Reviews tagging 'Violence'

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

19 reviews

lcl_reads's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.0

Typically, I enjoy Jodi Picoult, but this one just didn't work for me. She attempts to show there are two sides to every story, but for me, reproductive justice is just not a two sides issue. It is an issue of recognizing the humanity, value, and worthiness of those who bear children and their right to control their bodies and is rooted in historical ways groups have exerted bodily control over others. I recognize this is my reader bias and cognitively I appreciate that this is part of Picoult's writing style and that this book isn't for me.

I found the backwards timeline confusing for character development and made the plot boring and anticlimactic. I kept mixing up character details because of the way the information is doled out. Additionally, I did not find the end of the book very climatic or interesting because so much information is given upfront.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Blood, Violence, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Medical content, Abortion, and Mass/school shootings

mkromas's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Pregnancy, and Abortion

christiekaty's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Rape, Abortion, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Violence

The pace and timeline sequence of this book was too much for me mixed in with the heavy emotional content. Very powerful book with important subject matter.

chireadsandchill's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Child death, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Cancer, and Death

Minor: Infidelity, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Incest

kzwally's review

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Abortion, Violence, Murder, and Mass/school shootings

avaa_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

the ending saved my review by .5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Gun violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Violence, Mass/school shootings, and Medical content

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Chronic illness and Death of parent

kjkbooks's review

dark emotional informative reflective sad 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

4.5

Thoughts:
This book is on what cannot be argued isn't an extremely controversial topic, now so even more than when it was wrote, but manages to give both sides of the debate in rationalised explanations as well as the emotive words and attacks used by those arging. 
Going back in time was a new experience for me and made it feel a little weird knowing someone was going to die when reading about them waking up. But then again isn't that kind of the point, no one knows what events have led up to someone ending up in a center like that but judgements are often made nonetheless. 
<Spoiler>I personally think it was also poignant that many in the center at the time were not there for an abortion but for the other services the centre provide as it can be easy to forget those kinds of centers also support other reproductive health issues such as gyno exams and birth control. </Spoiler>

Favourite Quote:
"We are all drowning slowly in the tide of our opinions, oblivious that we are taking on water every time we open our mouths."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Rape, and Abortion

erebus53's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Want to clear up a divisive issue? Throw all the parties into the crucible of a hostage situation, and let them simmer.  (Chapter 5, time - 45:16)

This book is a dramatization of a concept. I have seldom heard an audiobook that has a self-descriptive soundbite as part of the narrative, but this one hits the nail on the head. This deeply informative book, seeks to present the idea of abortion in the USA - pros and cons, warts and all.
It does this by telling the story of a clinic where a gunman turns up. Through the course of the story we find ourselves in an intricate web of backstories, origin stories, and personal experiences of all the people who are in the center at the time, and a few others who are not.

The author clearly wants us to invest in the characters. She illustrates real things that happens to real people and has spent time investigating the science, the feelings, and the Faith of those people who are deeply invested in the topic. She expresses the frustration and sadness of anti-abortionist, and the frustration and sadness of the abortion providers, as well as lawyers, cops, a kid who was stuck bouncing through foster homes, and the women affected by closure of and aggression against women's health centres. Not everyone in this story is visiting the centre for a pregnancy termination.

I didn't expect this story to be so entertaining. I must admit to being a little concerned as to the tack it was going to take because it delivered many sides of the issues with respect and clarity, and I was just waiting for the shoe to drop and for the author to fall heavily on one side. I think she did eventually land lightly but firmly on the pro-choice side.

I did get a little tangled in trying to understand what was happening at times, before I got used to the spiderweb structure of the story, frequently backtracking into prior events and historical anecdotes to fill in blanks from perspectives of all the different characters. It was an interesting way to tell the story and I can't believe that I still managed to get lulled into a few misconceptions that were revealed at the the end. The twists were a good payoff for me, though would possibly be a bit predictable for other readers.

There is an expansive author's note, in the author's voice on the end of the production, where she mentions her research and sources and provides a little more context. It's not for the faint of heart, but is pretty thorough and would be a good club book, class topic for high school seniors, or conversation starter for families. I have had some good discussions with my pre-teen son about it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Terminal illness, Sexism, Racial slurs, Rape, Racism, Murder, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Confinement, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Sexual content, Misogyny, Infertility, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Gore, Death, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Incest, and Gun violence

Moderate: Addiction, Vomit, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, Classism, Bullying, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Grief, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

brynhayes's review

challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Violence, Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Cancer, Infidelity, Blood, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Rape, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Confinement, Death, and Gore

bookswithgeorgia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Hate crime, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Death, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail