Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews

37 reviews

jdianm's review

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? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Abandonment, Deportation, Addiction, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Colonisation, and Sexual content

Minor: Eating disorder, Police brutality, and Homophobia

cebollayajo's review

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

was unlike anything i had ever read before- at least in terms of writing style. me & sneha are so similar yet so different…. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Racism

raekit's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was a really good but really hard book to read. The characters are raw and flawed and their lives are messy. I’m glad I read it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Police brutality

Moderate: Sexual assault

jessalex610's review

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A very relatable story about a young freshly out of college person, trying to figure out her sexuality and her way in the world, while bringing in a refreshing immigrant perspective. I cried many times. I screamed many times. But mostly I just felt a very deep sense of relatability and comfort that I am not the only young person also struggling to figure out what their life is in their mid-20s.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Deportation, Mental illness, and Addiction

Minor: Transphobia

janaptrsn's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Truly an extraordinarily beautifully complex novel. What drew me in was the cover art, of course; the fact that it played in Milwaukee, a city I have personal ties to; and the perspective of a queer brown immigrant. From the first few pages, I was drawn into the setting of the book by its beautiful prose, which in some parts still felt like reading a diary or text from a friend. Reading „All this could be different“ feels like being inside a complex, reflective, stubborn, colorful, hurt, loving, sad mind. While I could relate so some experiences, I could also grasp other experiences I had bo personal relation to. The characters in this book are multi-faceted and refreshingly human. This book captures life so far in the twenty-first century from an intensely realistic lense and touches on many important societal issues. It is painful and soothing at the same time. It is real, and I would recommend it to every human out there. Thank you Sarah Thankam Mathews, I am so looking forward to your future work!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Suicide, Self harm, Police brutality, Drug abuse, and Addiction

Minor: Fatphobia, Death of parent, and Transphobia

juls0899's review

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I really appreciated the realistic development of Sneha’s character- she messes up like a real person, brutally and ignorantly, but learns from it and is still far from perfect at the end. Also, the way the text shifted one of the characters’ pronouns from she to they halfway through was a very cool way to show how that language can change, and the protag may stumble once or twice, but she’s putting in the effort. I feel like I haven’t seen that pronoun shift captured in text before and I think it’d be helpful for people who haven’t had to do that for a friend/loved one/person in their own lives. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, and Rape

emilybacher's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Incest, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Police brutality and Alcoholism

ienbdri's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The first 100 pages were so hard to get through I almost DNFd multiple times. The main character is so deeply unlikable that I just wanted to hit her and nothing else. But after getting to know her and her social circle and her struggles, the book definitely picked up for me. I didn't fully love the story but I can appreciate what the author tried to do and while the pacing was still a bit weird I really like the deep dive the author did into immigrant problems and growing up and the struggles and pressure that come with it.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Transphobia

schnooglefaceduthie's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault

Moderate: Police brutality and Racism

Minor: Vomit

alexture's review against another edition

It didn't rock my world but it was nice enough. glad the protagonist worked on her casual transphobia.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Alcoholism

Moderate: Police brutality and Transphobia

Poverty and what comes with it, including health issues & eating disorders.