Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down

30 reviews

lumakip's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

So well crafted, this very emotionally wrought book by Jennifer Down is a fictional account of a single person's life... the book journals through the pain and suffering of child abuse inside the Australian foster care system and subsequent harrowing life of losing children to SIDS at an early age …this book goes thru some things in very earnest and raw ways that its impossible to not be sucked into emotion...this is not a fun read, but its very honest, shocking, and gorgeous in its painful sentences   

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

hazeyjane_2's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective relaxing sad

• 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? No

5.0

I didn't expect to be so moved when reading this. There is an intimacy to this that I love: the same voyeuristic sense I get when reading a diary. Down takes us inside Maggie's life and builds her, failed relationship by failed relationship, escape by escape, breakage by breakage to a final, contented resolution.

The middle third dragged on a bit, but the end third picked up.

Don't be misled by the blurb - this is not a crime fiction novel; it isn't the story of a mother with Munchausen's by proxy. The prose is superb, like a spoon of honey, sweet enough but not overwrought.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Abortion, and Abandonment

booksandlattesaddict's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape

Moderate: Abortion

gemmagetson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, and Abortion

kdlou12's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, and Abandonment

britt_e's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

clarezillaa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Moderate: Grief and Abortion

Minor: Death of parent

smedette's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

ecconway's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

balfies's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-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

4.0

It's been said before but good grief. This is an excellent book with truly gut wrenching, revealing prose, and it is also deeply, deeply sad. Incredibly bleak and richly emotive story about the trauma of the foster system and how state violence fails women and children. If you're thinking of reading this one, have a fun book lined up afterwards, and know that it hits every trigger warning under the sun. But I must emphasise: this was very deserving of the Miles Franklin, and is an incredible piece of literature.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol