A review by helenaramsay
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Initially this book was a struggle, it is very dark and quite depressing mostly because of its faithfulness to real life, and you have to be in a good place to read it and feel okay afterwards. I binged half in a day, put it down, and couldn't pick it up again for 6 months. Then, it was phenomenal. Still dark, but Demon is such a forgiving and honest perspective throughout that you keep reading just to see if he can be okay. The writing is fantastic and I appreciate that through everything horrible, you have characters that remain kind and caring and make you feel some of the love that Demon is searching for and it keeps you going. I would recommend but only if you're in a good place and feel like you have capacity to consume what feels like all the world's trauma at once. Beautiful writing, deeply insightful story, complex characters, and no small amount of hope and joy to make it worthwhile. 
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