Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry

27 reviews

cemsreadingcorner's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This one was intense. There was a lot of drama. Crazy sh!t was always happening. Never read a story where a little girl was so disturbed she was doing things you never thought a young child would do. I listened the audiobook while reading, and I wasn’t crazy about the female narrator. She was reading weird, which unfortunately is usually how it is when I listen to audiobooks with female narrators. Sounds like I’m listening to a robot or gps system. 😂 The guy who narrated Christopher’s part did exceptionally well. Both men did well. I wish I could say all of them did great. Also, the narrators kept saying different words from what was written in the book. So, that was an error on their part. And about the story, I don’t know what happened to Janie in the end. I don’t know what their plans for her were. Was she going to stay with a foster family? Or were they going to institutionalize her? What was going to happen to her? I didn’t quite understand that. Either way, I don’t think there’s hope for Janie. I doubt she’ll change. But I hope there’s a second book in this series because I would like to see Janie’s progression over time.

Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at 11:12 AM

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Grief, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

zetiacg's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

yinzer_barbie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

cruffin1's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

lianathereader's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Addiction, Confinement, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infertility, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Self harm

nicolecoyle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

charp162's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

Moderate: Excrement

Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage

hollyyym's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, and War

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

bekahzabel's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

The Perfect Child is told in alternating points of view. Focusing on a couple who’s struggled with infertility, a social worker assigned to a strange child abuse case, and a seemingly innocent mysterious child.  

All the Bauer’s ever wanted was a baby. When a mysterious young girl shows up at the hospital with terrible injuries, she wins over Christopher Bauer’s heart. The Bauer’s decide to take Janie into temporary foster care, with the intentions of helping her transition and adjust to a better life. As Janie’s behaviors and past begin to unfold, things seem to get darker at every turn and crossroads. 

Boy oh boy, things got pretty dark between these two covers. Very hefty child abuse and violence trigger warnings. 

For me, The Perfect Child had me white knuckling my kindle, and salivating for the next page. Even though I guessed some of the twists, this dark tale was a great read for me. My only qualm is how abruptly it wrapped up. 4/5 stars! 🌟

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

gneumann's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

this was a really tough read. i should not have read this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Excrement, Medical content, and Abandonment

Minor: Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Medical trauma