Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

13 reviews

isabelboswinkel's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Death, Blood, Drug use, Hate crime, Violence, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Pregnancy and Adult/minor relationship

leonorekoki's review against another edition

3.75

As a historical portrait of Southie in the 70s, I think it’s brilliant—evocative, nuanced, immersive. The mystery/suspense of Mary Pat’s quest is well done, the character comes to life on the page, and the storytelling is masterful. 

As a commentary on racism, however, I wasn’t sold. As others have pointed out, Mary Pat’s arc ultimately isn’t about race.  The barrage of racial slurs  also made for a difficult read, possibly worse in audio where it feels even more visceral and you can’t really skip over words. Historically accurate, sure, but it didn’t feel great about a White author. I don’t doubt his intentions were to show the ugly side of racism, but the absence of developed Black characters left me feeling uneasy and unsatisfied. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Racial slurs, and Hate crime

marthadude's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Misogyny, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Torture, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, and Gun violence

kmad's review

4.0

This is an ugly book (both with the language and the violence), but also very well written historical fiction. Conflicted about how to rate it and could change this later. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racism, Grief, Murder, Violence, Cursing, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Drug abuse and Addiction

Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Adult/minor relationship

shellbell31's review against another edition

dark emotional funny tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Hate crime, Addiction, Grief, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, and Child death

alexisgarcia's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.5

this is incredibly dark and hard to read. this book is very very depressing but it’s a good and important story that shows a woman having to face her own racism, as well as the racism in her community, while searching for her missing daughter. there are no heroes in this story, and there is no happy ending. while this is a crime novel, it covers racism, politics, grief, and much more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Toxic friendship, Murder, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Racism, and Toxic relationship

noladawnreads's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Hate crime, and Adult/minor relationship

rei_reads'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Violence, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Blood, and Drug use

Moderate: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Vomit, Addiction, and War

Minor: Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Pregnancy

clellman's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Violence, Gun violence, Cursing, and Murder

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Alcoholism, Blood, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Abortion, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, and Mass/school shootings

encryptedorchardpest's review

dark informative reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Child death, Toxic friendship, Classism, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Hate crime, War, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Kidnapping, Suicide, Alcoholism, Drug use, Infidelity, and Drug abuse

Minor: Hate crime, Vomit, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, War, Mental illness, and Mass/school shootings