Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler
5 reviews
lsmith725's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
This was an enjoyable, older-style YA coming of age story. Our main character is coping with her brother being accused of sexual assault; she has to deal with learning that he is not quite the person she thought he was. Her parents make her feel uncomfortable about her eating habits, which leads to disordered eating. There are so many hot issues for young adults tackled in here, and though it may feel a little outdated, I think many of them would find it super relatable and helpful. I appreciated this for what it did, not because it was super gripping and fast paced.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Eating disorder
Moderate: Sexual assault
americattt's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-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
"Does 'doing exactly what I want' mean not thinking about other people's feelings? Because that's just not the kind of person I am.
Maybe it can mean whatever I want it to mean, like taking care of myself and not letting people walk all over me.
Yes, that's much more like it."
nostalgic middle school re-read
Maybe it can mean whatever I want it to mean, like taking care of myself and not letting people walk all over me.
Yes, that's much more like it."
nostalgic middle school re-read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Eating disorder
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Death, Dysphoria, Rape, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault
thefightinside's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Sexual assault
zombiezami's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I first read this when I was in high school, and I have just finished re-reading this as an adult because I found out there was a sequel. As I remember, it is a very heartfelt novel about a girl trying to develop a good relationship with her body in spite of the fatphobic world she lives in. I remember liking the ending then and I still appreciated it in my rereading. I somehow forgot all of the incidents of self-harm in the book. Those were very alarming and not for the faint of heart. Even so, it creates an important contrast between
I listened to the 15th anniversary version of the audiobook, and I was surprised by the "text edits" that took place. I don't really feel like those helped the narrative. Rather than making the book feel more current, it actually drew more attention to the anachronisms. Specifically, you really can't make a novel that takes place in high school during the 2010s without making some mention of social media. Along those lines, I would imagine that a teenager in the 2010s would at least be aware of the fat positivity/body positivity movements on social media. I understand why the author didn't explore this theme, since that would've meant rewriting the whole book, but if that's the case, it would've been better to simply leave the narrative in the early aughts.
A problem that I had with the book is that BIPOC characters seem pretty peripheral to the protagonist's life, despite the fact that she is living in New York City. The author does that annoying thing where she only mentions a character's race or skin color if they are nonwhite. I was particularly taken aback when the protagonist discussed wanting to take Chinese because she could curse people out and no one outside of chinatown would know what she was saying. That felt rather fetishizing to me. I'm curious to see if that dynamic improves in the second book.
I listened to the 15th anniversary version of the audiobook, and I was surprised by the "text edits" that took place. I don't really feel like those helped the narrative. Rather than making the book feel more current, it actually drew more attention to the anachronisms. Specifically, you really can't make a novel that takes place in high school during the 2010s without making some mention of social media. Along those lines, I would imagine that a teenager in the 2010s would at least be aware of the fat positivity/body positivity movements on social media. I understand why the author didn't explore this theme, since that would've meant rewriting the whole book, but if that's the case, it would've been better to simply leave the narrative in the early aughts.
A problem that I had with the book is that BIPOC characters seem pretty peripheral to the protagonist's life, despite the fact that she is living in New York City. The author does that annoying thing where she only mentions a character's race or skin color if they are nonwhite. I was particularly taken aback when the protagonist discussed wanting to take Chinese because she could curse people out and no one outside of chinatown would know what she was saying. That felt rather fetishizing to me. I'm curious to see if that dynamic improves in the second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Grief, Self harm, Eating disorder, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Sexual content, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit and Genocide
More...