Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Bodies of Light: Winner of the 2022 Miles Franklin Literary Award by Jennifer Down

13 reviews

plagiarizzim's review against another edition

2.5

so graphic right off the bat that i didn’t want to keep reading, then about 150 pages in (?) it was okay cause she met damien. then babies started dying. then she ran away? and then shit just kept happening and it was kind of ??? what are we saying guys???

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, and Sexual violence

emzjams's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, and Abortion

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, and Grief

e11en's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Death of parent and Alcohol

adelopycruz's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

tabbygwilson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

gemmagetson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, and Abortion

britt_e's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

clarezillaa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Moderate: Grief and Abortion

Minor: Death of parent

smedette's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

karabeavis's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad tense medium-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

4.25

Maggie/Josie/Holly is the protagonist of this epic tale from 4 yrs of age to 60. Author Jennifer Down said she wanted to explore two things in this novel: foster kids in the out—of—home—care system and a woman who goes missing. Both are written very well particularly the OOHC era. 

We meet Holly as a 60–year—old who has a quiet life with friends, a job and her dog in America. I think it’s interesting to start there and look back on the experiences of someone with profound trauma from childhood. Author Down says the book is about survivorship. Such are the tragedies and adversity in Holly’s life that frankly it is amazing that she’s not dead. 

This is a tale of starting over, again and again, with a new name, in a new town and with a new relationship/s. Who are we in relation to our trauma? Is it our identity or can we escape it? It’s also about the reliability of trauma—impacted memory, especially when it comes to a police investigation in the middle of the book. 

There is a lot tackled here and some of the extra trauma events that happen: the one great foster carer having a stroke, for example, did seem almost too much? There’s also a question of ethics of writing other people’s stories. The novel is fiction but based on true survival stories in the foster care system in Australia in the 70s and 80s. We discussed this at the bookclub. A compelling and ambitious read. Thank you to the author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Abandonment