Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Brown Girl In The Ring by Nalo Hopkinson

4 reviews

emalderwood's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I enjoyed the concept and plot, and would read it again for that. The writing wasn't super polished and the main character was annoying for quite a while, but she managed to redeem herself in the end. The kind of protagonist I spent a lot of time annoyed with but she finally had some growth towards the climax which made the second half much more enjoyable. 

If you like this genre and are okay putting up with character flaws and some areas where the writing is still developing then it's worth the read. I would definitely be interested in reading more of this author's later works as my issues were less 'the author is terrible' and more 'the author hasn't fully come into her prime yet, but has good instinct.'

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug abuse, Death, Torture, Mental illness, Murder, and Death of parent

Moderate: Gore, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood

Minor: Medical content

wordsareworlds's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

This book had all the qualities of an excellent fable crafted into the modern dystopia with an incredibly evocative voice. Hopkinson wove in so much growth for Ti-Jeanne in a pretty short story, and the length felt just right for the the telling of myths, the ones where the scenery changes to fit the times but the core is the same, and the lessons remain true regardless of the era.

I found the worldbuilding slightly confusing, but that has to do with my own ignorance of both specific Caribbean cultural references and the city of Toronto. That being said, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. Hopkinson's prose is evocative and impactful, and the ways she described the magic were both awe inspiring and terrifying.

Highly recommend for people looking for a fast paced, exciting, and in many ways heart breaking, coming of age story with strong themes of motherhood, family, and holding onto culture in a place that is often hostile to it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death of parent, Child death, Body horror, Gun violence, Violence, Torture, Medical content, and Child abuse

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Racial slurs, and Domestic abuse

menomica's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

I don’t normally like reading dystopian novels bc it’s usually a form of political critique and it comes off as  speculative fiction, which doesn’t really spark that much joy for me, or it’s just a back-drop for the very boring and white characters (i.g. The Hunger Games or Divergent). But… this one here very much intrigued me. I like the aspect of Haitian mythology. The story is very well-made. It starts off a bit slow and then after Chapter 5 Miss Hopkins will not let you know peace. Just panic and stress and vibes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Grief, and Gore

Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Murder, and Torture

Minor: Addiction, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, Gun violence, Grief, Excrement, and Child death

sionnac's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Torture, Violence, Physical abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Medical content, and Medical trauma