What are some books about tough subjects? And share the subjects ;)
What are some books about tough subjects? And share the subjects 😉
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My Sister’s Keeper – Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child’s life… even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? – this is taken from the author’s website/blog regarding the book….
I loved this book. I think all of Jodi Picoult’s novels grab at your heartstrings.
My favorite by her x
So upsetting!
A Child Called It- Its about a boy who suffers abuse and neglect.
I believe you’re mistaken.
These are my favorite books of all times, A man called Dave is my absolute favorite, cried like a baby, caught myself sobbing – but in a good way – he is the definition of resilience.. Loved all three and the one by his brother is good too.
I always fancied writing a story based in the moral dilemma voiced by Tom Baker in Genesis of the Daleks in his “do I have the right?” Speech
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee… About the near genocide of countless native tribes in the US for land, money, greed, uninformed hatred of anything “not white”, etc
Killers of the Flower Moon… Which addressed the Osage murders. God only knows how many other Osage natives were killed in order to get at their oil rights.
Ellen Hopkins. She has multiple books, they are written in Pros. All of her books are on tough subjects, like cutting, rape, child trafficking etc.
I have several of her books but have yet to read any
The Body by Hanif Kureishi. (Science-fiction) What happens when old rich people are able to transfer their brains into younger bodies?
Wasn’t their an episode of the Twilight Zone along those lines?
I don’t know what that is, the Twilight Zone
@Antonella The Twilight Zone was an American sci-fi and fantasy anthology series which ran (originally) for five series at the tale end of the 1950s and early sixties. Often they were morality tales dressed up in sci-fi. I can’t recall the episode’s name but it involves a dying old man who wants to buy him and his wife younger bodies. Ultimately he can only afford one for himself and well trying out the body he chooses to return to his original body upon realising he might be young but his wife isn’t
The book Starters by Lissa Price is also kinda about this topic
Reminds me of the movie ‘get out’
@Melissa I’d completely forgotten about that film
I have a book in my house somewhere, different title but same premise only they also can erase your old memories.
@Allison sounds a curious development
Yeah, I guess there are a lot of movies/books/etc. Dealing with that kind of topic or similar. That one was my first as I was about 18 when I read it and it deeply tickled my brain with strange new ideas.
@Melissa I was thinking the same
Relevant today. Covers the tough subject of student perspective during a school shooting. Haven’t read yet but on my To-Read List
Emily Edwards-Bilbow I bet, I know I’m going to.
I read & cried at this too, it’s all so unfair x
A really good book x
All of Ellen Hopkins books- drugs, abuse, rape, child trafficking, mental illness, self harm you name it she’s done it all
I’m surprised no one mentioned high school mathematics ?
Basically all math books XD
Some people like maths. 😛
That would be on my top 2 choices…?
I hated maths at school, I found out after I left school that I have Dyscalculia (difficulty in learning or comprehending arithmetic, such as difficulty in understanding numbers, learning how to manipulate numbers), the funny (not ha ha funny) I did have some remedial classes at school, which helped but by the time I left school, I had my own way of dealing with numbers?
A child called It. Severe abuse at the hands of a mother. Probably the hardest book I’ve ever read.
I’ve heard rumors of it not being true. But true or not, it hit home because of a close family member and the abuse they went through. It’s a tough read.
There’s always somebody who can’t accept that horrible things happen. That’s part of how conspiracy theories get started. Their minds go to great lengths to convince themselves that it’s all a boogie-man tale.
You might be interested In Cathy Glass’s books. They’re partially fictionalized, but mostly to protect the children.
I don’t read much on child abuse anymore because it’s just too hard to read. Horrific things happen to a lot of children. It makes me sick to my stomach. Excellent read but hard.
I wrote a radio play at college about a child suffering abuse at the hands of their Mother and they rejected it saying they would reconsider it if I changed it to the father or another male family figure. The reason I had chosen to do it was because of a rather upsetting Panorama documentary which addressed how child abuse by women tended to be ignore by social services
I never read anything about child abuse because I know the exposure would leave me devastated. It’s enough that I know it exists, I don’t have to experience it through a book …just my opinion
Yes. It’s sickening. My close family member was severely abused by their mother. It is covered up and ignored far too often.
Wow. That is disappointing. He was sure believable. But that kind of abuse happens all the time. Sad that he had to make up a lie to sell books.
Well my motivation for writing my radio play was some guy saying “abuse by a mother is so rare it should be ignored”
Good motivation. I know how untrue that statement is!
@Carie I refused to change the premise as they insisted it was just “a plot twist”. Ok to a certain degree it was but I felt it was a fact needed to be addressed. They rejected it and I wrote play about drink driving instead
I’m sorry to hear it was refused. I strongly believe abuse stories should be talked about and exposed, especially about mothers. Because it’s such a taboo topic that affects a lot of people.
