Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds

16 reviews

powellki's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Gun violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Medical trauma, Addiction, Sexism, Outing, Misogyny, Grief, Child abuse, Cursing, Violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Medical content, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Terminal illness, and Police brutality

Minor: Sexual assault

pastelmeganes's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

From the first few chapters into the book I was already enthralled. I felt a book like this is why I wanted to pick up reading again. I feel a lack of intersectional representation in media to consume that aligns with me and reading made me feel like I was definitely the target demographic. Being someone who’s half black, queer, a capricorn, into astrology and tarot cards who grew up in a suburban area to later move somewhere in the middle of nowhere; i felt like this book checked off so many things I related to that just left me smiling at so many different corners. I spent a lot of time taking care of my grandparents during my later years of adolescence and found it so many aspects of myself within Avery. I appreciated avery was very comfortable in her sexuality too and made her feel so much more grounded for me. Her deep yearning for companionship from not only her new friends but her family as well tugged at my heartstrings. I would say by far my favorite characters in order were: Mama Letty, Simone and then Avery. All of them had so many quirks and aspects of themselves that felt very real to me. I felt like I knew these individuals personally. I would recommend this book for anybody who wants tale of POC wlw soft romance, small town secrets, and how to tread through the murky waters of generational traumas. 

Mama Letty . . . My jaw dropped at the end with her passing when we learned that she killed Jade’s mom!! Jesus CHRIST i was mot expecting that at all!! Holy shit. I feel bad for Jade, especially since Jade’s dad just moved on to his mistress.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Biphobia, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Lesbophobia, Terminal illness, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Outing, and Racism

kays_reading_journal's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

This book was insane. I read it in one day, and spent the last 60 pages bawling my eyes out. I’m not even a teenager anymore, but this threw me right back to when I was 15, terrified to come out to my parents, terrified of the future. This book was filled with love and hurt and pain and trauma and it was done perfectly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Lesbophobia, Hate crime, and Homophobia

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Alcoholism, and Murder

jessicaludden's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense fast-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? No

4.5

“I always thought falling in love would feel like an endless summer. Warm and whimsical, sugar-sweet sherbet and sparklers lighting up the sky. But was autumn now, and the world was still beautiful, and it all reminded me of her.”

I am a puddle of tears after reading this book. I loved it. I don’t know how the author did it but they managed to make me feel utterly hopeless and completely hopeful at the same time. This book holds a lot of power. It’s in the scenes where three generations of women are battling through their trauma and grief, whether with or against each other, that it really shows. Jas Hammonds did an amazing job of showing the complexities of trauma within a family and how that trauma can be passed on through generations. They also included the very raw and realistic histories of racism in the south. They put a face and a name to these horrors and were able to show how this history of hatred impacts actual people. Some of my favorite scenes were the conversations between Avery and Mama Letty where they were able to reminisce on Mama Lefty’s love with Ray, but also Avery was able to get bits and pieces of the awful events that resulted in Ray’s death. Jas Hammonds conveyed Avery’s desperation to know more and then her anger and helplessness when she realized there was nothing she could do. I loved Avery’s character. I love her determinedness to know more and do more for those she loved. I loved watching her grow into herself. Overall, I laughed, I cried, and I stared into space thinking. This book was beautiful.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Grief, Lesbophobia, Racism, Hate crime, Cancer, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Murder, Outing, Police brutality, and Death of parent

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

Thanks to Fierce Reads for the free copy of this book.

 - WE DESERVE MONUMENTS is a knockout of a book. This book covers everything from the annoyances of being a teenager to generational trauma, and it's delivered in a story that's both beautiful and page-turning.
- I loved watching the relationships between the women of Avery's family untangle and grow. Hammonds doesn't gloss over how painful it can be to uncover family history, but also that love can still be buried under all of it.
- On top of all this, there's also an exploration of what it means to be young, Black and queer in the South today. I'll truly be thinking of this book for a long time to come. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Alcohol, Racism, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Homophobia, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Medical content, Violence, and Cancer

Minor: Sexual content

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

When her family learns that her grandmother is dying, Avery is uprooted from her life in D.C. and transplanted to her mom’s tiny hometown in Georgia.  She leaves behind her college-obsessed friends (and ex) just before starting her senior year in a town where she knows no one, including her own grandmother.  Years of lost time span between three generations of Black women, and Avery is determined to unearth the divisive secrets that color her family and finally get to know her impenetrable grandmother, all while getting to know herself.  A debut novel about who and what is worth remembering with a special focus on Black queer love in the South, We Deserve Monuments is unforgettable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Outing

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Classism, Cancer, Hate crime, Medical content, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Terminal illness

Minor: Vomit, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Police brutality, and Sexual content