Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades

5 reviews

axel_p's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcohol, Car accident, Lesbophobia, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Child abuse, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Classism, Confinement, Death, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Addiction, Body shaming, Cancer, Colonisation, Deportation, Drug abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Violence, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Police brutality, and Sexual harassment

hollyd19's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

This book is a symphony.

Evoking a strong sense of place in the "dregs of Queens" and told from the plural perspective of the eponymous brown girls, Andreades’s debut novel is gorgeous and gratifying. The book’s short length belies its power and range. Lively vignettes narrated by a collective voice articulate the nuances & complexities bound up in the lived reality of brown girls in Queens. Andreades highlights the tensions of growing up within this community: balancing expectations and gratitude, ambition and rootedness, confidence and humility. The tone is unfettered, honest, and compassionate. 

Particularly notable is the way Andreades rejects the idea of caricature while also managing to tell a story from a collective narrator. In fact, this writing device turned the disconnected girls and women Andreades wished to represent into a tapestry. I never got the sense that she was flattening or stereotyping, rather imbuing with humanity and value every varied experience, saying, “This? This is us. Oh, and that? That, too.” 

Brown Girls would be an excellent choice for those who enjoyed Girl, Woman, Other or Infinite Country. I strongly recommend the audiobook thanks to masterful narration by Tashi Thomas.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia

Moderate: Classism and Grief

Minor: Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Drug use, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Self harm

kb_sherman's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Abortion, and Alcohol

sakisreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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? No

5.0

‘Brown Girls’ was a recommendation I found on the Guardian’s 2022 reading list, and wow it did not disappoint! We follow the adventures and lives of people living in ‘the dregs of Queens’, whose parents have migrated from a range of different countries. As people of colour (POC), who feel as though they are living the ‘American dream’, the ‘brown girls’ in this book navigate through childhood, adolescence and adulthood with so many different challenges (e.g. pressure from families, racism from a young age, working through their sexual orientation and gender identity, incarceration of family members just to name a few). There were so many parts of the book that hit home and brought forward some big feelings 😳 I would highly recommend this book to anyone; it’s a beautiful, bittersweet way in which to see a snapshot of the issues POC can face in America and elsewhere. I couldn’t thank the author enough for giving us such an amazing book 👏🏼 I think I’ll come back to read it again, too! ❤️

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Classism, Misogyny, Mental illness, Racism, Addiction, Hate crime, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicide attempt

rachreads925's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

2.75

This isn't a book meant for everyone, and I'm counting myself in that. The writing is good, but the usage of the collective We negatively affected my experience of it. The story loses some effectiveness through the method of trying to tell the story of everyone, and absolutely everyone who is a woman of color (Asian, Hispanic, Black, etc.). At one point, I thought it was finally giving us some characters names but then you aren't sure what's happening to whom. Despite the usage of the collective We, the story focuses on a certain kind of experience - those young women who make it out of their immigrant neighborhoods, become white collar professionals, and more affluent lives. There is no emotional connection to any characters, because there are no characters - at least whose names you know. I appreciated the story of the children of immigrants who straddle two worlds, but I wanted something more than good writing. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House who provided me with a free e-copy of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Car accident, Classism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Abortion, Addiction, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, War, Genocide, and Alcohol