Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

51 reviews

hefftbundle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I wasn't sure if I liked this book until the end. It's much darker than I typically enjoy, but by the end, I loved it. It is painful, emotional, hard to read and so well written.

It is an intense story about humanness built around the deep importance of conservation. Learning to trust and grow after extreme trauma is also a centerpiece of this book. 

You will probably guess part of the ending, but it still has elements that will surprise you and make you weep. Again, incredibly well written. Will leave you aching and hopeful. What a wild ride.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual content, Medical content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Drug use, Vomit, Abortion, and Alcohol

postelwaith's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Rape

voxvenati's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

Really beautiful book about nature and conservation and people. I cried several times during the book, and very much enjoyed the narrator’s reading of the novel. It does start a little slow, but it picks up in the second half. 

Please read through the trigger warnings before starting if you’re at all concerned, though, because there are some really heavy topics involving DV and death.

Even without the underlying murder mystery surrounding things, this book was engaging and really lovely. In fact, Aggie being the murderer might have been the one storyline that I wasn’t the biggest fan of, and didn’t feel 100% earned to me. This is probably the reason it’s not a full 5 star. 

I love how much time is spent in nature, with the wolves, and talking about conservation. The piece about starting small in your own backyard was just so sweet. 

I normally hate timeline switching, but it was so fluid and easy in this book that it didn’t feel off at all. Very natural progression.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Suicide, Abortion, and Death of parent

archaicrobin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Inti loves her wolves and her sister and not much else until she begins a project in the Scottish Highlands to re-forest the area by introducing wolves. Two stories are going at once as Inti alternates between the present time, dealing with angry locals and the past about her sister’s abusive husband and the terror he caused them both. 

This was beautifully written and powerful. I loved this one, even when I had to put it down because it can be a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

aliyachaudhry's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit and Alcohol

Minor: Drug abuse

mellowreading's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Suicide and Death of parent

klathe's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Blood, Excrement, and Death of parent

miaj_99's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

pollyhall's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I liked that the main female characters were strong and could take care of themselves. The descriptions of the wolves and the Scottish Highlands were well done. It felt like I was actually observing them.
I could not suspend my disbelief when it came to the Chief of Police because of how he was described.
With all mysteries, you know that there is a twist coming but this one was a total surprise. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

sopherdopher's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse and Suicide

Minor: Drug use and Alcohol