Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

36 reviews

nataliecoyne's review

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emotional 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? It's complicated

3.25

I honestly feel a little bad about only giving this 3.25 stars, because the final few chapters were very interesting
(with everything about how multiple characters were helping runaway slaves).
Unfortunately, though, I found most of this book to be boring. I did push myself through it quite fast, but it was largely so that I could move on to something else. Admittedly, though, I've never actually read The Scarlet Letter so maybe, if I had, this would've been more interesting to me and I could've picked up on some "easter eggs" of sorts that I didn't know were meant to be easter eggs/references until much later in the book when they're directly addressed (for example, the visit to the graveyard). I probably even missed more because there were probably ones that weren't directly addressed.

Probably reading the original source material should be prioritized when picking up a retelling, but I recently enjoyed a different retelling (James) without ever having read the original source material (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) so I thought I'd be fine. Plus, from how I read the book description, this wasn't fully a retelling, but more of a behind-the-scenes of the inspiration of the book type thing.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling. Essentially I just don't think this book was for me. I wouldn't necessarily dissuade others from reading it, though, especially if you've read and enjoyed The Scarlet Letter.

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cdnpittsburgher's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I liked the narrator in the audio version of this book. When narrating as Isobel, she was incredible and truly embodied the character. 

I disliked the men in Isobel's tale as much as I detested the men in the OG Scarlet Letter that was required reading in Gr 11 American Lit. Selfish humans disguised as upstanding citizens certainly is a relatable experience, and women pay the price. 

There was a lot of information about "The Salem Deception" that killed 19 people.  As well, the rudiments of the North American Atlantic slave trade is presented and an introduction to the the Underground Railroad.


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moonlit_coastal_garden's review

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adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was good! It definitely gives witchy vibes and it was nice to wander New England with the main characters. While it’s not fully historically accurate by any means (and isn’t supposed to be), it does give a nice historical “what if” romantasy feel. 

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prairieraven's review

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dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
  • 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


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beebowbabe's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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aliteraryescape's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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brichambo's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0


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lisettemarie's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.0


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thalia16's review

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dark emotional 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

5.0


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cyndi1966's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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? Yes

4.0


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