Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

58 reviews

leonormsousa's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring mysterious slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Abandonment, Abortion, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, War, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Grief, Torture, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence

sakisreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

WELL WELL WELL. What a wild ride we have just been on 😂 I wasn’t sure about getting into this at first, because I found the chapter breaks between Aunt Lydia/Witness 369A (Agnes)/Witness 369B

(Nicole!)

challenging and almost disengaging, but once we got past that and started getting into the nitty gritty stuff it was phenomenal.

I love the way Aunt Lydia had such a pivotal role in breaking down Gilead and how she played so many people against each other so that it could happen! I’m such a big fan of creative strong women in books 👏🏼

 

I definitely was not expecting so much to be revealed so late on; I think I was about 50% into the story when I finally realised what was happening. But I am so appreciative that Atwood released this sequel; what an astonishing turn of events. I would HIGHLY recommend this, as long as you’ve read The Handmaid’s Tale beforehand 🔥

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Suicide

nodogsonthemoon's review

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, War, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Blood, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Suicide, Trafficking, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Pregnancy, and Sexism

eni_iilorak's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad 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? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Slavery, Torture, and Rape

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Bullying, and Classism

Minor: Infertility

theallmightyme's review

challenging dark informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Murder, Incest, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicide attempt

sylvestra's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Pedophilia

bandysbooks's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

I think one of the reasons that it took so long for there to be a follow-up to The Handmaid’s Tale is just that it’s such a difficult story to do justice to. I tried to go into The Testaments with tempered expectations and I think that was helpful. This book is definitely solid, but definitely not as haunting as the original. 

The story follows three different POV characters as we learn what happens after Offred’s testimony. I thought this was an effective way to show a lot of progression in a lot of different places without making the book 1000 pages. 

I will say that while it did provide closure, it didn’t have the same emotional impact as HT. I did appreciate the resolution with some of the older characters like Aunt Lydia.

If you’re considering this series, I’d suggest:
Read Handmaid’s Tale
Watch The Handmaid’s Tale tv series
Finish with The Testaments

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Blood, Miscarriage, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, War, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Infertility, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Torture

chamaeleontis's review

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexism, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Domestic abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death of parent, Homophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, and Pedophilia

amy_park's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

Really good prequel/sequel! Enjoyed the layout and voices of the three perspectives, although I did feel some of the plot was rushed from the middle onwards, but I suppose that's the curse of multiple perspectives. Would recommend if read "The Handmaid's Tale" and if you are intrigued to find out more on the infamous Gilead. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, and Violence

ericarao's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Death, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Kidnapping, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Confinement, Bullying, Child abuse, Suicide, and Cursing

Minor: Child abuse and War