Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

21 reviews

hanngigi's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Dementia, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer and Infertility

holliebye's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Excrement, Dementia, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer

amberlinanderson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

This book will make you experience every emotion: love, sadness, fear, disgust, happiness, anger, hope. I had no idea what I was getting into, and I’m too young to have ever heard of this real life scandal. I loved this story so much, but it also broke my heart. I definitely recommend giving this a read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Torture, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Infertility and Rape

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

duchess16's review against another edition

emotional mysterious fast-paced

4.75

holy spaghetti this book. i cannot even find the words to describe it. it’s wholesome and deep and emotional and clean and literally makes me want to read it over and over again…. the storyline and multiple time lines is exciting and intriguing and I feel like i could aLmOsT predict what was gonna happen, and then it would. but in a way i never expected. idk i can’t put words to how i feel right now. this book rattled my insides and i don’t know how i can pick up another book now 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Kidnapping

Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

mandi4886's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? No

2.75

Essentially this book, aside from the really upsetting atrocities committed against the children, is about a rich, well-connected white woman who can't fathom that people could be treated like objects to be bought and sold, as if she didn't grow up in a formerly Confederate state. The main present-day character and the author's note really show these women's privilege when they talk about how unbelievable the buying and selling of humans was during Georgia Tann's years of human trafficking, even though the institution of slavery was supported by law in the United States for hundreds of years.  Also, there was really no reason to use the g-slur repeatedly (and almost as an endearment?) for river-dwelling folk. The story was solid, but the writing wasn't for me. A whole lot of over-telling instead of showing and a simile in every third sentence. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Racial slurs

badwitch's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-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: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

finding_time_to_read's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

bitesizedbeet's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative sad fast-paced

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

4.0

I sped through this book, though it’s a tough read. I didn’t know anything about what Georgia Tann did going into it, but the author uses an informative yet sympathetic approach to telling the stories of those affected by her. Highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Physical abuse

Moderate: Bullying and Kidnapping

Minor: Alcoholism, Dementia, and Death of parent

giulia_and_books's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

This book is heavy and heartbreaking, made all the more intense by the fact that it’s based on true events. The characters and their experiences felt really real to me and it was hard for me to put the book down. 

I wanted to know how the present timeline and the past timeline met up in the end. I’m not usually one for multiple timelines and POVs, but Wingate handled it really well in this story. Typically I tend to want to focus on just one story line more than the other, and while I did find the past more interesting than following Avery around, I didn’t mind the bits and pieces of the present that added to the rich story from the past.

I have to mention that I love Wingate’s author’s note and guide in the back of the book. It was really interesting to read about how the Foss family came to fruition in her mind and how the characters found their voices.

I would recommend this book to most people, if they can handle the heavy trigger warnings and reality of this novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Alcoholism, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault