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crabbytaco's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, Slavery, and Racism
Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse
Minor: Sexual content
vittoriav's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Um check the trigger warnings first and foremost.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Racism, Sexual assault, Vomit, Colonisation, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, War, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Police brutality, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Cultural appropriation, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, and Rape
tiffyb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
- It was hard at times to keep up with characters, to the point that I did often have to return to the start of the chapter once I figured out/remembered who someone was. I also struggled at times to place where in history the characters were (for example thinking we were in the early 1900’s but we were in the 70’s. But somehow those things didn’t bother me too much, and part of my struggle to remember characters was that I became so engrossed in the last character’s story that it was hard to switch to a new one at times.
- It was hard at times to step into the other family’s story again after becoming to engrossed in one story honestly.
- I do wish we’d had a way for the original two sisters to have met each other or even interacted. Especially since this was the whole premise of the book.
- The amount of tragedy contained in the story of these two families is staggering… obviously meant to encapsulate the experience of an entire race of people rather than suggest that all of these things could possibly have befallen one single family. So I do think this was a bit of a stretch. Still, it felt believable somehow, placed within the context of “cursed families”.
Graphic: Infidelity, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Violence, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Slavery, Death of parent, Deportation, Drug abuse, Excrement, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, and War
hkesslerjones's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Racism, Drug abuse, Slavery, Rape, Colonisation, Drug use, Trafficking, and Sexual violence
asset_exe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Racism, Homophobia, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Drug abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexism, Addiction, and Suicide
mysterymom40's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Excrement, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Drug use, Addiction, Pregnancy, Murder, Mental illness, Suicide, and Abandonment
Minor: Bullying, Vomit, and Xenophobia
rieviolet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Still, I think that this kind of narrative structure (chapters with an ever-changing point of view) is just not my personal preference. Inevitably (as it happens, for example, with short stories collections), there were certain characters' storylines that I appreciated more compared to others. In general, I found the final chapters (those closer to us in time) less engaging.
There were also sections that I liked but that ended a bit too abruptly, leaving too much left unsaid about crucial events and the characters' fate (and not all of the storylines got mentioned again and expanded upon, further on in the narration).
At times, the book got a bit too graphic for my (I admit a bit delicate) sensibilities, but it does deal with very heavy topics; just be sure to check the content warnings.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, Sexual content, Excrement, Kidnapping, Death, Drug abuse, Slavery, Racism, Colonisation, Violence, Trafficking, Sexual violence, and Torture
Moderate: War, Child abuse, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Rape, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs
Minor: Suicide, Vomit, Cannibalism, Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Ableism, Murder, Infertility, Bullying, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Child death
cardlikecredit's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Slavery, War, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Rape, and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Classism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship
dreamersmind's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Quotes:
“You think you know but you don’t know, “she said. “Evil is like a shadow. It follows you”
“Trust is a thing to be earned. I don’t trust you. I have seen what power can do to men, and you are from one of the most powerful families.”
“This is the problem of history. We cannot know that which we were not there to see and hear and experience for ourselves. We must rely upon the words of others. Those who were there in the olden days, they told stories to the children so that the children would know, so that the children could tel stories to their children. And so on and so on. But now we come upon the problem of conflicting stories. Kojo Nayeli says that when the warriors came to his village their coats were red, but Kwame Adu says that they were blue. Whose story do we believe then? The boys were silent. They stared at him, waiting. We believe the one who has the power. He is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history, you must always ask yourself, whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out you must find that story too. From there you begin to get a clearer yet still imperfect picture”
Graphic: Murder, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Slavery, and Racism
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Suicide
alexiconic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Drug use, Trafficking, Violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Racism, Rape, Colonisation, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Deportation, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, War, Abortion, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infertility, Murder, Sexual violence, and Mental illness