Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Infinite Country by Patricia Engel

24 reviews

lorinew1's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Xenophobia, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, and Police brutality

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Grief, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent

sfbookgirl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-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

I…wow…I have no words for Infinite Country. This short, yet beautiful tale tells the story of a family split between the United States and Colombia. We learn about each member of the family and what it means to be a citizen of a country. Engel’s exquisitely-written story gives readers a perspective on immigration and what makes a person a citizen of a country. Infinite country held my attention for an entire weekend and is a book I recommend picking up if you haven’t already had the chance to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia

birdbrainbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad 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? Yes

4.0

Well I did not expect to cry my way through the entire last quarter of this book! What a powerful story. The first pages hooked me immediately; after that, the meandering nature of switching narrators and timeframes started to frustrate me a bit; and then it all just suddenly gelled and really packed an emotional punch. I fell in love with our protagonist Talia from page one, and later on with both of her parents as well (what a beautifully imperfect love story). Some elements of hard choices and family separations hit sensitive personal notes. Highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Confinement

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, and Police brutality

womanwill's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Grief

Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, and Dementia

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

laurenmcnamara's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Rape, and Suicide

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, and Violence

Minor: Grief, Medical trauma, and Police brutality

kylieqrada's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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

4.5

I don't feel qualified to review this book, but I will give it my best shot. I read this in one sitting. It was not an easy read, but it was a beautifully written and a necessary one. It is a very character-driven look at the immigrant experience, through the lens of one Colombian family. We get multiple points of view, mostly from Talia, the family's youngest daughter, but also from Mauro, the father, Elena, the mother, and Karina and Nando, the other two siblings. Mauro and Talia are together in Columbia, and Elena, Karina, and Nando are together in the U.S. The different POVs allow us to explore the immigration experience from multiple angles, and to understand that "the immigrant" is not a monolith. Particularly, the "undocumented immigrant" is not a monolith. Characters in the book are U.S. citizens, undocumented immigrants, Colombian citizens, and dual citizens. I can't necessarily say that I enjoyed the reading experience of this book, but I did learn a lot, and I think that Patricia Engel is a stunningly gorgeous writer. I docked half of a star for fatphobic content. This book contains a lot of potentially harmful content, so please check CWs before reading. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Dementia, Fatphobia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Rape, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Grief

msennflinn's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-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

5.0

This was a vivid, beautiful, heart-wrenching immigrant story. Patricia Engel's words will reverberate deep in your soul long after the final page.

I highly recommend listening to the audiobook. Inés Del Castillo's narration for the book can't be matched.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief and Rape

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

I’m strongly leaning towards 4.5 instead of 5. I’m the oldest daughter out of three kids - two younger brothers. My siblings and I were all born in the U.S My mom and dad are from Brazil. My dad came to America first before my mom did. My parents became citizens of the U.S a few years ago. Even though my own family history does not center around deportation- I went to a high school with peers whose families were separated for years. My parents worked with their peers who struggled with not having their entire family in the U.S So I may not fully understand personally but the way Engel wrote this was beautifully done - tugging at my heartstrings and leaking my eyes. I also understand the racism that was mentioned in this book - micro aggressions that my family experienced in the twenty nine years I’ve been alive in addition to what my mom & dad went through when they came to the U.S in the 80’s. I do appreciate that Engel took the risk in making this novel a short one - proving that not al novels have to be 300+ pages to a story worth telling. The only part I would probably change up would be the way the narration suddenly shifts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, and Panic attacks/disorders

planreadrepeat's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Racism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Death of parent

Minor: Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Bullying

leahrosereads's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

This was a phenomenal story from start to finish.  It didn't pull punches and everything the family endures here is heartwrenching.  I loved every aspect of this but especially the different POVs and timelines.  Those were woven together flawlessly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Grief, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Animal death