Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson

58 reviews

zormal815's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, and War

booksandmoorer's review against another edition

emotional informative tense fast-paced

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

4.75

I absolutely LOVED this book and devoured it. I decided to give a few points off because I would have loved to learn more about more of the supporting characters, but I can see why Johnson didn't go further with some of them. This was a short read (which was part of what made it so great for me) and it would have been much longer had she added more character history. 

This book was so well written and incorporated so much history and truth, making this book a must-read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Slavery, Death, Infertility, Child death, and Physical abuse

kerrierbest's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

Sad, disgusting, eye opening, depressing, and also necessary read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, and Slavery

esorbo24's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Torture, Slavery, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse

sarah_speaks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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? Yes

3.75

Astounding book ruined by a very confusing ending. I loved the first 95% of this book, but the book tries to wrap up all of its loose ends - both narrative and emotional - in the span of two letters. The ending left me deeply unsatisfied after the novel’s previous focus on the depth of emotion within Pheby herself and in her interactions with other characters. Pheby’s raw, primal maternal instinct is powerful throughout this novel - but we’re removed from its depth and shoved into third person at the moment we want to experience Pheby’s desire to protect her children the most. This would have been a 5-star read but for the disjointed and rushed ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Child death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Death of parent

kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, and War

Minor: Animal death

valeriabee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

abbie_reads_books's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape

browngirlreading's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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? N/A

5.0

This is an extremely well-written novel about what happens when a slave's life takes an unexpected course. The book is based on true historical events and the author has filled in the gaps to put real faces on these real people. Being a well-balanced story, Johnson includes trauma in Yellow Wife which can be expected with slave narratives. this being said the trauma in the book is not at all gratuitous. It is amazing to see the the character development of the main character, Pheby Delores Brown.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, and Torture

inhale_exhale_read's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• 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

 Wow, this was brutal at times to read (trigger warnings for just about everything), but it was such an incredible story. I kind of wish that I had read the Author's Note first, instead of at the end, because she talks about the true stories that inspired her writing and how she started researching. This book was fast-paced with incredibly well-developed characters and a world that is described with such meticulous detail that you will be surprised when you look up from your book and realize you are actually just sitting in your living room. Even though it is painful at times to read, the stories of these characters are so, so important. I would love it if the author would turn this into a multi-generational series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Grief, Infidelity, and Misogyny