Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Boys of Alabama by Genevieve Hudson

16 reviews

terrifaerie's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

mgmotley's review

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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Bullying

mmwiseheart's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I struggled so much with this. I just couldn’t get used to the writing style. I appreciate the detailed description of things, but whenever there was dialog, it wasn’t in quotations or even separated into its own paragraph. It was just part of the regular text. I had to keep rereading parts of it to understand what was being said by a character and what was internal monologue. 

It was a little triggering for me because of some of the graphic description of violence and I wish I had known about it beforehand. I read this for a book group, but I may have chosen not to read it and just skip this one. If you are triggered by sexual assault and/or animal cruelty, you might want to skip this one. 

The subject matter was interesting and thought provoking. It’s a mostly contemporary story with fantasy elements mixed in. A boy has a special power in an otherwise ordinary world. The whole book is about him coming to terms with what this power means, as he also tries to determine where he fits in. There is a twist in the plot and then the book just ends. We are given some clues to be able to piece together what would have happened next. But it just ends with no clear resolution and no follow up on how any of the characters feel about it or how it affects their lives. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Animal cruelty, Hate crime, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Self harm and Vomit

nooneshouldbereadingthis's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, and Sexual assault

timbercat's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.0

this was just a wattpad story. fun to read but not good.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

indigosparrow's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gaslighting, Murder, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Blood, Death, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Grief, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Cancer, Vomit, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Chronic illness, Cursing, Alcohol, Excrement, Homophobia, and Rape

Minor: Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Bullying, and Self harm

livsreads's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault

allybee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Death, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Bullying

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Grief, and Emotional abuse

sarahcherie's review

slow-paced

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

2.0

I wasn't the biggest fan of this one. I went in expecting a lot of critique on the culture of the South, beyond this idea of "rat magic" and calling the German family "Nazis", both of which felt cheap in comparison to the things that could actually be said about the South's actions both spiritually and interpersonally. I think I would have preferred this book without the magical element, because I feel that the magic in play kind of cheapens the effect. For example,

Spoiler

Lorne's death at the end was not made more impactful by Max's inability to resurrect him, but could have been more impactful as a true critique of the religious zealotry and homophobia of the South, and should have been expanded upon.

The ending was not a true ending, in my opinion, and it felt as though the author did not know how to continue the story, so they decided to simply end it instead. The side characters were fairly indistinguishable to me, and the writing style at times came across as very slow and laborious to get through. I had very high hopes for this based off the synopsis, as many elements seemed to be something I would relate to, but perhaps my familiarity with the things being critiqued in this book contributed to my distaste for it, and someone who is an outsider to the religious culture of the South might find this more intriguing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia

I wasn't the biggest fan of this one. I went in expecting a lot of critique on the culture of the South, beyond this idea of "rat magic" and calling the German family "Nazis", both of which felt cheap in comparison to the things that could actually be said about the South's actions both spiritually and interpersonally. I think I would have preferred this book without the magical element, because I feel that the magic in play kind of cheapens the effect. For example,

Lorne's death at the end was not made more impactful by Max's inability to resurrect him, but could have been more impactful as a true critique of the religious zealotry and homophobia of the South, and should have been expanded upon.

The ending was not a true ending, in my opinion, and it felt as though the author did not know how to continue the story, so they decided to simply end it instead. The side characters were fairly indistinguishable to me, and the writing style at times came across as very slow and laborious to get through. I had very high hopes for this based off the synopsis, as many elements seemed to be something I would relate to, but perhaps my familiarity with the things being critiqued in this book contributed to my distaste for it, and someone who is an outsider to the religious culture of the South might find this more intriguing.

jessalex610's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

Moderate: Homophobia