Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson

14 reviews

lady_elle's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0


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moriahleigh's review against another edition

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

2.5


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chelsaat's review

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • 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

3.0

Remember when Obama was elected and all the pundits declared that racism was over? LOL. This book, while maybe a little heavy handed with its message, is a good reminder that as much as things may change, the more they stay the same. 

There's a lot of melodrama here, but the writing was distant in a way that meant I couldn't fully connect with these characters as much as I was expected to. I did like Ruth, but don't think Midnight's POV was wholly necessary. This book felt more like a depository for Themes than a fully lived-in story, if that makes any sense. Still, those themes are important and I'm glad I read this. 

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blackcatkai's review

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challenging emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

CW: racism, casual ableism, pregnancy & birth (graphic/on page), violence, alcohol use, drug use mentioned, gun violence, police brutality, death of a parent mentioned, infertility & miscarriage mentioned, classism, bullying, violence, child abuse

this type of contemporary isn't usually my go-to, so I had a bit of a hard time getting into it, but overall a really good read. Johnson has a way with words and I'd be interested in what she writes next.

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kimveach's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • 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

3.5

The best parts of this book were the intimate exchanges between the characters and the descriptions of everyday life.  The book fell short when it added in social commentary that was disguised as reflective thought.  It is hard to believe that the character would have such clarity of thought at that moment.

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alyx_d's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-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

3.5


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wellreadmegs's review against another edition

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

4.0

"Perfect mothers didn't exist, only perfectly flawed ones did." 

This book is all about the secrets we keep out of love & protection. To give our loved ones every single advantage they can have in this world to succeed. It's a beautiful message but as this story proves - it can be messy & complicated all the same. Every decision has its consequences, but you won't always know its consequences right away. 

I was just a little bit older Midnight & Corey in 2008. I was wrapping up 8th grade and I didn't know what a new presidency, a recession, & the financial fallout would bring. All I knew is that the adults around me were nervous.  This book did a great job of showing the fears of all different kinds of people at that time. 

It took me a little bit to get into Midnight's storyline in the beginning. I struggled to figure out his role in all of this, but the last 100 pages or so flew by as I couldn't want to find out what happened. 
The book ended with some questions - I'd like to find out how Xavier and Ruth move on & if they decide to have children. 

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-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

3.5

 The Kindest Lie opens on the eve of Obama’s 2008 victory. Ruth and her husband are a well-educated, financially comfortable Black couple. He is eager to start a family but she is uncertain because when she was 17 she had a baby that was put up for adoption. He’s upset she didn’t tell him sooner; she flees to her family home, somewhere she hasn’t visited in over 4 years and begins to search for information about her child.

While this was a perfectly fine book it fell a little short for me and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hope. What worked well for me was the exploration of the intersection of race and class - the ways the lives of working class Blacks and whites were similar and the ways they’d diverged, plus similarities and differences between working class Blacks and those who were at least middle-class. The portrayal of a small town suffering from an economic downturn, and the scenes showing police attitudes and behaviour towards Blacks were also well done. The family drama component of the plot also worked reasonably well. I may not have agreed with the way Mama handled the baby’s adoption but I understood her motivation, and Ruth’s reaction when she learnt the truth of it.

Where I struggled especially was with Ruth who often seemed selfish and self-centred. Some of that could perhaps be put down to her struggles as a Black woman from a poorer background and for having had decisions regarding her baby’s adoption made for her. However, the way she revealed herself to that child seemed inexcusable with the focus on her wants not his needs. Too often the book told rather than showed, and did so in a way that I failed to find convincing. Ruth’s friendship with Midnight is just one example. The ending also seemed a little too quick and neat to be satisfying or believable.

To reiterate, a perfectly fine book that didn’t fully click for me.
 

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cayv97's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-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? Yes

3.75


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sam_h's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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