Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Forgotten Girls: An American Story by Monica Potts

5 reviews

vroomvroomvrose's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Car accident, and Death of parent

andrea_lachance's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

My extremely biased review of this book

I grew up and currently live in Arkansas. I checked out this book from the county library and Monica Potts signed the copy. The Forgotten Girls is a perfect encapsulation of the frustrations of growing up in a southern town.

I was texting my friend as I read; we’re both from Arkansas and went to college here. I marveled with her about how atrocious the schooling was in Clinton. If we’d been born a decade later and 100 miles south, we would’ve been taught that women have an extra layer of fat on their bodies and that’s why they tolerate hot dishwater better than men.

This book really resonated with me, even if the ending felt a bit rushed. I hope Darci is slowly building a boring, stable life for herself.

I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

aimebo's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

rchatterjee188's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Grief, and Car accident

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ehmannky's review

reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

A look at the systemic forces (Christianity, rugged American individualism mindsets, conservatism, sexism, poverty) that combine together to leave rural and predominantly white communities with a mix of even more intense poverty, social stratification and despair using the auhtors’ life and her childhood best friends’ life as a case study. She doesn’t use it to excuse her hometown or rural America (if anything I found her to be critical to the point that I found it odd that she did willingly return to her hometown)—she’s pretty upfront about the fact that many of these issues are self-inflicted and that her community and many like them are willing to co-sign themselves to poverty in order to keep a sense of superiority. She contrasts her life (she left her hometown for decades) with that of her childhood best friend (who stayed in Clinton and spiraled). It’s an interesting contrast to say the least. I suppose what kept it being a 5 star for me is that it was SO bleak that although Potts would mention that as an adult she grew to appreciate parts of her hometown she doesn’t ever actual say what exactly those things are. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Car accident