@Carie well unfortunately I didn’t supply them with the research I had done… Well as far as you can without talking to the old Bill
His brother wrote a book about it as well. I’m really curious about that now.
I’m doing a bit of research. This supposedly happened in California and abuse cases like that would be publicized.
I’m really torn. I can’t find anything about it being a lie. I’m going to obsess over this now lol!
I would think so
Night by Elie Wiesel or any book about the Holocaust is really hard to read.
Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides was the first ‘hard’ book I read. It not only covers the events of Bataan, Corigador, and Cabanatuan, but the author is careful to quietly remind readers that the Japanese are as human as the prisoners.
The Slave Across the Street by Theresa Flores addresses sexual slavery, in a suburban environment.
Furiously Happy deals with anxiety and depression in a way that is often laugh-out-loud funny, but also cringe-inducingly familiar. ❤️
I have read both of her books. I liked her first one better, but I love her blog. I have been following her for years. Ever since the giant metal chicken.
@Desiree, I haven’t read the first one; I’m thinking of getting it on Audible so I can hear her her voice.
@Stacy you should definitely check out her blog as well.
The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things.
Literally gut wrenching. There is not a tough subject this book DOESN’T touch upon. Abuse, drug addiction, child protective services, mental illness, religious extremists, prostitution, rape and molestation. Not for the weak stomach.
Lilac Girls.All Holocaust stories are awful, but this one really got to me.
A Life Stolen by Jaycee Dugard, it was heartbreaking to read, 18 years of life being captive & having children with the man who kidnapped her.
Jaycee seems to be a positive person & she is concentrating on her daughters & building a life for them & herself?
Yes. Great book
@Kristen yes? ~ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_of_Jaycee_Dugard
@Carie I just saw she has written another book ~ In the follow-up to her #1 bestselling memoir, A Stolen Life, Jaycee Dugard tells the story of her first experiences after years in captivity: the joys that accompanied her newfound freedom and the challenges of adjusting to life on her own.
When Jaycee Dugard was eleven years old, she was abducted from a school bus stop within sight of her home in South Lake Tahoe, California. She was missing for more than eighteen years, held captive by Philip and Nancy Garrido, and gave birth to two daughters during her imprisonment.
In A Stolen Life Jaycee told the story of her life from her abduction in 1991 through her reappearance in 2009. Freedom: My Book of Firsts is about everything that happened next.
“How do you rebuild a life?” Jaycee asks. In these pages, she describes the life she never thought she would live to see: from her first sight of her mother to her first time meeting her grownup sister, her first trip to the dentist to her daughters’ first day of school, her first taste of champagne to her first hangover, her first time behind the wheel to her first speeding ticket, and her first dance at a friend’s wedding to her first thoughts about the possibility of a future relationship.
This raw and inspiring book will remind you that there is, as Jaycee writes, “life after something tragic happens…Somehow, I still believe that we each hold the key to our own happiness and you have to grab it where you can in whatever form it might take.” Freedom is an awe-inspiring memoir about the power we all hold within ourselves.?
I will have to find that one
@Carie I’ve added it to my wishlist?
I read that as well….what that girl went though ?
@Paula I felt so terrible for her, it annoyed me that there was so many missed opportunities to save Jaycee because the police suspected her step~dad?
@Paula that upset me as well
I was in law enforcement and worked this case. Heartbreaking. Not sure I can read it. ??
Heartwrenching!
??
The Lost Dogs. I sobbed through the first 7 pages. It is about Michael Vick’s dogs. I can’t see that man’s face to this day.
Before we were Yours by L. Wingate, about an adoption agency run by a unscrupulous woman who stole babies from parents to sell for adoption. Based on true happenings from 1920’s through 1950 !!.
This was so good!
I thought so too. I couldn’t put it down.
I read about that woman a few months ago, it was awful, what she got up to x
Unspeakable Acts by Jan Hollingsworth, child abuse at a daycare facility
I belong to a awesome book club, but I am not a Harlequin love romancer
We got to Talk About Kevin, it’s so disturbing and sad. Makes you wonder if evil can be in the DNA of a child.
I forgot about this one! Was really good! Have you read The Bad Seed? Same concept and a fascinating subject x
I just saw the movie and always liked it. I would love to read the original book. Fascinating and sad subject
@Ana both are terrific x
Great book as is Bad Seed.
Thirteen Reasons Why (teen suicide); The Hate U Give (racism); Room (kidnapping & rape); Me Before You (Euthanasia)
The Science of Evil…after the first few pages, I had to quit reading. Subject is about evil things people have done and some of the science involved…it started with Hitler. I read a lot of true crime, including serial killers, but this book was one I just couldn’t handle.
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things.
Child abuse, drug addiction, and a host of despicable things.