Reviews tagging 'Death'

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

54 reviews

shahana_bookquoting's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

 wow! what a smashing debut! i don't know how to put into words how this book made me feel. this hit different than the books I've read recently. this had the wierdness of a Murakami book with all those magical realism-ish elements. I didn't expect to get a clear explanation or an answer in the end & i'm ok with it.
this book deals with some dark shit but the writing makes it oh so easy to get through it. usually when a book gets tough i keep it down & take a break from it, but not this one. i just wanted to keep reading it & the way it's written certainly helps. 

is this a perfect book? no. it has it's flaws, the characters come off a little unclear at 1st & it takes some time to understand & get into it, & yeah some things are not very well explained by the end, but despite it's flaws it's nothing short of 5star read for me, cuz it achieved way more in 230 pages that some books are not able to achieve even in 500 pages. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Sexual content

Moderate: Transphobia, Death, Body shaming, and Child abuse

biblioleah's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

this was a beautiful, difficult book. i look forward to rereading it in the future, and seeing what more i can get from the marvelous story.
update: i was right it is so much better on the reread. it’ll stick with me for a long while, and emezi has since the first read become a favorite author and artist of all time. no one can do it like they do. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Violence, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Vomit, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Minor: Homophobia

translove's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

4.5

this book was a lot and it took me a long time to read the first 110 pages because I had to take long breaks after a bit. but I just read the rest of it, 116 pages, basically in one sitting.

and I really liked it. I have to think more about some things, so I might write a better review later on, but this was such a powerful read and it managed to be so damn real despite it being about Gods.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Sexual violence, Death, Child abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Addiction, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

gagne's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

Gifted to me by a dear friend, this book is electric with its distinctive cast of personalities and easy exchange between the Old World and the New, reminding readers who become captured by the story of the power of the spiritual staring them in the eyes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Self harm

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Mental illness

Minor: Car accident, Death, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Rape, Infidelity, Eating disorder, and Drug use