Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

95 reviews

sakusha's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

It was a lot like Orphan Train because of the subject matter, and how the stories of characters from different times were woven together. It reminded me of Deception Point too, because it was about the daughter of a senator.

I felt that the beginning wasn’t written well. The author didn’t describe the Stafford family, but literally labeled them as stereotypes: Avery the brainiac, her sisters sweet and perfectionist, her mom micromanaging, and her dad distant (14-15). Too much information was given about the grandma all at once (17) when she wan’t even present in the story yet. Avery brushed hair off the seat and wants to smooth her dad’s hair, yet claims on the next page that she doesn’t want to be her dad’s caretaker (16).  It was also annoying and unrealistic that a grown woman was calling her father “daddy” and her mother “honeybee.” Rill’s part of the story was more exciting, tearjerking, and unpredictable to read about, while Avery’s part was cookie cutter. Everyone was a stereotype in Avery’s world, including herself. She predictably fell in love with a perfect guy. One complaint I have about Rill’s story is that her younger sisters Fern and Lark seemed to have no personality that set them apart. I can’t remember their age difference or any difference about them at all.

(All page numbers are from the wide print edition.)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Sexual assault

katiejohns's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Child abuse

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

mikzob's review against another edition

dark informative sad slow-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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Pedophilia

jenwestpfahl's review against another edition

emotional 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? No

4.75

This has a similar vibe to Orphan Train but the modern half of it felt a bit more plausible. I sped through this book in two days because I had to know exactly where the threads led and met up. Very well done story with a mix of tragic and bittersweet storylines.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

zumpers's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Kidnapping, Trafficking, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Bullying, and Child death

ems_rxlibrary's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Child abuse

Moderate: Racial slurs

czak's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Sexual assault, and Slavery

jacquibear's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Dementia, Classism, Child abuse, and Child death

Minor: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Kidnapping, Rape, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Pregnancy

wifeslife's review against another edition

dark sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, Addiction, Infertility, Sexual violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Torture, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and Miscarriage

chelle22's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Bullying, Cancer, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Dementia, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Rape, Murder, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Violence