ‘straightened out’. Despite the school housing white and native kids, the discrimination in treatment couldn’t have been more evident. 

What Could Have Been Better for Me: 

The book is described as “…an ambitious, eye-opening reckoning of history and small-town prejudices…”. While it does deal with the topic of religious schools ‘civilizing’ Indian kids, the book was predominantly Kit’s story. This means that the focus was on Kit rather than the said theme. 

Since the story was written by a young girl, it goes in loops and circles. I could handle it in the first half, but it got way too loopy in the second half. This seemed more like an attempt to sustain the suspense of the ‘incident’ instead of focusing on what Kit goes through at school. 

Kit would blank out at the most convenient places for the story to progress. While there are no rules for kids to react to traumatic situations, it got tiring when this happened whenever the plot needed it. My issue is that this wasn’t really necessary. Native kids got separated from their parents for the smallest of reasons (based on the articles I’ve read on this topic), so the core point shouldn’t be why Kit was taken away but what happened after she was. 

The book has two graphic scenes of sexual assault. These come out of nowhere as the writing, until then, mentions abuse but doesn't go into detail. I was better prepared for the second scene (which was more graphic), thanks to my reading buddy, Rosh, who mentioned it in advance. Unfortunately, the scenes don’t add to the story (and contradict Kit’s habit of blanking out when things get tough). 

The ending was open-ended and left to the reader’s interpretation. That meant many questions were unanswered. I wanted a hopeful ending, so I decided everything was eventually sorted out (somehow) for Kit. 

To summarize, Stealing deals with crucial topics of religious conversions, control and abuse of natives, and the horrors of boarding schools for natives. However, it could have been a lot more impactful and poignant. 

I’m a monitory here, so read other reviews before deciding. I really wanted to love the book and tend to be liberal with my ratings for topics close to my heart, but with this book, I couldn’t help but feel dissatisfied with the treatment on many levels.  

Thank you, NetGalley and Mariner Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

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The book talks of ‘service’, ‘help’, etc., and how much of this is used as a tool for conversion. Interestingly, I came across this write-up when reading the book that discusses the concept of service from two perspectives (dharmic and commercial). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death of parent

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