Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Hang The Moon by Jeannette Walls

7 reviews

bearybooky's review

sad medium-paced

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

3.75

Too depressing and close to real life to be enjoyably entertaining for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Slavery, Cancer, Classism, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Child death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Sexism

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, and Murder

cyndi1966's review

slow-paced

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

2.0

This book was just a hot mess. I finished it only to see how ridiculous it would get. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Suicide, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Child death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Abandonment

Minor: Slavery and Pregnancy

redheadorganist's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Blood, Classism, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Alcoholism, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Alcohol, Abandonment, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Cancer

Moderate: Grief, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content

Minor: Infertility

kimveach's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I had read reviews that raved about this book, so I was expecting to love it.  I liked the story, but it didn't meet my expectations.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Grief, Incest, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Child death, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

mels_reading_log's review

adventurous medium-paced

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

4.0

This book was wild. It follows the life of Sallie Kincaid and her life growing up in a powerful family in a rural mountain town in the 1920s. Sallie is not like normal girls of this time, she wants to do the dirty work, drive fast cars and carry a gun.  With the death of family members you go through the politics of a powerful family changing command and the chaos that ensues. I was not immediately drawn in to this book, but by the end I could not wait to see what was going to happen next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Car accident, Child death, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, Police brutality, Sexism, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Murder, Violence, Classism, Death of parent, Hate crime, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Suicide attempt

Minor: War

noble_editorial's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I was excited to read this one, anticipating a gritty Prohibition-era tale full of drama, tension, and intrigue. Unfortunately, this book just didn't deliver that for me. I wanted to feel immersed in 1920s Virginia, but that just didn't happen and the whole story fell rather flat for me. 

Sallie had great potential as the MC, and her father was quite interesting, but the cast of characters grew too unwieldy as the story progressed and diluted my interest in all of them, never mind the confusion of keeping track of them all. The chemistry between the characters didn't feel very authentic, either. 

I found the pacing was off, with a time jump that pulled me out of the story near the beginning, and a lack of tension throughout. The action never felt particularly high-stakes, and the events leading to exposed secrets and family drama required too much of a suspension of disbelief for me to remain invested in Sallie's story. 

I think the premise of this book had fantastic potential, but the execution just didn't work for me. I prefer this author's narrative nonfiction. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Domestic abuse, Child death, Suicide, Classism, Racism, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Alcohol, Violence, Death of parent, and Infidelity

thevioletfoxbookshop's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

 Full of twists and turns, Hang The Moon is a vibrant story of one woman's fierce determination to find family, save her town, and remain true to her self, all while running an underground whiskey operation in Prohibition-era Virginia.

I loved getting to know Sallie Kincaid and watching her grow from a lonely child into a fierce woman. Sallie refuses to bend herself to anyone else's expectations and she refuses to back down from what's right. If you're looking for a strong female lead, look no further! Follow along on her adventures through the sprawling hills of rural Virginia to the ultra-wealthy home of a flapper in Richmond and you'll find yourself transported. Welcome to the early 1920's where you'll go along for the ride on a midnight run smuggling whiskey into Roanoke, fly high in the sky in a WWII biplane, and see the world from the perspective of both the have's and have-not's.

Sallie lives in a world where misogyny and the patriarchy rule with a heavy hand. Prohibition, racism, classism, and poverty are prevalent. To survive, Sallie will have to figure out what's right...and how that might be different than what's legal or proper or expected or easy. She'll have to learn that the world is rarely as black and white as she thought it was as a child. And when that rose tint of childhood fades, Sallie must reckon with the fact that the adults in her life are not as upstanding and admirable as she once thought. In fact, secrets and scandals abound! As those secrets come out, Sallie learns that history often repeats itself, especially when you least expect it.

Through all of the adversity, Sallie is persistent and resilient. She and many of the other women in the book are forced to be strong through wretched circumstances. They say it's a man's world... but these characters have other ideas! They discover they can be powerful in unexpected and untraditional ways. As these women come to rely on each other and form bonds, Sallie begins to see the true meaning of family and the different shapes it can take. To protect her family, Sallie must challenge the status-quo, the people in power, and make changes in a world that resists.

I devoured Hang The Moon in one weekend. I found myself rooting for Sallie and many of the other characters, turning pages as quickly as I could to find out what happened next. Hang The Moon is absolute must-read if you love historical fiction. Jeannette Walls has done it once again - just like her previous books, this one is a masterpiece. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Death of parent, and Sexism

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Cancer, Classism, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Racism

Minor: Suicide, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders