Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

149 reviews

corinth113's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

A great, accessible read with characters you enjoy reading about and that you root for, plus an interesting/gripping plot. Would make a good book club book or beach read for anyone who doesn’t want anything super cerebral but still enjoyable!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Kidnapping

nellebelle's review against another edition

emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

4.5

The book is split between the two stories of a present-day narrator and a narrator from the past. I was far more interested in the portion from the past, as the present-day mystery felt pretty obvious to me, but the whole book was still enjoyable. I really liked how well it illuminated a little-known part of southern US history (or at least something I didn't know until now). Worth the read :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Kidnapping

Moderate: Death, Rape, Dementia, Grief, and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcoholism

syrah78's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

4.25/5

I could not put down this novel. Avery could not discover the truth fast enough for me. Wingate really brought to life this hidden tragedy in American history. It was heart wrenching and just awful as each sibling disappeared from Rill. All the characters were given a really nice depth and the river was beautifully written. I met the author who wrote this book and she said that she always gives you a happy ending, so I had to just keep telling myself that and the ending really was nice.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

meghanap1963's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault

klint's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Death of parent

uncle_dunc's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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

4.5

Man this was  depressing as hell. I had no idea this was based on true events, I’m shocked, what an awful time. 
Really nicely written though, very good read, even if it was dark and depressing 90% of the time.
The romance with

Trent

felt a little unnecessary/unrelated, but also it was just about the only uplifting part of this book so maybe that was the important role it played hahaha

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual violence

megan_george's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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? N/A

4.0

I really enjoyed this. The realistic look into some of the horrors of these children’s homes was eye opening and sickening at a lot of times. I’m glad I got to experience this story and I’m able to share it with others.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Physical abuse

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, and Grief

smith2ds's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Rape

isabelmargetts's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Dementia, and Death of parent

jevette15's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Pedophilia