Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

13 reviews

beklovesbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad

4.0

I can see why it won a Pulitzer. Remarkable imagery, authentic voice, themes mostly came around to neat closure. 
Unfortunately, there were excessive graphic descriptions of drug use and sex. Every imaginable locker room crude sexual innuendo. It’s too bad the very good descriptive capabilities of the author was applied to trash you don’t want in your mind as well as nature and life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abortion

gossamer_lens's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Just so very good. There was strong David Copperfield vibes and influences and the overall plot, characters, and narrative style were compelling and interesting. I honestly only picked this book up to compare to David Copperfield and then ended up falling for the story in so many ways. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism

juanat77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

4.0

This is book is big and messy. About 560 pages. There’s times it’s funny then tense then depressing. Kingsolver writes all those feelings exceptionally well. It reads like a classic. I thought about Holden Caulfield (Catcher in the Rye) at times. I was rooting for the MC despite his poor decisions and at times selfishness—-however that is real life. This story touches on so many serious topics including the opioid crisis, domestic abuse, child labor, poverty and the foster care system. And while there are sad and serious issues; there are also many funny moments. Demon the MC starts as a young child and ends when he is an adult so we get to see how his character develops through the years. It’s said to be a retelling of David Copperfield—never read it but adding it to my TBR!

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

annamay1021's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy

lizsim's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child death, Cursing, Pedophilia, and Vomit

Minor: Bullying, Chronic illness, Gun violence, and Classism

blindedbynature's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

josiemeyer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

reneek's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cancer, Eating disorder, Vomit, and Abortion

franklola's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny inspiring reflective sad slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, and Abortion

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I picked this up as a buddy read with a friend.
"Demon Copperhead" is the story of a boy born to a single teenage mother. Their lives were never easy, but after Demon's mother dies of a drug overdose and Demon is placed into the foster care system, his life becomes even more challenging.
This book was very dense and I never really got into the story. Demon's story is heartbreaking, and you cannot help but feel badly for him, but I also was not interested in his story. I think there is a lot to be said about overcoming where you come from, and I wanted more of that story. Demon is the one who found his mother when she overdosed, and I felt like he would have fought more to stay away from drugs in his teenage years.
This book is fast paced in that I felt Demon aged really quickly, but the story just felt liked it dragged overall. I wanted to see more of Demon's interactions with his mother before she overdosed. I feel like that could have created a better narrative of where Demon came from, so that I was more interested in the rest of the story.
Overall, I was kind of disappointed in this story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual violence