Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

32 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

jlohnes's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Classism, Torture, Slavery, Sexual content, Violence, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

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

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

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

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

5.0

Wow! After 35 years, this is a book I never expected to happen. As a huge fan of the original book, and of Margaret Atwood, just hearing a sequel was coming was exciting and it didn't disappoint. Set about 15 years after The Handmaid's Tale, we find Aunt Lydia, Agnes (Offred's daughter by her husband) and Nicole (Offred's daughter by Nick) as the narrators with 3 very different perspectives on Gilliad. We learn a great deal about the Aunts and their role in Gilliad, and what growing up as a Commander's daughter looks like, as well as the Mayday network's continuing battle to save women and bring down a country rooted in oppression and violence. I could not put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicide and Sexual assault

onegirlandtheworld's review

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

5.0

It has been a while since I read The Handmaids Tale but I had watched the TV adaptation and was intrigued by where the story went in the later seasons especially after seeing comments online in relation to Aunt Lydia and The Testaments.

I could not put this book down! I loved the 3 different perspectives and how they were gradually woven together. Although I worked out fairly early on where it was going with Baby Nicole and Agnes (probably helped along by the TV series) I still enjoyed reading how it unfolded. 

In some ways I wish we got to hear more about whether Offred was the mother in question and what happened to the girls in Canada. However, the fact that all is never revealed in this and The Handmaids Tale is part of the experience and makes it feel real. We will never truly know what happened in the past and that's what makes it so interesting!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Suicide

karol99's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Rape, Infertility, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Sexual assault, Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Miscarriage, War, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Murder

Minor: Torture

natalie_1127's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, and Torture

Minor: Vomit