Reviews tagging 'Rape'

If I Tell You the Truth by Jasmin Kaur

15 reviews

333amreen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

What a poetically devastating novel this was! I never read anything like this. Something with poems and proses and visuals that pull you in so deep! Truly unforgettable!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

guessgreenleaf's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Grief, Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Deportation

Moderate: Alcoholism and Abortion

Minor: Body shaming, Confinement, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism

rocwood1105's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Death of parent

menomica's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

it is an act of bravery to live through hell and run from it when we have been made to believe that running is far more dangerous than staying

What I really appreciate about this book is that it talks about trauma at length without feeling gratuitous. I love Sahaara and Kiran’s relationship. They love and support each other through everything. Even though they have their spats, they’re still their for each other at the end of the day.

I will say, I kinda hoped that Jeevan and Shaara would just stay friends, but I don’t hate where they landed. I like how they were open with each other and understanding of where they were individually.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

Minor: Violence

saraohneb's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective tense 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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse

leighsnerdlife's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

elwirax's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

"To be an effective ally to survivors of sexual assault, you need to be prepared to listen more than you speak"

A raw representation of the hardships associated with immigration and of a teenage mother raising a child with the looming threat of deportation.The book deals with many other heavy subjects (which the author dedicates the first page to) such as rape and the harsh reality where women are often ignored and blamed. Despite this, there are moments of solace to be found interwoven throughout these difficult subjects, giving hope to people who may have encountered similar circumstances. 

Although, I personally can't comment on the cultural representation in this book, the perspectives introduced through Kiran and Sahaara were heartwarming and yet, in many ways heartbreaking.

This is a book bound to raise many important discussions and I would highly recommend it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Emotional abuse

stephaniekane's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative 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? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

frenchtoast_n_books's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.5

In short, I loved it. It was really beautiful and even though it centers around really difficult topics (rape, undocumented persons, racism, and such) it was handled very well in a manner that I think is easily digestible. It gives the necessary depth and emotion without being graphic/explicit in its content. 

I loved the mix-media approach to the story, different timelines with both mother and daughter's stories and points of view, and how things are messy. It makes the story very real, not fiction-sugar coating but also not trauma porn. I also love how the story was written pre-COVID, so the author added how the story would be different if if was to reflect our current COVID immigration procedures. 

I only found 2 things that irked me in my read that were personal sentence/word choice issues for me. One, was immediately abbreviating the college. The other was a sentence that didn't quite make sense to me. 

I'd love to reread this as audio to hear the cadence of the poems because I'm not good with poetry. It would add an extra layer to the story for me that would make me love it even more. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, and Gaslighting

Minor: Abortion

illa_scheggia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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? N/A

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence