Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

10 reviews

bookishkellyn's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective

• 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

5.0

This is probably the best book I’ve ever read in my entire life. The author has a way with words and combined with her extensive research, she weaves an immersive fictional but realistic tale about a multigenerational family–mostly seen through the eyes of the main protagonist (Ailey) from childhood to adulthood. By the end of the book, I felt like I knew these characters after experiencing the highs and lows with them. I enjoyed reading every bit of this almost 800-page masterpiece.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Slavery, Pedophilia, Violence, Racial slurs, Rape, and Racism

Moderate: Colonisation, Infidelity, Murder, Death of parent, Sexism, Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, and Pregnancy

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Blood, and Bullying

noteworthy_fiction's review

Should have read the content warnings first.  This book is VERY well written and I hope we get more from the author, but I cannot do 20 pages of child abuse in the middle of an already sad and trauma filled book that already included child abuse.  Reader beware!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Xenophobia, Racism, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Abortion, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Body shaming

shoshthemost's review

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Racism, Classism, Incest, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, and Rape

ohsonoelle's review

emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child abuse, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Bullying

roasjeno's review

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Beautiful. Lyrical. Truly a masterpiece. Jeffers paints each character with such fine detail to convey these were and are real people; she challenges us to feel empathy for people we have been told are the past. I personally love intergenerational family sagas, and especially appreciated how these tales were woven into our main character’s research, as if we were following along with the author Jeffers as she researched for this novel. I’d say that this book is comparable in its scope and (potential) influence to One Hundred Years of Solitude by Márquez.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Pregnancy, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Child abuse, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Sexism, Racial slurs, Grief, Hate crime, Drug use, Colonisation, Murder, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Classism, and Child death

chaptersbydani's review

dark emotional informative reflective

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, Bullying, Death, Addiction, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Pregnancy, Rape, Death of parent, Murder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Sexual content, Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

glutenfreemaggie's review

dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

It’s not often that I add to my list of all time favorite books, and the list is a short one. This book, without question, is one of the most incredible books I’ve ever read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Slavery, Infertility, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Drug abuse, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Racial slurs

jessgreads's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Title: The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

Author: Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: Chicasetta, GA / Harlem, NYC

Month Read: February, 2022

Book Type: Hardcover

Publication: 2021

Publisher: Harper

Pages: 816

TRIGGER WARNING- 

There are too many to name, but some big ones include:

Racism / Genocide / Rape / Incest / Pedophilia / Suicide / Murder / Slavery 

"We are the earth, the land. The tongue that speaks and trips on the names of the dead as it dares to tell these stories of a woman’s line. Her people and her dirt, her trees,"

No Spoiler Summary:

The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois is a tour-de-force novel following a family from the slave trade to the civil war to modern day America, with many stops in-between. It ties in different works of W.E.B. Du Bois as you weave your way through time, and takes you on an incredible journey through centuries of Georgia.

Review:

I'm blown away by how incredible this novel is, and had no idea how many twists and turns I would be taken on while I read this. I wept, I cheered, I felt loss, sorrow, happiness, regret. It's an absolute must read novel for me, but I know the people who need to read this book most never will. 

I loved the split timelines, and I think the characters were all so perfectly placed where they needed to be in this book. I loved getting to follow the same plot of land through so much time, and when I started piecing together that these were all descendants of the original Native Americans living in that space, it was beautiful. 

There are a LOT of tough subjects in this book, and the hardest part for me is the chapters and chapters and chapters of slave child rape. If you're sensitive to this at all, I just want to make sure people really know this going in. It's very tragic, as everything about slavery is, but nothing is spared in detailing these horrific crimes against fellow humans. 

There is also some tough chapters about drug abuse, and it was just so sad seeing one of my favorite characters fall really hard due to drug use. It really brought things into perspective that it doesn't matter who you are, your family support system, your dreams--- it can all be taken away so, so fast. 

There's so much more to talk about- the writings or 'songs' of W.E.B. Du Bois prefacing each chapter, the ties of family, the beautiful prose that exists in this book- but I really just implore everyone to read it. I tried to take this book with one section at a time, especially because after some I felt like I really needed to sit and think about what I had just read. It's a big book, I won't shy away from that- but it's an incredibly worthwhile read. I'm grateful to Oprah and Obama for putting this on my radar. and I'm just very happy to have read it. 

See more reviews at:  https://jessgreads.wixsite.com

"These are the incongruities of memory. It is hard to hold on to the entirety of something, but pieces may be held up to light."

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Slavery, Sexual content, Racism, Rape, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Suicide, Police brutality, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Incest, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Trafficking, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Addiction, Stalking, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Child death, Classism, Child abuse, and Abortion

Minor: Self harm, Body shaming, Bullying, and Sexism

nyssbomb's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad slow-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Racism, Addiction, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Slavery, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Abortion, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Bullying, Cursing, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Incest, Infertility, Child death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Genocide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Lesbophobia, Body shaming, and Ableism

trippalli's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

• 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

3.0

A challenging but important read in the history of the black experience in the United States in this historic fiction. The violence in women and overt violence and abuse of humans. Numerous rapes, child sexual abuse murders, racism of course, slavery.. It's all very difficult to listen to on an audio book or read in this 600+ pages tome.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Suicide, Rape, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Racism, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infertility, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Police brutality, and Slavery