Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

51 reviews

cmcahill's review against another edition

emotional mysterious fast-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

This is the best book I have read in a long time. Set in the 1950s and 1960s as girls and women turn into dragons, the hysteria and forgetting are so believeable. Humans are so good at running away from looking at problems. I can't put into words how much I like this book. Need to re-read it sooner rather than later!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

ladydamonayde's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

 Not as strong as other feminist sci fi like The Power or Vox but still a great read and worthy addition to the lineup. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Dysphoria

laurenoden's review against another edition

inspiring reflective relaxing slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

klabardee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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? No

5.0

I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of this book. As someone who has a deep appreciation for dragons, the author's portrayal of dragons in a feminist context further solidified my love for these mythical creatures. Not only were the concepts and themes of the book relevant and accurate, but the literary expression and writing of these experiences was absolutely stunning. This book evoked a wide range of emotions for me, from dismay to rage to apprehension to frustration to absolute joy and transcendence. It was a beautiful and highly significant read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Pregnancy

leslie_overbookedsocialworker's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

3bobbielee's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Violence and Death of parent

bb_11's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

2.25

"Is it possible for a book to say feminist things yet not be feminist?", was possibly my book clubs best discussion topic after reading this book.  Ultimately, we decided yes it is possible and we have "When Women were Dragons" to thank for it.  This book was all over the place narratively and thematically. Any single issue the author was willing to tackle was burdened by her attempt to tackle 15 other things all at once. This led to a strangely paced, contradictory, and emotionally whiplashing plot. 

 Another sentiment my bookclub shared:  we couldn't wait for the first half of the novel to be over, but then the second half made us miss the first half!  The end of book "climax" completely invalidates the main character's development and obliterates the stakes all at once. 

Would recommend if you want to challenge yourself to critically deconstruct feminish literature and uncover evidence as to why a novel needs more than women>men to say something powerful.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Body horror

gluntv's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

4.0

 I feel extremely conflicted on this book… On one hand I really enjoyed it and found Alex’s perspective incredibly relatable and enjoyed how feminist it was. On the other hand, the ending was underwhelming and it felt like the author was trying to go in multiple directions for why women dragoned.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, and Abandonment

wyabook234's review against another edition

emotional funny 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Terminal illness and Medical trauma

Minor: Body horror and Death

savshanae's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

If “Labour” by Paris Paloma was a book, this would be it. To be frank, I was enraged for most of it. I don’t even know if I would really recommend this book to someone, unless they were looking to be so full of feminine outrage they wanted to burst into flames. But if that is what you want, this book is it. 
The writing was emotional and painted vivid pictures (it was also wordy). Sometimes repetitive, but I think it adds to the story by the end. 
The self-expression and ideas that it inspired are challenging and thought provoking, and I really enjoyed that it is written to feel like you are being TOLD a story, someone’s thoughts and life experiences. 
This book made me very angry, made me cry (lots), made me want to stop reading it. But it’s definitely worth the read and the rage. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury