Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Deerskin by Robin McKinley

24 reviews

thewileyseven's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Miscarriage

Lissar's father rapes her within the first 75 pages of the book. She escapes, and has a miscarriage of the fetus produced by that violence. She spends much of the book repressing the traumatic memories thereof. It is a very smart depiction of PTSD and general trauma. Her healing journey is realistic, hopeful, and vindicating.

generaljinjur's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

cried on at least three separate occasions reading this; really appreciated some of the early craft moves by McKinleyn

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Miscarriage

lillizzy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, and Pregnancy

lottomotto's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

1.0

Wasted fantasy storytelling. I realize this story is dated but it didn’t challenged some boundaries or stretch a classic myth into a unique yarn .

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

pilardo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

I ate up the prose like I always do for McKinleys writing, and I am a sucker for a romantic pairing. The subject matter was a little too much for me - a much darker theme than I am able to enjoy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

bookwyrmm's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

Retelling of a fairytale. Heavy trigger warning on it, but it was good. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

jessicafee86's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

And what he saw was a Moon-haired woman in a Moon-colored dress with a tall Moon-colored dog at her side. She was barefoot, and her hair hung down her back in a single long plait. Her dress was so white it almost hurt the eyes, while the dog’s long curly coat was softer, silver-grey, almost fawn, like the Moon in a summer fog.

There are so many things that I could say about this book, it is one of my all time favorite books. I've read it at least 15 or 20 times over the years. It's a tough read for a lot of reasons, the content is very adult in nature and is a very tough topic to read about. The book is also a slow writing style and takes a bit to get started but it's well worth it. Some people have problems getting past the first part because of the *spoiler alert!* incest between her and her father and the seemingly calm way that she seems to handle it. But it makes more sense when you keep reading and is such a beautiful story. I've never come across a book like this one before, it's definitely not for everyone, but it's worth trying.

2018 Re-read Update: Been a few years since I've read this and it's still just as good as I remember.

2024 Re-Read: It's funny how six years can bring out different feelings. I had forgotten how many things in this book shaped me as a person when I was growing up. I don't think I will ever not love this book. Discovered it around 25 yrs ago and it's still the only book I've re-read consistently. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

tasintom's review

5.0

Now one of my top 10 reads. And my new favorite audiobook. A fantastic story told so very well

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

metafish42's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

the_one_krissy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm an emotional rater, and this little re-imagining of the Donkeyskin fairytale was an instant 5-star read for me. Anything that hits me in the feels like this is 5 stars automatically, no questions asked, no explanations given.

As you should know if you're familiar with the fairytale, it deals with extremely heavy, traumatising and painful themes like rape and incest, but I think it handles those respectfully, and overall the book has an atmospheric, almost dreamlike quality to it. Still, for anyone easily triggered by depictions of sexual assault, this book may be too much, so I'd recommend proceeding with caution. Lissar goes through absolute hell in this book.

I loved the characters and the new spin to the old fable. I loved the overall feeling of this book. I loved, loved the dogs! And there's a prince who's kindhearted and hardworking and cares a whole lot more about keeping a litter of motherless puppies alive than he cares about appearances or playing court. My heart! Ossin may not be the handsomest heir to the throne out there, but is he EVER the loveliest!

McKinley's books tend to resonate well with me in general, and this one is by far my favourite.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Animal cruelty