Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez

12 reviews

leila_reads_too_much's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Alcohol, Child death, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Bullying, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Vomit

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

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

4.5

So many dimensions of fucked up. This author is excellent at capturing emotion

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Rape, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Toxic friendship, Racism, Grief, Gore, Blood, Incest, Sexual assault, Torture, Addiction, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Cursing, Sexism, Death of parent, Violence, Vomit, Hate crime, Child death, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, and Child abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy, Bullying, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Slavery

bg_oseman_fan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

this was a throughly engrossing read. with a background based on real occurrences, but overall fictional, the author tells a heart tending tale of love and loss. i enjoy how skillfully she gave us multiple pov that all felt distinct and equally important to creating the larger narrative. even though it was a difficult read at times due to the subject matter, the handling of it was exceptional and nothing felt gratuitous or like it was trying for shocking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Incest, Murder, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Sexism, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Vomit, Infertility, Racial slurs, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Xenophobia and Cursing

mslaureeslibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Torture, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, 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

rachelpom00's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I usually am not a fan of sad books or historical fiction but I couldn’t put this one down. Almost DNF’ed due to content warnings but glad I stuck it out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Rape, Child death, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Miscarriage and Grief

robynjhip's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

Heartbreaking story that reminds you that we, as a society, have come so far yet still have a long way to go. My heart feels for Naomi and her siblings.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Murder, Violence, Child death, Racism, and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, and Grief

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