Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

22 reviews

mbredahl3's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Child death, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Stalking, Gaslighting, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, and Alcoholism

daphelba's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

This book was truly a solid 4 stars for me, I read it in a day, tore through it. It was exactly the kind of story I like with themes and concepts that always draw me in (kidnapping, being held against will, abuse, survival, and processing after trauma, etc.)

When i'm not deeply moved by something with these themes, I have to wonder if it's me...just reading too much of the same kinda stuff and becoming desensitized, but when I reflect on this particular rendition I realize it was missing psychological depth. There is a part in the book that is horribly sad (iykyk), and obviously, in that moment it can be hard for a person to really process and explain exactly what they're feeling, but I would have expected to see deeper psychological processing during the healing phase, and there just wasn't. There could be a couple of reasons for this: 

1. 1. If the author chooses to delve into that type of processing, to create psychological depth to their character, they run the risk of having half their audience say "that's not how someone would act in this situation...", which is always a narrow-minded viewpoint, but common nonetheless. 
   2. That may not be the author's area of strength in writing and they'd rather not try to go there. 
   3. Or, that just wasn't the genre of the book. But if not, I think it's very interesting to have most of the book told through the therapy setting. Sure, some of therapy is the reliving and telling of experiences, but you'd expect that more often the narrator would break down, be unable to continue the session...

While I really enjoyed this book, appreciating the subject and much of the content, and while the book truly gutted me for a moment in the middle -- I can't help but feel stories like this which seem to exist for the thriller/mystery aspect more than the psychological growth aspect, are a bit exploitative. Yes, of characters who do not exist, but also of real humans, sometimes readers, who are looking to process grief or trauma or find their own growth in media with themes that they can relate to in some way. I dock the book a point for this. 

There were a couple of moments that were notable for me in showing, psychologically, how life experiences had impacted the main character and the secondary character and I'll be thinking about these for a while: 

Annie's kidnapper detailed his relationship with his adoptive mother and his introduction to sexual relationships through her...he talks about how he witnesses her "smile" during a sexual event, and it had me thinking about how he might have learned to be aroused by a lack of enjoyment from his sexual "partner" because he linked his mother having sex with a bad an as something that should have upset her, scared her, not made her happy...so, that was depth.

Additionally, Annie has sex with a character once she is back to "normal" life, and she notes that she has to be in control, that she doesn't want him to look at her, that she doesn't want him to touch her or really be involved, but instead to just allow her to use him. One wonders if this is simply because she's having a hard time feeling safe and connecting with someone sexually, OR, if there is now something twisted and deeper in there... if now, sex has to have this bent to it, that of the two people partaking, one should have all the power. Annie seems to acknowledge openly that this is how she needs to engage in sex for the time-being, but doesn't express the function of this behavior for her...is it arousing, or just functional?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual violence

Moderate: Child death and Child abuse

chuckyinspace's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Child death, Child abuse, Confinement, and Rape

killmoore_'s review

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is one of the most gut wrenching books I have ever read. Just about every twist and turn absolutely wrecked me, and my heart broke for Annie with every chapter. 

I'd give anything to read it for the first time again, ngl. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, and Murder

kintanakely's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

redefiningrachel's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Murder, Stalking, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Car accident, Gore, Death, Mental illness, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Violence, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

akrys40's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, and Rape

Minor: Murder

rchll's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This read was absolutely incredible and I have such a book hangover now. I loved that it was written in the form of Annie's sessions with her therapist - but trust me, your knowing that she eventually gets home does NOT make this any less tense or 'twisty-turny'. This read is dark and unabashedly shows you the abuse Annie undergoes while being held captive, but also the way trauma affects us and stays with us long after 'rescue'.

I thought each character was so incredibly complex - I really never knew what to expect from anyone and often found myself questioning initial assumptions I had made, and  at other times, feeling like 'Oh I should have gone with my gut here and NOT questioned things'! Nobody - not even side characters - are 2D or simple.

I absolutely TORE through the last half or so of the book - while there is not a ton of action (in the classic sense), this is where I felt I had no choice but to keep going just to see how it all played out...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Torture, and Child death

Minor: Child abuse

xtritagonist's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Ableism

ldjenkins's review

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, Child death, Kidnapping, Torture, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence