Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Ruby by Cynthia Bond

7 reviews

rubybeast47's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Death, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Trafficking, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Vomit, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Child death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, Slavery, and Suicide

bookme007's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Sexual content, Rape, Sexual assault, Self harm, Physical abuse, Vomit, Violence, Sexual violence, and Bullying

railee's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.0

I had to get through this quickly because I was hoping for redemption. I was pretty disappointed. There was so much hurt and pain. I know that the world is like that, but man this was hard to read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

This book has a lot of trauma in it.

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad

• 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

4.5

 Ouch. Ruby was a real gut-punch of a read filled with all sorts of trigger warnings - sexual abuse, rape, child abuse, incest, trafficking, racism, and religious abuse being the first that come to mind. So much pain. So much suffering. So much darkness and trauma. This is not a book for the faint-hearted

Following a horrific childhood Ruby escapes to the big city where she survives rather than thrives. Being summoned back to her southern hometown, which remains keen to judge and condemn her for the sins done to her, precipitates a breakdown. The care and kindness of Ephraim, a childhood friend who has trauma of his own to deal with, eventually helps her to make peace with her past, to somehow learn to live with it.

Ruby seems personify the entirety of trauma suffered by Black women in America. The book clearly fits in the lineage of Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker and Toni Morrison. At times the trauma felt overbearing and too much. But I’m well aware that says more about my privilege than the reality others experience. I was both pleased and relieved though that the ending offered some small measure of hope.

I’m not normally a fan of “magical realism” but I found it worked for me in this case. Apart from its use in scenes of voodoo and black magic I thought it a really effective way to demonstrate the trauma Ruby suffered and the inner turmoil she continued to live with, a way to explain the inexplicable, to say the unspeakable.

The writing was wonderfully evocative, the characters unforgettable, and the story totally compelling. But very much not a book for everyone.
 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Violence

benslette's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Emotional abuse

incigiru's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, Racism, Rape, Racial slurs, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Hate crime, Misogyny, Cursing, Child death, Child abuse, Mental illness, and Gun violence

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Body shaming, Torture, Sexual content, Fatphobia, Animal death, Ableism, Biphobia, and Miscarriage

tina94's review

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Every trigger warning you could possibly imagine applies, oof

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Toxic relationship, Torture, Violence, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Sexism, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Homophobia, Gore, Death, Child abuse, and Animal cruelty