Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

287 reviews

lbooksandruby's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t anything this intense. I’m still debating between a 4.5 and a 5 stars because there’s just SOMETHING I can’t put my finger on that has me wondering if it’s really worth that last half-step, but I’m leaving it at 5 for now because I think that’s what I’ll end up deciding on. A little distance will help me decide. I want to read more by this author, but this book is already pushing her into “potential favourite” category.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Biphobia, and Abortion

Minor: Alcohol, Sexism, Cursing, Grief, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Death, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Child abuse

kaylab_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Self harm, Abortion, and Cursing

giulianalb99's review against another edition

challenging reflective 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

3.0

Este libro no fue para mi. Es entretenido pero sin más. Debido al bombazo que ha tenido y sigue teniendo me lo esperaba mejor pero alomejor es porque no me gusta leer romance🤷🏻‍♀️. De todas formas, para pasar el rato no está mal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual harassment, Cancer, Car accident, Death of parent, Racism, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Death, Sexism, Biphobia, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Grief, and Sexual content

wackzo's review against another edition

emotional informative tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Hate crime, Abandonment, Death of parent, Homophobia, Child abuse, Death, Biphobia, Cancer, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Cursing, Lesbophobia, Suicide, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship

marslotus's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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

4.25

While I will admit this was a page-turner of a book, the writing styles of Monique's perspective versus Eveyin's never felt harmonial to me. That is to say I found myself drawn in when reading about Evelyn and unintentionally annoyed at Monique's character (until the ending of course).

She's introduced as honest and forthcoming, but is often presumptuous when speaking to Evelyn. It almost feels like two different people wrote the book, as I felt talked down to when explained bisexuality and LGBTQ+ issues by Monique's perspective. I would expect this from a teen novel, not from this story.

But I can't deny my eyes watering at least twice near the end of the book. This is a good story, maybe my personal preference is just getting in the way of fuly enjoying that. I didn't feel it had a strong start, but I'm glad it got better the farther along I read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Car accident, Death, Biphobia, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Cursing, Death of parent, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Outing, Suicide attempt, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Physical abuse

Minor: Sexism, Violence, Child abuse, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

rokinjaguar's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Personal enjoyment: 3/5

A very well-written book. Easy to read, enjoyable, interesting. The characters felt very complex, with distinct character traits and real flaws. It was well-paced and kept my interest the whole time. I liked the newspaper article inserts, that was cute. It was cool to read about the relationship between

Spoiler

Evelyn and Celia. I rarely come across that kind of thing in the books I read. I didn't really like them together because they were horrible to each other at times, but it felt genuine and realistic, and I enjoy reading about types of experiences I'm not generally familiar with.

However, the writing annoyed me and the only character I really liked was Harry. There are a lot of "sound bites" in the book that I think were put there to make the book quotable, but it ended up feeling like I was being told how the world works and how to be a good feminist. It was very much telling and not showing, and it majorly detracted from the book in my opinion. 
At first I only noticed it in Evelyn's sections and chalked it up to her telling her story and wanting to share the wisdom she's learned in her very full life. It added to things I didn't like about Evelyn as a person but I did appreciate about Evelyn as a character. However, later in the book there's a reveal and the reporter reacts to it and the flow of the book screeches to a halt while the reporter tells me how fury works. Dude, tell me how it works for YOU, don't tell me how it works for everyone, it comes across as arrogant and completely undermines the tone of the scene. It should have been personal and emotional, I should have been led through the descriptions to feel what Monique felt and be in her shoes, but instead I felt like I was being dryly lectured by someone who thinks they're an expert in psychology. Completely ruined the moment, which was a shame because there was another emotional beat that Reid was able to write effectively just a chapter or two before that.
So I think Reid's writing is just not for me. I didn't feel trusted to come up with my own thoughts, I felt like I was being told exactly what to think. That being said, if that stuff doesn't bother you, it's a very interesting and enjoyable novel. I don't regret reading it, but I will not be reading anymore of Reid's books.

Update: After thinking about it a little more, I changed the review from 4 to 3.5/5. The issues I had with it are what have stayed with me, mostly that it was written in a very modern tone, to the point where it felt like the characters were just different colored masks the author wore while she told me her thoughts on various issues. Still an enjoyable and interesting read, but less competently done than I first thought, once the fun and excitement faded.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Chronic illness, Lesbophobia, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, and Biphobia

Minor: Cancer, Racism, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Child abuse, Outing, and Pregnancy

jennhug63's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Suicide

anniefwrites's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-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

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. TJR’s writing style is always vivid, reflective, and engaging. Following characters as flawed as Evelyn and Celia was an exercise in restraining judgment in a good way.

Spoiler

I did sort of see the twist coming, though not in the exact way that it occurred. I think it didn’t quite land for me because in general,

I wasn’t drawn to Monique’s character and preferred to stay in Evelyn’s story. And I think at times Reid could have pulled back on spelling out connections and emotional changes—I think the reader is smart enough to put it together themselves based on her specific details and descriptions. (I also had some qualms about a white woman writing the fictional stories of two women of color—it seems like she did her due diligence, but it also feels like a moral gray area that I’m not quite equipped to unpack as a white person.) Still, Reid’s worlds always feel so real you swear it’s nonfiction. I’m always willing to read her again.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Biphobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Sexism

Moderate: Abortion, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Pregnancy, and Terminal illness

Minor: Racism, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, and Fatphobia

elliehaahr's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Death, Toxic relationship, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Biphobia, Racism, Death of parent, and Death

slavic_bookworm's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

Overall a good read. Interesting, but I don’t understand why it has such good reviews. It’s probably the shock factor that this book leaves people in. I can’t get over the fact that Monique even though she is one of the two main characters of the book, was severely underdeveloped. 
I know that  Evelyn’s character is super morally gray and that is the point, but I just can’t get myself to like, adore her. She lies, cheats, acts like giving away your virginity, while being a MINOR! is Ok (not pleasurable but OK) if the end goal is getting what you want and using a man to your advantage. I understand that this author tried to show woman power but this is crossing the line a bit. 
I understand that not everyone will share my point of view, but everyone is allowed to have there own opinion.  Do not understand the hype of this book and definitely won’t be in my top books read of 2023.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Abortion, and Sexual content