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1.12k reviews by:
paigereitz
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Wow. Just - wow. This book was phenomenal. A series of character sketches of (mainly British Black femme) characters across a diverse range of ages and ideologies that weave in and out of each other's lives. Exploration of racism, colorism, immigrant issues, LGBTQIA issues, feminism in its many forms, love, relationships, inequitable educations - so much in here to unpack. I suspect I'll find myself coming back to it in the future. Bernadine Evaristo displayed an amazing ability to really get into the skin of her characters, many of whom have exceedingly disparate experiences, and do so flawlessly. This was an amazing book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Classism
Minor: Deadnaming, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pregnancy
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It is, as the name suggests, a hell of a book. It is an intense deep dive into race relations in novel form, from the Black experience, and it is an emotionally heavy read, but it was so, so good. An indictment on modern society, skillfully woven through a story that is disorienting and jarring and hard and emotional. I'll be processing this book for a long time.
From the book, "Laugh all you want, but I think learning to love yourself in a country when you're told that you're a plague on the economy, that you're nothing but a prisoner in the making, that your life can be taken away from you at any moment and there's nothing you can do about it - learning to love yourself in the middle of all that? Hell, that's a goddamn miracle."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This was a fun romp. It wasn't awe-inducing nor was it boring, but it was a fun little adventure.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Police brutality
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Blood
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This was a cute story and I enjoyed it, but it was a little direct/on the nose at times. I really liked the concept, but the delivery was so-so.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Lesbophobia
Minor: Sexual violence, Death of parent
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was a magical read for me. A book that I never would have found had it not been on a library display table at the right time on the right day. A book well outside my "normal" wheelhouse. A book I picked up because it happened to take place in a part of Maine I love, and I decided to give it a shot. But this book - this BOOK! It is life and love, a story of outcasts finding community, a story of writers writing and people leaning into their humanity. A book that humanizes the elderly too often thrown away and discarded by society. A book with sharp dialog and intense highs and lows of emotion. I loved it. Absolutely loved it.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Wow. Wow, wow, wow. This book is a beautiful experience from start to finish. It is emotional and grief-choked in the best way (I say as a person who is grieving). It has superb trans rep (and trans characters never have their deadnames revealed in text, which I found an excellent detail). It is not a doom-and-gloom trans story of loss only. The backdrop of the diverse cultures of the Latinx community is celebrated and beautiful. This book was just phenomenal.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced