Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

58 reviews

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

It took a minute to realize there were three POV but when I did, the story started coming together so nicely. I really didn’t want to put this down. I’m a sucker for a dystopian, corrupt-government tale, and this, much like The Handmaid’s Tale, didn’t disappoint. I really enjoyed getting a peek into Aunt Lydia’s mind. Atwood’s work continues to be timely and relevant and this sequel to the 1985 Handmaid’s Tale was equal parts fascinating and horrifying. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Classism, Gore, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, War, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Infertility, Sexism, Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, and Child death

kileyjojo's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This is a pretty good follow up to The Handmaid’s Tale. It wouldn’t make much sense as a stand-alone novel so if interested in reading it, the first should be read.
I didn’t expect to have a lot of sympathy for some of these characters and I didn’t at the beginning of the book, but Margaret Atwood surprisingly makes that possible. This goes the opposite way as well, though. This book is a triple perspective one and I found myself disliking characters that are meant to be flawed but liked. Overall, it’s a great follow up to the first book and definitely worth a read if you’re a fan. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Gaslighting, Infertility, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Cursing

Moderate: Abortion, Grief, Infertility, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Confinement, Colonisation, Blood, Self harm, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

alexee_m's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Child abuse

loxeletters's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was so, for a lack of a better word, fun! Of course it was quite depressing at times, and often infuriating. But since we were mostly "spared" the perspective of handmaids and wives, it was somewhat less grim than the first book. I guess that is also why it had less of an emotional impact on me, though it was still so captivating and immersive that it feels wrong to give it any less than five stars. I enjoyed all three perspectives, and again found the primary source concept fun and interesting. Some more elaboration on the actual downfall of Gilead would've made me happy, but the vagueness gives room to think and speculate, which I always appreciate. Interestingly, I perhaps connected most with Aunt Lydia, since I found her characterisation to be the most fleshed out and compelling. 

All in all, this is not the kind of literary fiction that the Handmaid's Tale was - and that's fine by me. I enjoyed both it's literary and thriller aspects a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Misogyny, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Pedophilia, Torture, and Suicide

Minor: Infidelity

samshort's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

3.75

It was enjoyable, although I think some plot points took away from the message of the first book. I think I prefer THT as a standalone. I did appreciate the exploration into new aspects of Gileadean society, although I would have enjoyed seeing different demographics represented. All the protagonists are white women.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Murder, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Sexism, Child abuse, Rape, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Blood, Colonisation, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Classism, Violence, Suicide, and War

czoltak's review

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

“Beneath its outer show of virtue and purity, Gilead was rotting.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“”She's always been a respectful child."
What a liar she was. She knew how much rage was seething inside me.”
🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀
I absolutely loved this book. I am honestly surprised since I thought The Handmaid’s Tale (Book 1) was just okay. For some reason, this one just had such a greater impact on me. I loved getting to see different perspectives on the society and learning more about how it came to be the way it was. Aunt Lydia, Agnes, and Daisy were all incredibly compelling, and I loved seeing the world through each of their own experiences. Basically, this took all the elements I enjoyed in the first book, added aspects I love and just more general info about the actual world, and made one amazingly heartbreaking, impactful story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Death, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide attempt, Torture, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, and Misogyny

elizlizabeth's review against another edition

emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

Great book! I couldn't stop reading but also didn't want it to be over. My only criticism is that the last part felt a bit anticlimactic after all that happened, but I guess Atwood was also trying to drive a point there about society and such so I'll take it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gaslighting, Confinement, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Suicide

irisandfoxglove's review

emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I found the book really engaging and an enjoyable read. I’ll note it works really well as an audiobook, which isn’t always the case.

I don’t understand why Becca met the fate that she did. Also, I cried when they mentioned the statue with the forget me nots at the end. She is a character I was sad to not see more development of, especially when reading the secret files. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Pedophilia

Minor: Torture, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Child death, and Emotional abuse

theimposter's review

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Incest, Suicide, Death, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Confinement, and Classism

tigerkind's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Classism, Child abuse, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death, Gore, Infidelity, Cancer, Incest, Murder, Abandonment, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Slavery, Torture, Grief, Infertility, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cursing, and Excrement

Minor: Xenophobia, Fatphobia, Vomit, War, Trafficking, Alcohol, and Mass/school shootings