Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

22 reviews

bestkasescenario's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

4.75

Loved it! I liked how the author switched between perspectives & the timeline kept it really interesting. Not giving 5 stars because the ending felt rushed & I feel like it could’ve been more detailed. Overall a great read, I’d recommend 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

moraina's review against another edition

hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Ask Again, Yes is a great story depicting transgenerational trauma and showing how children are affected by parents' actions, mental health, and their own trauma and abuse. I found most of the characters likable or at least understandable and thought the author did a good job showing these different perspectives.

Anne's mental illness, while it impacted all of the other characters, made her a well-developed character in that the reader ends up empathizing and wishing she had gotten treatment sooner/that mental health was viewed differently during the original time frame of the story. I also enjoyed Kate and Peter's interactions and their development of their own choices and who they want to be as people, even though I don't always agree with their choices. Francis, as well, shows development and finally forgiveness which is satisfying to read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

reneepd's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective fast-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

jhging's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated

5.0

Beautifully done. Felt very true to the complexities of family. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Physical abuse and Suicidal thoughts

encryptedorchardpest's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

books_and_tea_make_katy_happy's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Child abuse and Child death

kelley_beth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

3.5

There were decent characters in this book that really had potential, and they kept getting close to almost feeling developed and human, but I never really fully felt emotionally attached to them like I do when I read other books similar to this. I never really felt like I totally knew and understand them. And the ending felt a little abrupt. I think I wanted slightly more closure for the relationships but maybe that’s just life.. you don’t always get perfect closure. Either way, it’s fiction, and I’d prefer a more satisfying ending since it’s not real life. 😅

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gun violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, and Miscarriage

saramoser's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

TW: abuse, gun violence, mental illness, infidelity, alcoholism 

This book was sad, not like I cried the entire book, just like a real life sadness that is hard to explain. The characters are genuine, real. I could feel the characters emotions, I could feel the emotions of the book so strongly. I was sad when the characters were, I could imagine the events happening in the book, happening to someone I know, a friend, a family member. The exploration of early childhood trauma, generational trauma, the faults of parents and how it forms their children, it was done perfectly in this book.

The story spanned 40+ years, and explored multiple view points and generations experiencing similar and different events. The story shows perfectly how certain things can form and shape who you become, and how just because you were formed and shaped that way doesn’t mean you aren’t able to change.

This will be a book I recommend to friends.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Alcohol

wquindley's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

I’m a sucker for books that follow families across long periods of time. even more so when things are complicated. i find that it gives me more time to connect with the characters and grow attached to them. for the most part, this book was no different. the storyline was really interesting and i was fascinated by the relationship between the two families. however, the events were a little more intense and darker than i anticipated and for the first time in a while i contemplated if what i was reading was too heavy. mary beth keene does a great job of portraying characters as real and flawed and as impressive and moving as i found it to be, it was challenging at times given how broken everything felt.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Gun violence and Toxic relationship

Minor: Child abuse and Sexual violence

theyellowbrickreader's review

challenging emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gun violence, Suicide, and Sexual harassment