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1.84k reviews by:
caseythereader
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
- We know anti-Black racism is at the heart of so much in our country, and in THE SUM OF US, McGhee demonstrates exactly that and then some, using the public pools we white people opted to drain rather than integrate as a metaphor: we'd rather cause pain to everyone than let Black people take even one step up the ladder. Everything from the decline of union organizing to the subprime mortgage crisis has an element of racial animus at the root.
- It's one thing to know white Americans treat life as a zero-sum game, and it's quite another to see it laid out like this. I think if you are a white American, you should read this book. It's a lot to chew on and I think will inform a lot of antiracism work going forward, as you'll be better prepared to look for this side of whatever issue you're working on.
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation
- And am I glad I did! I tore through it in less than a day. THE WIFE UPSTAIRS is pure book candy - rich people behaving badly, a young woman escaping a dark past, murder most foul, etc.
- You definitely don't need to have read JANE EYRE to enjoy this book, but if you have, you'll spot some delightful callbacks in the names and details.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
- This book is full of messy characters (some of whom I thought could have stood to have a little more page time) and you're rooting for Joan the whole way. I was turning pages as fast as I could, and the final showdown had me gripped.
- The ending seems to have people split, and I can see why - if you read this book, come talk to me about what you think happens!
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation
Minor: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts
- As much as I enjoyed this story, I can't talk about it without discussing the anti-fat bias woven through it, which really dragged everything down for me. Most minor characters weren't given physical descriptions unless they were fat. Then, every time they were mentioned, so was their fatness, and it never had any bearing on what was happening in that scene. Poor Chancellor Son was forever pursing his "thick lips," drumming his "sausage fingers" or heaving himself up on his "heavy elbows." Recruits who clearly weren't going to make it into the ranks of the clans were "clever, but pudgy," or "doughy and insipid." These fat characters were all shown as being lazy or incompetent in one way or another, often described as having once been formidable warriors who now ate and drank too much. If a character was described as being hardworking, loyal, etc., their size usually wasn't mentioned.
- This is not me telling you to cancel this book and this author - I just want to point out how pervasive these stereotypes are, and how often we don't even notice them in our stories (especially in fantasy, where the protagonists are usually thin and able bodied.) Read the book if the story sounds good to you, but go in aware of this aspect of it.
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol
Minor: Rape
- The queer community often has conversations about whether labels are helpful or limiting, and NONBINARY shows readers both sides of that coin - on the one hand, it can be so hard to understand yourself when you don't have the right vocabulary, and on the other hand, the vocabulary we do have often isn't enough.
Graphic: Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol
- Not only that, but her stories are infused with warmth and care. We will explore this together, she says.
- I also love the idea of a tea monk. That sometimes you simply need someone to listen to you and lovingly make you a warm beverage while you take a 20 minute break from your life.
- SOMETIMES I TRIP ON HOW HAPPY WE COULD BE is for fans of Roxane Gay, Tressie McMillan Cottom, and of course Perkins' dearly departed podcast Thirst Aid Kit.
- Perkins is working to untangle the messages she received in her youth about how to be a proper Black woman and learn to live her life exactly the way she wants to.
- She is open about everything from sex to church to drugs to love. Some essays I wish were expanded on a little more, but I'll read anything by Perkins - her mix of tender and serious is perfect.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Alcohol
- Really interesting to read Boots' lack of magic as a disability in this world. It does fall a little into the trap of "your disability is really a superpower," but for the most part I thought it functioned as disability does in our world - people are embarrassed to talk about it, and often forget that she needs some basic accommodations.
- I can't wait to pick up the sequels and find out where this story is going. Add the crew of the Capricious to the list of spacers I'd follow anywhere.
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Alcohol
- Honestly, I read this whole 250 page book in one day and I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. @carrickreads called it Jane Eyre in space, and I think that's pretty dead on (especially because I thought James was a total jerk).
- The lack of quotation marks around dialogue always makes me feel like the characters are at a remove from me, like I am watching the proceedings float by through a window.
- I didn't like how June always had the solution that dozens of other geniuses working for months or years couldn't come up with, even when she didn't have any formal training.
- Now, I've said all this stuff I didn't like, and yet, I blew through the book and needed to know what was going to happen. Like I said, I have no idea how I feel about it!
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury