Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down

9 reviews

sheeprustler's review

adventurous challenging dark sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Pedophilia, Police brutality, and Rape

Moderate: Addiction, Medical content, and Child death

carlytenille's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Abandonment, Addiction, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, and Rape

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

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, and Abortion

caitlinokeeffewhite's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

karabeavis's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.25

Maggie/Josie/Holly is the protagonist of this epic tale from 4 yrs of age to 60. Author Jennifer Down said she wanted to explore two things in this novel: foster kids in the out—of—home—care system and a woman who goes missing. Both are written very well particularly the OOHC era. 

We meet Holly as a 60–year—old who has a quiet life with friends, a job and her dog in America. I think it’s interesting to start there and look back on the experiences of someone with profound trauma from childhood. Author Down says the book is about survivorship. Such are the tragedies and adversity in Holly’s life that frankly it is amazing that she’s not dead. 

This is a tale of starting over, again and again, with a new name, in a new town and with a new relationship/s. Who are we in relation to our trauma? Is it our identity or can we escape it? It’s also about the reliability of trauma—impacted memory, especially when it comes to a police investigation in the middle of the book. 

There is a lot tackled here and some of the extra trauma events that happen: the one great foster carer having a stroke, for example, did seem almost too much? There’s also a question of ethics of writing other people’s stories. The novel is fiction but based on true survival stories in the foster care system in Australia in the 70s and 80s. We discussed this at the bookclub. A compelling and ambitious read. Thank you to the author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment

narpetcards's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Child abuse, Grief, Rape, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

Minor: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Abortion, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

novelspots's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Abandonment, Suicide, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, and Abortion

Minor: Death of parent

thenovelbookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

4.0

Bodies of Light was such an uncomfortable, heart-wrenching, emotionally compelling read, that left me feeling like I've witnessed Maggie's story unfold in front of me like an old friend.
  
When Holly receives an unexpected Facebook message she is taken back to her past with dark, deep trauma. As we read more of her story, we are sickened with what was allowed to happen to Maggie as a child, torn with sadness and grief as she finally finds happiness, and witness her downfall and rebirth as she finds herself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Sexual content, Abortion, Alcohol, Blood, Pregnancy, Rape, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Vomit

theshelf_edit's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Grief, Drug use, Death of parent, Child death, and Alcoholism