Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

65 reviews

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Grief, Sexism, Violence, Gore, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Abandonment, and Gun violence

Moderate: Pregnancy, Rape, Alcoholism, Medical content, Alcohol, Car accident, Torture, Drug use, Addiction, and Infertility

Minor: Racism, Pedophilia, Acephobia/Arophobia, Homophobia, Vomit, Child death, and Trafficking

esme_may's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, Sexism, Alcohol, Gore, Violence, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Blood

Moderate: Physical abuse, Infertility, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Child abuse, Acephobia/Arophobia, Gun violence, and Rape

Minor: Trafficking, Homophobia, and Incest

tinyjude's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad fast-paced

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

4.0

Very intriguing concept and development. I liked how it perfectly encapsulated the patriarchal, oppressive and cruel world created by the Families and the damage they create to all those poor little girls by just feeding them fairy tales and not preparing them for what's to come. I liked Devon's fierce personality and the characters' grey morality portrayed through the things she is forced to do for Cai and what Cai has to suffer too. I liked that it was sapphic and we also got a tiny bit of asexual representation and some decent men amongst monsters. It is true that the ending and love plot felt rushed but I liked the approach and the points the author wanted to criticize and how they were addressed in the book unequivocally. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Death, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Cannibalism, Drug use, Incest, Alcoholism, Infertility, Kidnapping, Child abuse, and Body horror

auroramw's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

1.5

I love the book's premise, but it fell short in my opinion. The story is as subtle as a sledgehammer. There's a lot of pacing issues, especially towards the end of the book. Despite all this, I find that the bigges problem for me is how under developed the characters feel. The dialogue feels like a poorly written script where no one has a distinct voice. The characters lack personality which made them deeply unlikable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexism, Rape, Pregnancy, Violence, and Sexual assault

cakrolik's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Grief, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Gore, and Rape

Moderate: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

seagullsaga's review against another edition

dark hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Confinement, Violence, Slavery, Infertility, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Rape, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Sexism

henneyce's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

3.0

The burn it all down mentality ruined a fasecinating premise in my opinion 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Cannibalism, Violence, Child abuse, and Gore

isaaah's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.0

I'm always weak for stories that talk about the power of stories. I suppose you can say I ate this one up. The Book Eaters tells us that the stories we consume, that we are given, shape the way we see the world, and how we imagine our future. This fantasy of people that eat books and minds seems surreal, but their society, strictly managed by patriarchs who decide what stories their children are allowed to consume, does not seem so far from the truth to me. I'm thinking of real life censorship and book burnings and pearl-clutching parents that think certain stories might lead their children away from the life path they envisioned for them.
This story is about a woman trying to escape the system she is born in and envision a different future. 

The book also talks about love, and the lengths we go for it, which is a theme I'm also always happy to explore. I especially enjoyed the notion that love is not inherently good, it is just something we make choices for. A lot of it focuses on Devons relationship with her children, which I thought well done. However, I'm not a parent, nor do not I wish to be, so some of the emotional layers might have been lost on me. 

I was more so interested in the development of her friendships with Jarrow and Hester. Devon grew up isolated and sheltered and only rarely met strangers. Later she is made to fend for herself in a world full of a people unknown to her, and that are functionally prey for her son. I thought this made for an interesting perspective to the process of trusting new people and making friends, and I'd have liked to see more of it. I personally would have preferred her relationship with Hester to stay platonic, as right now, the romance seemed underdeveloped to me. It seemed more like something to be explored in a potential sequel (or just leave up to the imagination). But then again, my verdict for 90% of romance plots is that it goes too fast; at this point it might be a me-problem. 

 

At the end I also felt like the flashbacks slowed down the pace a bit, but none of these things kept me from thoroughly enjoying this book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Child abuse, Murder, Violence, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Confinement, Grief, and Slavery

Minor: Sexual content, Trafficking, Alcohol, Vomit, Acephobia/Arophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Rape

hazelsnoot's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

I cant stop thinking about this book. A unique, dark, and haunting story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Stalking, Trafficking, Abandonment, Drug use, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Violence, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia

imds's review against another edition

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Acephobia/Arophobia, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Xenophobia, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Body horror, Grief, Body shaming, Confinement, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Slavery, and Trafficking