Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

230 reviews

josefina_na's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Grief, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Incest, Child abuse, Racism, Rape, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Drug use, Addiction, and Drug abuse

sgupte's review

dark emotional hopeful sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Racism, Animal death, Sexual assault, and Incest

amy_hensler's review

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Rape, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual violence, Child death, and Racism

lee_ann_a's review against another edition

dark sad 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

Jesus Crimson.  That's really all I can say about this book. 

Y'all, I love tragedy and dark stories and trauma porn, or whatever you want to call it. I like stories that dwell on the shitty part of life on this planet. A Little Life is my favorite novel, so that's my point of reference when I tell you that this book was almost too much for me. I barely finished. 

I can tolerate a lot of human abuse and horror but on top of that, this book has outrageous scenes of animal abuse that permanently scarred my soul.  And the worst part about it, is that this is an actual recounting of the life of the author's mother. BLESS IT.  To the actual Betty this book is based on, I'm so so so sorry that you had to live through that hellacious childhood and I hope your adulthood was exponentially better.  Thank the stars for your father, the only bright light in this whole story. 

At times the writing was melodic and Landon's stories were surreal, but I can't even give this book a start rating because I don't know how. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, and Rape

callie_pearce's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Medical content, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Gore, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Infertility, Mental illness, Rape, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Incest, Addiction, Classism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Body horror, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Violence, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Hate crime, and Lesbophobia

mmitch10's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

I really struggled with deciding how to rate and review this book, especially after seeing so many rave reviews. There were elements that were powerful and heartbreaking  so I wanted to love it. Ultimately, I was left somewhat disappointed with the storyline and writing. How the family talked to each other, especially to Betty, felt so unrealistic and even how Betty spoke and acted was completely out of step with reality and her age. 

There was so much potential for strong character development but somehow everyone felt flat. Even the father was so promising and was a great opportunity for hope amid all the pain and trauma, but even he was one-dimensional.

Was he so lost in his own world he didn’t know what was happening in his family or did he know and instead of doing something just chose to talk to Betty? I know trauma and abuse makes people behave in ways that is hard for outsiders to understand, but this just didn’t sit right with me.

In the end it was just one trauma after another with little plot or hope.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Self harm, Racism, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

carolynlovesbooks's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad 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? No

4.5

A tough book to read but well worth it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Incest, Misogyny, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Racism, Rape, Blood, and Suicide attempt

theladyjess's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Incest, Animal death, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Abortion and Child death

lemonsreads's review

dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

This book was as horrific as it was beautiful. One of the best books I’ve ever read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Grief, Blood, Animal death, Rape, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Self harm, Emotional abuse, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, and Cursing

stefs1974's review

dark emotional 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? No

5.0

Betty is one of my all time favorite books!  Beautifully written, heart wrenching, and thought provoking.  This book will always hold a special place in my heart!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Grief, Death of parent, Classism, Racism, Addiction, Animal death, and Child abuse