Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

25 reviews

superstormnora's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Some points hard to listen to; existence was hard for a long time. Beautiful story of humanity with a hopeful ending. I want to paint some of the images from the story!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Violence, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Suicide and Abortion

kaileylebrun's review

challenging emotional hopeful 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Classism

justmys's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Fatphobia, Incest, and Excrement

dblue236's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

Trigger warnings: Sexual assault, racism, domestic violence. 

This was one of the best books I've read so far this year, for a number of reasons. I loved the setting and the beautiful descriptions of the time frame and rural Kentucky. The characters were well rounded and felt real, and the historical aspect of it that was clearly very thoroughly researched really added depth to the story. This was the first book I've read by this author, and if it was any indication, I definitely need to seek out more of her work. I cannot recommend this highly enough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Incest, Miscarriage, Abortion, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

knkoch's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

I have mixed feelings on this one. I do think that stories about the impoverished, underserved communities in the Appalachian mountains aren't told enough. The miner's union and government outreach library program plots were interesting and informative. However, there was a high misery quotient here. And the depiction of the discrimination against the white main character (who has bluish skin due to an inherited medical condition) felt overdone, as if wanting to appropriate the experience of anti-black racism. It seems like a pack horse librarian's job was plenty interesting and challenging on its own without that added element. I guess it felt like the author was building on her considerable research into 1930s Kentucky and creating a plot with more wishful thinking and

highly specious romance

than I could buy into. I thought Demon Copperhead, set during the opiod crisis, was a more nuanced depiction of Appalachian communities and the entrenched issues they grapple with. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, and Sexual harassment

amateur_bookworm's review

emotional inspiring sad medium-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

4.0

Genre: Historical fiction

My rating: 4

My summary: Set in Kentucky in 1936, Cussy is a 19-year old packhorse librarian, living at home with her coal miner father after her mother passed away about a year prior. Cussy, also known as Bluett, has a unique condition that makes her skin appear blue. This story follow Cussy through a series of life events and the people she interacts with in this poverty-stricken area, as well as the tribulations of being treated as a colored person during this time. 

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this book, mostly due to the narrator, she was perfect as Cussy. It was an emotional read at times, listening to the difficulties and tragedies both Cussy and other characters in the book encountered, as well as the triumphs they experienced and the small joys they were able to find. Before this, I was unaware of the “Blue People of Kentucky” and I was interested enough to research a bit on it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Sexual violence

Moderate: Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal cruelty and Child death

samburkhouse's review

emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Sexism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Classism

whisper88's review

sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Sexism, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Classism

nishidake's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Vomit, Murder, and Classism

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense 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

3.5

I usually love historical fiction but this one took so long to get going that I struggled a lot at first. It didn’t really take off for me until about 100 pages in which is nearly halfway, and that’s why I didn’t rate it higher. The second half of the book kept me reading and I didn’t want to put it down. The historical aspects of the KY Pack Horse program and the blue people of Kentucky were fascinating as a native Kentuckian, especially because I had never heard of the former prior to reading this book. The story is sad and tells of the hardships of rural, Appalachian life in the 1930’s and 40’s with candor and grace. It definitely makes you appreciate the technological, medical, and social advancements we’ve made and just how hardy a people the folks from mining country truly are. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism