Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson

37 reviews

melvinbelvin's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.75

WOW i am actually in awe. one of the saddest books i’ve read in a while but mostly because i related to it a lot. i will definitely have to reread and annotate so i can get all of the quotes that really resonated with me because WOW

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

satansluckycigarette's review

challenging emotional funny reflective 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Domestic abuse

jeweleemc's review

tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Addiction, Chronic illness, Cursing, Rape, Grief, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Suicide, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

mrbean's review against another edition

dark reflective sad fast-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

3.5

A visceral journey about finding one's raison d'être against an ocean of adolescent existential despair, We Are the Ants lifts and carries its philosophical themes with a spark of hope and strength of the indomitable human spirit. However, the novel's sheer compression of relentless suffering into a single singularity causes it to collapse in on itself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Bullying, and Homophobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Grief, and Addiction

Minor: Dementia and Self harm

chris_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Dementia, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Dysphoria, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Bullying, and Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Alcohol, Violence, and Miscarriage

Minor: Torture, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

chrisljm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

3.25; Objectively, this is a good story and it was written very well. I see why so many people love it and why it means so much to them, and I understand it can be especially important to those who’ve read it during specific times in their life. But subjectively it was hard for me to read because it was so incredibly bleak and depressing, and I didn’t enjoy that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Sexual content

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Rape, and Racism

ang_mendoza's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective 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

While the beginning leans heavily into a teenage angst I struggled to get behind, Henry grew on me and I found myself rooting for him not to make any particular choice but to find a good reason for what he chooses. Diego is also somewhat of a saving grace in the company of many characters I found difficult to redeem. I don't really think this book is the most profound story but it's still thought-provoking and engaging.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Grief

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Dementia

Minor: Abandonment, Rape, War, and Pregnancy

claire_3lyse's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Blood, Child abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Medical trauma and Pregnancy

readingrainbow's review

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Miscarriage, Child death, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Rape and Drug abuse

davidbythebay's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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? Yes

5.0

I am crying. Wow. I was a little skeptical based on the premise, but it did intrigue me enough to read this. I am so glad I did. This book sums up life in the best way: we keep marching on even if we don't have the answers and we can never get them. This was amazing, BUT check the trigger warnings! 

I was so enthralled by this, I lost track of time while reading. It was an immensely entertaining and sometimes sad book that brought sad tears and happy tears to my eyes. Beautifully written, this took a teenager's point of view but made him mature, yet adolescent. Henry was not a child and he was not an adult caught in a child's body. As Henry is gay, like many LGBTQ+ people, he has grown up and matured early so that he can combat the bullying and dangers of this world. His situation has provided even more instances by which he has had to grow up far too fast. I can't tell you how many times I've been told or my LGBTQ+ friends have been told how mature we are for our ages. It comes with the territory I guess. But having this mature teenaged perspective is dead on perfect. 

I am absolutely going to read more by this author given how wonderful this book is. 


⚠️ TW: violence, physical violence, abuse, parental abandonment, bullying, depression, suicide and suicidal ideation, sexual assault, pregnancy, miscarriage, loss, grief, neglectful parent, memory loss, talk of sexual situations (not in detail). ⚠️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Grief, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Child abuse