Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Bad Fruit by Ella King

21 reviews

hanhodge's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring 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: Mental illness, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Rape, Physical abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Murder

mtro's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Self harm

mmefish's review against another edition

dark tense 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

3.5

Could be a solid 4/5 but the ending is a let down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Alcoholism

Minor: Rape, Incest, and Suicide

clarxvizconde13's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Murder

I think the book has depth - after reading it, the title "Bad Fruit" has so many meanings.

scifi_rat's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Plot: 4.25★
Prose: 4.75★
Pace: 4.5★
Concept/Execution: 4.5★/5★
Characters: 4.5★
Worldbuilding: 3.75★
Ending: 4.25★

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Self harm, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Murder, Violence, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Stalking, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Alcohol, Death of parent, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcoholism

mamabrauner's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Body shaming

desertwomanphx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

How can I start…wow. This book was one that I had to close, take a breather, than dive back in. Lily is a smart young woman who is held down by her narcissistic mother and emotionally absent father. She struggles with memories that her mind has kept her from, as protection. But they become stronger and stronger making her get to the bottom of what she is remembering. I loved this book, it is heartbreakingly beautiful. I’m glad it ended the way it did. Gives me encouragement for my own situation. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Rape

chaoticallyqueercoded's review against another edition

dark emotional sad

3.75

Dark, almost felt like a car crash, gruesome but you could not look away. Well written. Audiobook did not include any content warnings, btw.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Abandonment, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Self harm

counterfetti's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

5.0

Impression
Hollows you out from the inside. An overwhelming bitterness in your mouth, twisted satisfaction, and an omniscient suffocation. The space between the reader and the protagonist is drawn closer and closer until you're trapped in her head. The prose has its own gravity. Incredibly layered characters, the most human I've ever seen, all with their own cruelties- the misunderstandings, deliberate or accidental, feel sharp and unforgivable. This is a story about love and people who don't know how to love without hurting people. It's about intergenerational trauma, cyclical and devastating. It's a story about hope despite it all. One of the most beautiful books I've ever read, the ending made me sob. I would highly recommend.

Spoiler Review
 

The push and pull of the central relationship between Lily and May is ultimately the most compelling aspect of the story. May is a character who could've easily been a caricature of herself, and sometimes she is, sometimes Lily views her as almost inhuman. But that is never actually the case. She's explosive, violent and accustatory- but she's also sensitive and deeply insecure. It's easy to see the child in her. Her perspective is warped but blindingly real, you know why she is what she is and the trouble is not letting that change the very real evil of her current day abuse. Empathy for her situation should not equate to a greater drive to fix her, because that was never the job of her children. The exploration of how the victim of an abusive relationship finds exhilaration- security, in winning little bits of affection, in becoming hopeful only to have that measly status quo torn down again is beautiful and dizzying. The highs and lows are easy to predict, but it never makes it any less impactful, instead building an atmosphere of dread as you await her next inevitible blow up.

The ways May's abuse seeps into the lives of Lily's older siblings is just as heartbreaking. Jacob's (the older brother) fear about fatherhood is an extension of the lack of healthy parenting that was modeled to him in childhood. He is sensitive and conflict averse when his rowdy kids demand him to be authoritative, at least to an extent. That clash, alongside his lack of confidence in his work life and general depressive tendencies can be realistically traced back. Julia is combative, with a strength Jacob lacks. However, in some ways she feeds into May's cycle, adding to the pile of paranoia and insecurity she has in order to find a sense of satisfication from revenge. While she is an activist for Lily's indepedence, she also fails to see how she continues to orbit May even though she thinks of it as resistence. That cruel streak is reminiscent of the sharp verbal abuse May throws at her (and the abuse May herself suffered). The range of possibilities of how victims of abuse may carry those scars is explored without demonization. It's a fascinating and detailed portrait, and each relationship between the siblings, within the family, and outside of the family all have the same complexity.

Every character is more multi-faceted than you expect. Nothing is ever surprising in a frustrating way- maybe in a painful way, but you can always understand the rationale. Lewis is another character who could have been problematic if not written carefully. His air of loneliness, his own experience dysfunctional families, and his slight awkwardness all helped flesh him out beyond the cliche of the mentor savior. I also enjoyed how his relationship with Lily wasn't just positive. She pinned romantic hopes on him he could never fulfill and promptly punished him when it didn't pan out. The suspicion of men May instilled in her collide with her desire for intimacy, leading to unhealthy behaviors like stalking and twisted expectation. Her scenes with Lewis offer a break from her family and reveal more of who Lily is, both her nurturing side and her intelligence as well as her flawed perspective.

Other things I'd like to point out without anything to add include: the use of memory and how the distortion of events contributes to a misleading impression of a person, the changing context of repeated symbolism (fruit juice) or phrases (Mama's girl, Mama's doll), and the unique brand of violence each member of the famiy wield.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault

Story revolves around abuse, which ranges from verbal (slutshaming, racism) to physical (slapping, hitting, smashing glass/ceramics) to sexual (stripping nude, child rape) so please proceed with caution. I will say the child rape is not heavily described as it doesn't happen to the protagonist but it is an important plot element

loafwithsoph's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse