Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Matilda

Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Matilda by Roald Dahl

10 reviews

katilh's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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frozenheartv's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.25

4.25 stars
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌘

🧠 My thoughts

I really liked the strong and smart Matilda, she was such a character. The storytelling was intriguing and made me want to know what was next. The ending was very wholesome in my opinion.

However, although I understood that the book wanted to show the cruelty and abuse that adults usually do to children, those parts were too descriptive to the extent that I felt like this shouldn’t be labeled as a children’s book.

👍 What I like

Strong and smart main character
Well-written

👎 What I don't like

Child abuse scenes are too descriptive and graphic

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uselesspirateraven's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

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katasaurus's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

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missmanga's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.0

Why the hell did Miss Honey trauma dump on Matilda??? And then Matilda just blurts out “did she beat you?” What on earth? Loved the narration but I really don’t understand this book and don’t like it at all!

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indigo_book_dragon's review against another edition

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dark hopeful lighthearted sad 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? No

3.0

The book starts lighthearted with pranks that cause some discomfort but not too much bodily harm. When you look past the cartoonishly extreme reactions, it is a sad story of Matilda’s situation with some darker things left unsaid.
However, it ends on a hopeful note. Though there isn’t much character growth, and Matilda is not the best role model for young children, it’s a mostly light story with happy ending.

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ricksilva's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

Child genius Matilda figures out how to take revenge on her callous and incompetent parents through a series of pranks. Eventually, she finds herself attending a school ruled by the iron fist of Olympic-hammer-thrower-turned-headmistress Miss Trunchbull.

But when she discovers that the powers of her mind have continued to grow, Matilda makes a plan to save her beloved teacher from the headmistress' abuse.

This story worked best in its serious moments, with the best characters being the figures who showed kindness toward Matilda, especially classroom teacher Miss Honey. The author uses the book to convey his love of literary classics through they eyes of Matilda, always hungry for beautiful words and stories. The conversation between Matilda and Miss Honey where Miss Honey's abusive childhood comes up is handled gently but with powerful emotion.

When the book tries to be silly, it does not do as well, although the lighter bits are definitely needed for the overall balance of tone. Unfortunately, the various pranks played by Matilda and others are neither imaginative nor funny, and the over-the-top cartoonish violence of Miss Trunchbull is always just on the line between ridiculous and uncomfortable.

Some of the plot twists are very abrupt, and while I appreciate the effort of getting a surprisingly complex plot into such a short book, the effect in a bit jarring, and the book seems to be having a lot of trouble figuring out what it wants to be.

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