Review of Children of Violence

[Bertha Jackson]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Children of Violence" by Luke Gherardi.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Have you ever wondered how children raised in violence survive? Once an individual's life has been impacted by violence, is there any turning back? What makes an individual turn violent? In the short novella Children of Violence by Luke Gherardi, you will read about the lives of several individuals whose lives are impacted by violence. Violence comes in many forms. You can be a victim of a robbery, murder, suicide, child molestation, alcohol, gangs, prostitution, religion, or even from your parents or neighbor. Follow the stories of Gracie, Maria, Ron, Ramon, Cole, Randy, Reeves, and Lee to see how their lives unfold.

This fictional novella has a few positive aspects. Luke Gherardi has done an excellent job in developing each of the characters. I felt like I knew each of them, and they were real people. I felt sympathetic towards the victims and villains. The author artistically interwove humor with violence. For example, he used phrases such as "high as a Chinese bamboo kite," which made me laugh because the narrative had nothing to do with a Chinese bamboo kite. Although the profanity in this book appears to be excessive, it makes the characters more realistic in their roles.

Although the negative aspects of the book made the violence and characters more realistic, it also made this book difficult for me to read. I find the use of profanity when speaking to a child and using words such as "******” and "******” to be offensive and unnecessary words in our vocabulary. The flow of the book was hard to follow. Some of the characters' lives were intertwined, but another character's story would be in the middle of their story. I particularly disliked the ending because it revolved around an incident that occurred earlier in the book.

This novella appears to have been edited by a professional editor as I only found five minor errors that did not distract from my reading. These errors were not enough to subtract a star, but the book's flow was distracting enough to deduct one star. I debated giving this book two stars, but even though I found a lot of the book distasteful, that is a personal opinion and not a good reason to deduct another star. The content of this book does an excellent job of showing how violence can impact innocent lives. Therefore, I am giving this book 3 out of 4 stars.

I recommend this book to mature adults only. The non-borderline profanity, the LGBTQ content, and the religious aspects of this book are not appropriate for younger or sensitive readers. Much of this book's content may be offensive to the LGBTQ community. Religious readers may be offended by the roles the church plays regarding cults and violence.

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Children of Violence
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[Kanchan Sharma]

A clear and candid review. It shows the impact of violence on children. It is a little unfortunate environment that some children have to go through it. I would like to check it myself.

[maggi3]

Children raised around violence is a broad and difficult topic to cover well, but it seems like the author has done so. The use of slurs is unfortunate, but perhaps it makes the story more realistic. As someone who identifies within the LGBTQ+ community, I am a little hesitant to read this, but it sounds like an interesting and impactful read, so I might give it a try. Thanks for the review!

[Mercy Osmond]

Being abused as a child is very tragic, that might leave a child to be scarred for life. The book seems touching. Thanks for the insightful review.

[Samson Mirth]

This book is a mind exploit to awareness. The beginning is awesome in a way that shows how tragic it's for a person to be caught up in an environment filled with violence. Getting out of such problems won't be easy,i mean can a person who has suffered from violence or molestation be able to become normal again?

[Resta Kyando]

The case of child violence it wide , but auther has tried to explain it whether can occur other way of violence because people differ in behavior

[John rafael Deseo]

In Philippines children were raised to be strong especially when they live in suburban area wherein they are taught to be tough to survive to all kinds of struggles in life

[nabila_naazz]

Children raised around violence is a broad and difficult topic to cover well, but it seems like the author has done so. The use of slurs is unfortunate, but perhaps it makes the story more realistic. The case of child violence it wide , but auther has tried to explain it whether can occur other way of violence because people differ in behavior
As someone who identifies within the LGBTQ+ community, I am a little hesitant to read this, but it sounds like an interesting and impactful read, so I might give it a try. Thanks for the review!
This fictional novella has a few positive aspects. Luke Gherardi has done an excellent job in developing each of the characters. I felt like I knew each of them, and they were real people. I felt sympathetic towards the victims and villains. The author artistically interwove humor with violence. For example, he used phrases such as "high as a Chinese bamboo kite," which made me laugh because the narrative had nothing to do with a Chinese bamboo kite. Although the profanity in this book appears to be excessive, it makes the characters more realistic in their roles.

[El_limitless]

I'd really love to read this story. Growing in a violent environment can be very detrimental to the growth of a person. I will love to know how people who lived like that survived and perhaps moved on to become better. Great review.

[Adrian Rondon Salazar]

In Philippines children were raised to be strong especially when they live in suburban area wherein they are taught to be tough to survive to all kinds of struggles in life

In Venezuela too, it's related to the economy of both countries.

[Adrian Rondon Salazar]

I'll have to mentally prepare myself to read it. Thanks for your review.

[markodim721]

I like the raw charm this book has. It contributes a lot to the sense of reality. Thanks for the good review.

[cd20]

I think this would be a difficult book to write. Every child that is abused or raised in violence will have a story to tell. And, all the stories will be different. What works for one to survive will not necessarily work for the next. I will not be reading this book, it does not sound very good to me. I have a very sensitive heart, love for foster kids, and have my own personal family drama background, too many triggers for me. Thank you for an informative review.

[onyii_review]

I do hear a lot about children being raised in a violent way or environment. Wonder what it really does to them. Thanks for the review.

[Gloria Tohabru]

Thanks for this review. I've read this book too and it never disappointed me. Showed how children can be influenced by the society and how they are abused. I really enjoyed reading it.