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rachelmcg2004's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Incest, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Emotional abuse, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Rape, Xenophobia, Racism, Stalking, Sexual violence, and Classism
Moderate: Torture, Vomit, and Gun violence
Minor: Infidelity, Abortion, and Child death
2treads's review
- 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? No
5.0
Nalo Hopkinson is quickly becoming one of my top authors. The way in which she infuses her books with portions of her/our culture shows how dedicated she is to bringing the richness of our practices and celebrations of the Caribbean to her readers.
🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺
Midnight Robber is no exception; filled with influences from Jamaica to Trinidad to Carriacou as a whole was just exceptional. I was swept up and carried away and had no regrets.
Nalo has such an attuned way of writing her heritage: the dialect, the people, the places, the music, the festivals, and the experiences.
It is impossible not to just immerse oneself in the tale she tells, especially when one can relate to what is on the page. The atmosphere that Hopkinson weaves is lush; bursting with Caribbean flavour and folktales even as we travel to planets via 'interdimensional gateways'.
🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺
The impact of the cultures from the countries where Nalo has lived is vibrantly woven throughout this story, and I could not help but fall into every page. There are experiences that are familiar, both good and bad (friendships, parent/child relationships, family dynamics, and displacement). Not only is there passion in this story, but there is betrayal, misdeeds, bravery, self-acceptance, and triumph.
The polyamory representation was noted and appreciated and content warning: there is child sexual abuse depicted in this story, as well as the damaging effect on our MCs psyche.
Read This Book!!
🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺
Moderate: Gaslighting, Murder, Incest, Death of parent, Child abuse, Rape, Abortion, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infidelity and Body horror
ellekhupe's review
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Child abuse, and Incest
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Infidelity
ra22ouille's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Tan-tan brought so much love with her and set a transformation on the world. She was a force of change to people, to new halfway tree, and also Toussaint and granny nanny. Watching her learn to love was hopeful and strengthening.
Abitefa and Tan-tan's relationship made me warm and tender. I wanted more of them together and at the end I really missed Abitefa's involvement because I wanted her to more vocally there and obviously be a friend and equal, not masquerading as a pet (it was unclear to me if she was or not which I found dissatisfying).
Overall this was such an incredible incredible story and it will stay with me.
Graphic: Death of parent, Incest, Rape, Death, Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, and Infidelity
Moderate: Blood and Abortion
jhbandcats'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? Yes
4.5
story, but full of terrifying monsters. The worst monster of all is, of course, the human.
The girl Tan-Tan grows up in an aristocratic home on Toussaint, a Creole-like planet - but all is not well in this seeming paradise. Soon enough, she and her father are exiled to a prison planet just like Toussaint, but with poisonous plants and vicious, deadly animals, having to rely on the douens, the non-human natives, and their fellow prisoners to navigate their new life.
In many ways it's a horrifying coming-of-age tale yet there's a lot of love as well, especially in the lives of the douens. Their community is a gorgeous "city" of many homes in an enormous tree where everyone is satisfied with their lives. It reminded me of the movie Avatar, where the humans destroy anything beautiful because of their grasping, selfish nature, in contrast with the respectful natives living in harmonious coexistence with their home.
There's a lot more to it than that. A very thought-provoking read, one I may return to in a couple of years.
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Abortion, Child abuse, Rape, Abandonment, Alcohol, Gore, Incest, and Violence
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Incest, Infidelity, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Minor: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny