Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Ведмеже місто by Fredrik Backman

154 reviews

alexashabit's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

oatmilktea's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

2.5

I don’t know why, but I expected this book to be lighthearted and cosy, going in. Probably because of the German title, which roughly translates to “Small Town, Big Dreams”. A bit misleading imo, but on me for not looking it up prior to reading. Also, I don't think I would have picked it up if I had known that most of the book is about SA and how the town handles it (not well. At all.), but that's also on me.

All right, let's do this. I did not really enjoy this book but I can recognise it for what it is and/or tries to achieve. The way I see it, it’s mostly a character study as well as an analysis of society, in the broadest sense. There are almost as many themes as pov characters, so, a lot: (club) hierarchies, peer pressure, esprit de corps, hush-up/rape culture, abuse of power, classism, sexism, homophobia, lynch law, child abuse… I could go on. Some themes take the spotlight, others are only touched upon, but overall there's value here.

Despite not being a fan of an omniscient narrator with an unlimited pov, especially one who keeps jumping back and forth in time and place, I thought the author handled it rather well. I may not have liked the narration style, but there were only a few characters, like Benji’s sisters, that I failed to tell apart from one another. Most characters were discrete, and I don’t think that’s easy to do.

However, I have gripes. This book is way too long. It could have easily done with a hundred pages less. It moves very slow and I get it, it’s all about the characterisation, but then the book is so repetitive in places that it added unnecessarily to the word count. Especially with the constant foreboding, ice hockey analogies, and telling-not-showing statements about friendships or how things work in this town. Because, you know, it’s Björnstad, after all, and ice hockey is ice hockey, so... cherry blossoms?

I found Bear Town intriguing enough, but for the most part I wanted to finish it for the sake of moving on to another book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death, Transphobia, and Death of parent

mariahkc10's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Child abuse and Drug use

oceanwriter's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

3.0

I’ve really enjoyed other books by Fredrik Backman and his writing never fails to speak to me. I wasn’t super into the plot of this one not being a hockey fan (or sports fan in general), but there were a lot of passages and moments I really liked. I did go into this thinking my heart was going to shatter completely… I think I made it more devastating in my mind than it turned out to be. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Child death

sofxaim's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

This story was a little bit infuriating to listen to, and I've walked away from it hating 98% of the men in it. There are characters that I love so much and I enjoyed seeing them develop. 

I wasn't a huge fan of the style/tone, but it was still a good story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse

reeccees's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

I still have goosebumps. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Bullying, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, and Grief

agirlnamedellie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

First audiobook so took a while to get used to. The plot was quite a difficult subject matter to listen to but I really enjoyed the ay the story unfolded. It highlighted the pressure put on young people in a small town where everyone knows each other, and shone a spotlight onto victim blaming. It also brought up the topic of conversation around if people of prominence are a lot of the time dismissed from the crimes they have committed because they have money, fame, sporting prowess etc. Lots of different important topics covered in this book against the backdrop of an ice hockey town. Loved the character of Benji. Enjoyed the ending too. Probably will leave as a stand alone book although i know it is a series.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Child death

erinreadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

What can I even say about this book? I don’t even know if I can say I “enjoyed” it because that implies I had an inkling of joy. Rather, I thought it was incredibly moving and captivating and I was crying nonstop for the back half of it. Reading this book felt like watching a car crash in slow motion while wondering which party was going to survive, if any. I haven’t really read anything that was like this book, from its style of prose to the tricky way the author writes that is constantly faking you out, making you think people are one thing when they’re really another, more complex thing. The characters all felt real and complicated and unpolished, which made the events feel all the more believable and heart wrenching. This book hurt to read, but I know I will be thinking about several passages I highlighted for a long time. 

Read if you like poignant, moving, challenging stories about people and what drives them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Racism, Terminal illness, and Alcohol

natasha_dean's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Child death

harvchick's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Rape, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse and Homophobia