Betty

Storyline: 4 Stars

This was a tough book. It wasn’t because of the writing, but the topic was heavy. It was a coming of age book that dripped in tragedy and trauma. Whenever I read a book like this one, I wonder what people out there still deal with situations like this, and how I can help them.

There is almost every trigger in this book. Murder, racism, sexism, rape, substances abuse, and everything in between. It was about a young girl and the struggles and trauma she and her family endure. I would not recommend this book to everyone because of the heavy topics. It was disturbing at times, and there were a few moments that I had to skip paragraphs.

Parental Guidance: 35% Recommend

As forementioned, there was a lot of trigger in this book. Because of those reasons, I would say there is a 35% chance I would recommend this book for the content. It is for a mature audience, and not just in age, but also in mental and emotional health. There was a lot of trauma that could cause someone to hurt by reading.

There was swearing, including a few instances of “f*ck”, but they were minimal. There were some rainbow characters, and all those characters had very tragic stories.

The toughest part about the book is the violence. There is domestic, graphic violence which includes rape. I admit that I skipped a few paragraphs because it was intense. The most awful scene is told by someone explaining what happened to them, but it was still awful. The victims are all underage and the perpetrators are family members. This book is not lighthearted and has a lot of serious, graphic content.

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Spoilers Ahead

This book made a huge impression on me because of how awful some of the stuff was that went on. I think that is one of my biggest critiques–there was nothing good. I have read true stories, such as biographies or autobiographies that have similar themes, but all of those books also had some joy. I felt that this book focused on all the negative and there was absolutely no positive. There was no glimmer of hope except that Betty was able to leave. I wished that there had been stronger relationships or friendships of some sort, especially since the book was fiction loosely based on a true story.

My other critique is that the book ended when Betty was still young. I felt that a lot of scenes dragged on in the book when she was young, and all of a sudden Betty grew up. About three quarters of the book was when Betty was twelve and younger, and then the last quarter was when she was twelve to eighteen years old. I wish that the book had gone beyond her years growing up because it would have been impactful to see how the trauma of her youth came out as she was older. I think it would have been a more effective look at trauma if Betty would have extended for longer in Betty’s years.