Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

How to Make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow

19 reviews

lilyp04's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Mental illness, Child abuse, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Self harm, and Domestic abuse

anniereads221's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Vomit, Bullying, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Car accident, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Sexual assault, Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Racism

HP reference

wishyouweresober's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death of parent, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Medical content, Alcohol, Car accident, Cursing, Physical abuse, Addiction, Child abuse, Abandonment, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abortion

This book is really dark, PLEASE LOOK AT THE CONTEXTS WARNINGS FIRST!!!

someryarns's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, Death, Abandonment, Bullying, Grief, Medical content, Child abuse, Addiction, Death of parent, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, Cursing, Suicide, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Self harm

Minor: Vomit and Abortion

d0505's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Confinement, and Car accident

proudtobeabookaholic's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

It's always been just Tiger and her mother June. A well-oiled mother and daughter team. Until her mom suddenly dies and leaves Tiger all alone. How does one survive such a thing?

This is primarly a book about grief. Grief expresses itself in different ways, and for Tiger it leads to an ocean of tears, an inability to eat, and a refusal to take off the dress her mother bought her, although Tiger hates it. The author is very skilled at describing how Tiger manages her grief, but that also makes it pretty hard to read. At first I find it a bit repetitive and too much rumination about the same things. But the more I read, the more Tiger comes to life.

Tiger is 16 years old, but often acts like she's at least a couple of years younger. June has been very overprotective and never let her go to parties or camps, or meet boys, and that could well be why Tiger feels younger. The two of them have been an almost isolated unit, and I believe that makes June's death even worse for Tiger. There's no safety net and she ends up in the system with foster care. There she discovers that there are children whose parents have abused them, or simply didn't care about them; the opposite of what Tiger has experienced. Apart from her mom's refusal to tell her about her father, so Tiger doesn't know anything about him, or if he's alive. 

It's no exaggeration that Tiger's world is turned upside down by her mom's death. She becomes a part of a world she's never known, going to and from different foster homes, until they can find a permanent solution. The author shows us both good and bad places, good and bad foster parents - just like it is in the real world. It's an emotional and sometimes tough read, but very beautifully written. I went from thinking the book dragged on somewhat, to not wanting it to end!

"All your life, you've loved words and language, even if you aren't great at school. You've loved weird words and smart words and beautiful words and awkward words, all of them. Podunk. Mastermind. Effluvium. Macrosomatic. Hullabaloo. 

But there isn't a single word in the universe that you can think of that would describe the way you feel right now."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Abandonment, Bullying, Death of parent, Vomit, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Domestic abuse, Suicide, Abortion, and Toxic relationship

britt_zonnebloempit's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism

janika96's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

Definetly a tearjerker.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Child abuse

Minor: Suicide, Vomit, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

sophie22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

Moderate: Suicide

michaela999's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Grief, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Car accident, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic relationship