Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Removed by Brandon Hobson

20 reviews

maggz's review

dark emotional hopeful sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, and Racism

hippiegrrl's review

dark sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, Violence, Child death, Gun violence, and Grief

Moderate: Genocide, Hate crime, and Kidnapping

nunudeen's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Police brutality, Death, Addiction, and Domestic abuse

amelew's review

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, Gun violence, Dementia, and Grief

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism

suzyreadsbooks's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Drug use, Grief, and Child death

Minor: Cancer and Gore

caroline_hutchison's review

dark emotional

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Police brutality, and Racism

keatynbergsten's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This book was a beautiful and haunting story of a families grief and how each person dealt with it.  Very little action occurs but you truly get a feel for the families grief and how their ancestral influences helped them to cope and overcome it.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Dementia, Drug use, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Racism

mmefish's review

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I saw, too, the manifestations of others like me: the roaring bear in the woods; the soulful, howling coyote; the eagle circling in the endless sky; and I knew I was not alone. A satisfaction came over me when I saw these things, and for a moment I felt my anger lift away in the silence of the night. I was calmed by the sounds and visions of the night as I moved forward. I thought of what I taught you, beloved: harmony and peace. Anger is like flooding water, slowly building destruction.

Beautiful, sad and captivating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, and Racism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Stalking

Minor: Animal cruelty

darcyreadssometimes's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense

• 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

4.5

This book was trippy, unsettling, and stunning. The story is told through multiple perspectives, with three from present day characters and one from Tsala, an important person in Cherokee legend. There is not a clear line between the spirit world and our world, and one of the characters struggles with drug addiction, so things are not always as they seem. This felt like literary fiction with splashes of horror. The ending had me feeling a little confused, sad, but also hopeful. I don’t want to say more for fear of spoiling anything, but I’ll leave this quote:

𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴.
“𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬.” 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”

This was also my first read in my 2021 challenge to myself to read at least 12 books by Indigenous authors. Things I googled (and would recommend googling) to enhance my reading experience: the Trail of Tears, Tsala, and the Darkening.

While I don’t think this book is for everyone, I recommend it, especially to people who enjoy literary fiction, who like weird books, who appreciate morally grey characters, and who like seeking connections across seemingly disparate storylines.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Violence, Stalking, and Domestic abuse

tales_of_erasmo's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5

"Maybe empathy was the beginning of healing...Or maybe I was unaware that time had already healed me."
 .       .       .       .       .       .       .       . 
 This book was so unique and enthralling that I couldn't stop reading at times, despite the natural slow pace of the novel. The story follows the aftermath of a racial injustice that befalls a Native American family. Within their grief, the family members fight different battles from depression, Alzheimer's, and drug abuse. It's a genre-bending book that is influenced by Native American folklore and mythology. It has a haunting and melancholic atmosphere that captivates you in the best way.  With shocking moments and an ambiguous ending, we are forced to draw our own conclusions. That's when I knew I came across a great book.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Drug abuse, Racism, Domestic abuse, Child death, Death, Animal death, and Addiction