Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Becoming by Michelle Obama

19 reviews

leonormsousa's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

TRIGGER WARNINGS 

racism, sexism, death, death of a parent, child death, mass/school shootings, police brutality, gun violence, hate crime, chronic illness, cancer, miscarriage, grief 

REVIEW 

Michelle Obama is the GOAT and that is a fact. So obviously her memoir had been on my wishlist since… well, since I knew it existed. It was recommended to me by a multitude of people who give great recommendations and I feel kind of stupid that I didn’t get around to reading it sooner (although I do think that I read it at the perfect time of my life so I might have been consciously stupid but unconsciously smart :p). 

First of all, Michelle (yes, I will call her by her first name because in my mind we’re friends <3) has a hell of a life story so it’s hard not to feel grasped by it. We follow her from childhood to the end of Obama’s presidency, while she grows up through hardness but also happiness and lots of love. 

The book is very well written, including historical contextualization as we move through time, something that is especially relevant for someone who is not super familiar with US history/geography (like me). I read the book in audiobook (which I think is definitely a plus) and so it felt like she was right in front of me, just telling me her story, with emotion showing every once in a while and her strength always present. 

There is a part of the book in particular where Michelle shares her struggles with finding a purpose. After accomplishing everything she had planned (becoming a good layer with a good job), she feels like maybe being a layer is not what she wants. At 27 she shifts her career and once again finds her path but before that, she goes through a period of insecurity and confusion. This in itself is already something interesting to read about but the thing is: I was/am going through something similar in my own life. So you can imagine how reading how the GOAT dealt with and overcame this was so important to me. 

There is also some romance in this memoir and it’s so cute that you almost forget you’re not reading fiction. But it’s also very real and I love how Michelle is not afraid to expose how their relationship wasn’t perfect but it was something they both worked for. It makes me believe that maybe real love does still exist. 

The only little thing I can point at this book is that there are some parts that are a bit repetitive, namely when she’s talking about her work as a first lady. It’s nothing too much and it really is such a small thing compared to the greatness of the book but I always like to give some constructive criticism :p (like she’s actually gonna read this :p) 

Last but definitely not least, this is a book written by a Black woman so expect (great) notes on feminism and racism marking every step of Michelle’s life. It’s of course, one of the best parts of this memoir, especially because it is non-fiction so it can’t get more real than this… 

No decent conclusion: just go read this! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Cancer, Gun violence, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Hate crime, Chronic illness, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Sexism, and Police brutality

molly_rose's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Racism, Pregnancy, Sexism, Cancer, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Child death, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings

mirajuliee's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Mass/school shootings, and Racism

Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Death, Hate crime, Grief, and Cancer

angstyevie's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Murder, and Racism

rbacon's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

As you get into the third part of the book, the sequence of events seems to get looser and chapter placements become somewhat arbitrary, which I think made it slow in parts to get through. The beginning of the book and particularly Michelle Obama's upbringing is really interesting and a great reminder that anyone could make a difference with perseverance and the right opportunities. Raises some interesting questions too.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Mass/school shootings, Sexism, Racism, Hate crime, Gun violence, and Death of parent

potatokao's review against another edition

hopeful reflective slow-paced

4.0

hard to rate and review a memoir, it’s their life story they’re sharing with us after all. i enjoyed the writing, i listened to the audiobook so it was nice to hear michelle’s story directly from her. 

the pace was heavy leaning on her upbringing, her love story was very endearing, and her career change showed me a lot about her personal ambitions i didn’t previously know. giving me even more reason to respect her. her disdain for politics is with good reason. the book gave insight to her work as first lady and made me realize her health initiatives probably made more impact to today’s healthy eating world than we give her credit. 

the latter half was more condensed, squished pacing. a good build up and then a plateau. her hopefulness is not something i can embody but her continuous growth as a woman is a quality i admire. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, and Gun violence

madelnguttorms1's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mass/school shootings

Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, and Violence

thejuliette's review against another edition

challenging hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.5

This book shows which factors shape you while growing up, but also further on in life. Growth and succes depend on the actions of the person, their circumstances and the people around them. Based on that i found this an reflective and inspiring book, but it didnt succeed in keeping my attention. Maybe biographies arent my genre. Nevertheless it's a decent book and centainly worth reading. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Police brutality

Minor: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Violence, and Xenophobia

readandfindout's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.5

On first read in 2019: 4.5 stars. Don't mind me, I'm just sitting here crying.

On 2024 reread:

Overall rating: still 4.5 stars!

Style/writing: 4.5 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Perspective: 4.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Child death, Gun violence, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Racism, Terminal illness, and Sexism

Minor: Hate crime, Cancer, War, Slavery, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Grief, and Infertility