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pomoevareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
Not for the faint of heart, On the Savage Side, Tiffany McDaniel’s upcoming book is affecting and important.
Loosely based on the Chillicothe Six, an unsolved case of missing and murdered women in Chillicothe, Ohio, this book is narrated by Arcade Doggs, who goes by Arc. Arc and her twin sister Daffodil (Daffy) spend their earliest years with their grandmother who gives them all the love they need that their parents can’t give them because of poverty and addiction. When Adelyn and Flood Doggs convince Mamaw that they are sober and ready to show their daughters a wonderful life, the girls go to live with them. But addiction is a mean thing. It is not long before the girls are being raised in an environment of sadness, addiction and sex work. A police officer who comes to the house at one point makes a comment on his way out to his partner that in a few years they will be returning to arrest these young girls for the same things their parents have been doing. Talk about being set up for failure…
The story moves between time periods and focusses its lens on the girls. When we come back to see the young women in early adulthood, they are living the same tragic life that their mother and their aunt live. Going to the river with their friends is a past time, sitting in an old half buried car, getting high. The women call themselves the Chillicothe Queens. Each of the women in this story have a very distinctive character and we see their most human side. They deal with bad johns, family, children and pregnancy in addition to having hope, creativity and strength of character.
When a woman is found floating in the river, a new era in this small Appalachian town has begun. Soon one of the group disappears and turns up in the river and the group fears for their safety from the River Man. Reports to police are not taken seriously. Police comment on the risky lifestyles that the women lead as reasons to not assume they are missing.
This is not a whodunit, although there will be many suspects. This story is to show that the women who have gone missing or found murdered were human beings. They were mothers, sisters, and daughters.
I would recommend this book for people that understand hurt, enjoy Appalachian stories, true crime stories, detailed characters, great writing, and have good self-care practices as this one could be triggering for many.
Thank you to @netgalley and @aaknopf for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. On the Savage Side comes out February 14, 2023.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, and Drug use
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty
bookreviewswithkb's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
5.0
Tiffany McDaniel can WRITE 😳😳😳
this book took me on a rollercoaster. there were times where i was ready to give it a 3 star, a 4, a DNF. but i was wrong wrong wrong. it’s nothing less than a 5✨
absolutely soul crushing. it’s the way she strings words together that bring about the strongest version of emotions to ever exist
McDaniel brings life to the Chillicothe Six through this novel. she tells us of their humanity, of the ways our society never created space for them to have a chance. this book is weird and beautiful and profound all at once. it’s a musing on addiction, disposable women, power hungry men. read ittt
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Rape, Murder, and Abandonment
hippiequeen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail