Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

19 reviews

mirajuliee's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and War

Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Blood, and Grief

charnyreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Classism

helliepad's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and War

Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Islamophobia, and Pregnancy

jasminrain's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-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? No

4.5

Its the kind of book that ticks all the trigger warnings but you still need to read it. I listened to it as an audiobook and the narrator did an absolutely phenomenal job capturing the characters, their emotions and the world around them. I loved that the story was not linear but jumping back and forth between the present and the past. I can't say that its a book that blowed my mind with twists as it was quite easy to figure out what was coming. 

It's the kind of book that you have to read because of the topic. While its definitely on the heavy side with content and themes, lots of the darker events are actually not discussed in detail which was a bit of a relief. The only thing that I found really appalling was the ableist language that the main character used about her disabled wife. All the other triggers in the book were rooted to the story and the trauma that the characters experienced, but it was the choice of the author to use this language. When I started reading the book I also thought that the author had Syrian background and I was suprised to learn later that she didn't. It kinda made me wonder if that was her story to tell in the first place. 

Regardless of all this I really enjoyed the book. I wanted to keep listening and learning about their journey and all those past events that were discussed in the present. The book was quite fast paced at times and the story of their journey jumping a lot. I think I would have liked to learn more about certain moments. But apart from all that it was such a good book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Grief, Murder, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism and Emotional abuse

life_couch's review against another edition

hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Physical abuse and War

Minor: Sexual violence and Murder

jodieorange's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War

jrdnmanon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and War

booksjessreads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

What a book. This book gripped me in a lot of ways and was perhaps one of my most insightful books this year. I'll be honest, I kind of didn't get on with the style it was written in at first and I struggled going back and forth from the journey to the UK and being in the UK, but I did get used to it.

The actual language used in the book was beautifully used to make such a poignant and gripping story. The experiences that Nuri and Afra go through is extraordinary and have really stayed with me, making me understand the trauma that refugees go to to find a better home.

The story of Nuri and Afra is also based off of stories Christy Lefteri heard of whilst she was volunteering in a refugee sanctuary in Athens. Despite feeling as though I was often in the story, this added an extra layer of realism for me and made it such a great experience to read.

Overall, I rated this 4 stars because personally I didn't always get along with the set up of the book - each chapter telling a portion of life from their travels, and life in the UK. Whilst cleverly done, it did make reading it a little more difficult for me personally. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Child abuse, Violence, and Blood

hummyk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Violence, and Islamophobia