Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel

36 reviews

carrrrme's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Tiffany McDaniel nos lleva en este libro a Chillicothe (Ohio), inspirándose en la historia real de un grupo de mujeres que aparecieron muertas en el río.
Estos crímenes no se investigaron lo suficiente debido a la condición de drogodependientes de las víctimas y la autora les da voz a ellas en este libro. Para ello, nos cuenta la vida de las mujeres con todo lujo de detalles, por lo que creo que no es un libro que vaya a gustar a quienes busquen un thriller al uso de los que se centran en buscar al asesino.

Las protagonistas son dos hermanas, Arc y Daffy, a las que vamos a conocer desde bien pequeñas. En un principio intentando sobrevivir a su sórdido ambiente doméstico y después, a la vida en el exterior, en un contexto plagado de adicciones, violencia y prostitución. El resto de personajes también están marcados por el sufrimiento y la violencia, aunque alguno es un rayito de luz entre tanta oscuridad. 
Pese a ser un libro tan duro, es cierto que el lenguaje tan lírico de Tiffany McDaniel consiguió que realmente disfrutara de esta lectura, está escrito de una forma bellísima, incluyendo muchas metáforas y rituales relacionadas con la naturaleza que provienen del folclore de la zona. 

Es un libro duro, con escenas que se me hicieron muy difíciles de leer y de procesar. No creo que sea para todo el mundo, sería buena idea que leyeras los trigger warnings si algunos temas son demasiado delicados para ti, porque en este libro pasa de TODO.  

Con todo ello, a pesar de que fue una lectura con la que sufrí mucho, para mí es un libro redondo. Creo que la historia de estas mujeres permanecerá conmigo mucho tiempo.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, and Blood

patiolinguist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Murder

maggiemcfly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

theelmstreetlibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, and Rape

snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

lisaadam's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

I found ON THE SAVAGE SIDE difficult to read, so unflinching in its depiction of poverty and addiction that I read with a clenched stomach, gripped in empathetic pain. But without this level of violence and trauma, this book would be lying to itself, and for that reason, I consider it a winner.

The novel only fell apart for me (and only slightly!) in the repetition of its lyricism. Sometimes I felt like McDaniel was being intentionally opaque, and while it was always beautiful, I occasionally lost interest. But that is just one picky complaint of an otherwise stirring novel. I'm glad I read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

siobhanward's review against another edition

emotional slow-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

4.0

McDaniel has a gift for writing a heartbreaking story that manages to keep you guessing. I was on the edge of whether or not to give this 4* and then the ending came and I was truly shocked and that was impressive enough to keep it at a 4* rating, despite being a bit too long at times. As always, McDaniel creates a story that is absolutely devastating, while feeling true to life. I really appreciate her style, even though it can be a challenge to read at points. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

uliel's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Murder

Moderate: Rape

trvshbvt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I read Betty right before this which was my first introduction to Tiffany McDaniel. I loved Betty so much that I pushed On the Savage Side to the top of my to read list and once again, I am left in awe of Tiffany McDaniel’s storytelling.

This is another book that will stay with me forever. I feel like I know every single character as if I’ve met them in real life. I had no idea addiction played such a large part in this book, which is something that hits close to home. I appreciated the way McDaniel gave these women such detailed and moving backstories, showing that they were so much more than their addictions.

I thought I had a good idea of how the story would end but the actual ending had me audibly say “WHAT” to myself more than once.

An easy 5/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Miscarriage