Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez

6 reviews

thekristinashow's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This is the second book I’ve read in my lifetime (so far) that has absolutely broken my heart into a bazillion pieces. 

I decided to read Out of Darkness as my February pick focused on reading 12 banned books this year, and I’m literally sitting here sobbing and speechless. 

This book is set in the 1930s in East Texas, and the storyline grapples with a lot of deep topics: racism, forbidden love, sexual abuse, physical abuse, school explosion, and more. 

I was completely enamored by the more lovable main characters - Wash, Naomi, Cari, Beto, and the nice supporting characters. But if you’re looking for a warm and fuzzy story, this ain’t it. 

However, if you’re looking for a powerful, layered story that sheds a light on some deep topics - this is it. Just grab your tissue box too. 

TW: all the trigger warnings…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Physical abuse, Rape, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Death, Racial slurs, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Racism, and Sexual violence

rhiannon814r's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Classism, Death, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Incest, Rape, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Misogyny, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Sexism, Alcohol, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, and Abandonment

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Animal cruelty

aquamarinecadet's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

If you think you can stomach it, read it.

It's a horrible read, as many others have already pointed out, but I believe that the only way to bring stories like these, that tell of such gruesome, infuriating injustices, to light, to bring them Out of Darkness, is to read them. 
To carry with oneself all of the stories that have stayed in the dark for so long, in order to finally give them a voice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Grief, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Child death, Religious bigotry, Blood, Bullying, Hate crime, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Racial slurs

jessica13zapata's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Rape, Pedophilia, Child death, Body horror, Blood, Cursing, and Sexual assault

Minor: Vomit, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse

bridgetlovesbooks's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

This book is not for me. I appreciate that the author wanted to bring to light the horrific racism, sexism and abuse prevalent in the setting, but it was incredibly hard to read. So much darkness and no light. PLEASE check trigger warnings before picking this one up. It’s got them all, including graphic sexual assault descriptions, racist language, death, murder, guns, discrimination, assault, and more. Spoiler alert, they do not get out of the darkness. It’s all darkness. No light, no hope. The best thing I can say is

that the cat didn’t die (even though there were MULTIPLE graphic descriptions of threats against the cat. < /spoiler> I do not recommend this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, Abandonment, Rape, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Murder, Animal death, Racial slurs, Misogyny, and Miscarriage

Minor: Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, and Death of parent

schausjk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I read this book for Banned Books Week because it was the #4 most challenged book of 2021. The book itself tackles a lot of tough issues, but who picks up a book about a school explosion expecting it to be light? That being said, the author did a good job of mixing in moments of joy amidst the characters' terrible situations. The pacing itself was too slow for me, and I did put this book down for an extended period of time because of that, but now that I've finished it I do think that elements of this story really are going to stick with me going forward.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Racism, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Hate crime, and Child abuse

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Murder, Child death, Classism, Violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism

Minor: Torture, Animal cruelty, Blood, Fatphobia, and Misogyny

A school explodes due to a gas leak