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dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The book was a bit confusing with all of the characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
3.25 I want to love this and maybe after I sit with it more my opinion will change but I felt like there were too many characters and side quests and that the main focus (which I felt like was between Glory and Mary Rose) got lost in the random other chapters and flashbacks. The writing style was beautiful (even though I prefer quotations during talking) and the setting and overall themes were needed and necessary I just think we got lost in too much storytelling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment
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
Oil booms in Texas in the 1970s bring men and money, but they also bring sexual violence against women. The novel opens right after a Chicana girl, Gloria, has been raped and brutally beaten by a white oil rigger. She somehow manages to find a lone house near where she was attacked and survives. However, in the eyes of the racist citizens and the law, there's no reason to tarnish the perpetrator's name.
Told from the perspective of several women and a little girl who are all connected to Gloria's attacker or the woman whose house she goes to for refuge, this novel explores sexism, racism and the treatment of veterans.
Told from the perspective of several women and a little girl who are all connected to Gloria's attacker or the woman whose house she goes to for refuge, this novel explores sexism, racism and the treatment of veterans.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Abandonment
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A gruesome crime that affects the lives of a young teenage girl, a young mom, an older widow, and a young abandoned child all in different ways. I really love stories told from different povs but tied together in small ways that create huge impacts on everyone involved. All the while treating the west Texas oil fields as a character all their own.
This book was haunting and raw. Set in 1970s west Texas, where women meant nothing and the Mexican immigrants meant even less. This book will leave you a little sad, but also hopeful.
This is your war story.
This book was haunting and raw. Set in 1970s west Texas, where women meant nothing and the Mexican immigrants meant even less. This book will leave you a little sad, but also hopeful.
This is your war story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Racial slurs
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*TW: Sexual assault; rape; sexism; racism; misogyny; domestic violence; toxic relationships; grief; abandonment*
Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore was a deep dive into the characters of a small town in Texas. This heartbreaking read centers around the trial of a crime, and shows true to life examples of how people react to news of sexual assault and rape. This book was incredibly moving and depressing with each page turned, and reminded me a lot of a modern day To Kill A Mockingbird. I found the characters compelling, but I wish led we could have taken a deeper dive into some of the characters. Some of the women featured only got one segment, which left me wanting more of their perspectives. This story really focused on the characters, which is why I was a bit disappointed when we didn’t dive deeper into some of the narrating women. They were all interesting in unique ways, and I think that it was extremely powerful to tell this story through only female perspectives. This book read as both the past and future given our current social climate here in the U.S., and because of that I think it is especially important to read, given that we are in an election year once again.
Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore was a deep dive into the characters of a small town in Texas. This heartbreaking read centers around the trial of a crime, and shows true to life examples of how people react to news of sexual assault and rape. This book was incredibly moving and depressing with each page turned, and reminded me a lot of a modern day To Kill A Mockingbird. I found the characters compelling, but I wish led we could have taken a deeper dive into some of the characters. Some of the women featured only got one segment, which left me wanting more of their perspectives. This story really focused on the characters, which is why I was a bit disappointed when we didn’t dive deeper into some of the narrating women. They were all interesting in unique ways, and I think that it was extremely powerful to tell this story through only female perspectives. This book read as both the past and future given our current social climate here in the U.S., and because of that I think it is especially important to read, given that we are in an election year once again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Deportation
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Alcohol, Classism, Deportation
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Tough to read based on content and plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
I think I would have liked this book more if there was more about Glory. I appreciate the stories of the other women, and I think I understand that a white woman might not want to say too much in the voice of a Latina girl (which is also a big problem I have with the choice of narrators… I think they did a great job but…. I was shocked. A book where one of the main focuses is race and it’s all told by white women…) anyway, that’s why I gave it 4 not 5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault
Moderate: Cancer, Suicide, Abandonment, Deportation