Reviews with content warning for Self harm - Freshwater

Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

433 reviews

gdulecki's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

I almost didn’t really start reading this because I had absolutely no clue what was happening, but when I embraced the unreliability and the chaos I began to enjoy it a lot more. There were many times that the individual words or sentences or paragraphs made no sense, but I did enjoy the overall book and story despite this. I really loved the way that they explored mental health and trauma through personifying these things, and it really struck me when Ada indicated that their conditions would explain the story better than they could. This certainly wasn’t my favorite Akwaeke Emezi book, but I did enjoy it!

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beanewman's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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alexisgarcia's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad 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

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stebo24's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

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omega's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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saoreads's review against another edition

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dark sad tense fast-paced

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

2.5

Much deeper than the surface, it touched on identity, mental health, and emotions. The extremes had mostly been carved out of reflections on relationships with other people. The vileness of others and the vileness within. It is a strange book with strange perceptions. But for one to account for, there wasn't much guidance to spare. There's a sense of rawness that offers no gentleness in words or in deeds. It cuts through corners straightforwardly, which causes panic. More or less, it provided insights into life without God, and the life surrounding it is a pity.

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kshertz's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This book is so dark and sad. But what an interesting new view. The darkness of mental health issues as told by the darkness. The fully fractured people that can happen. It’s a viewpoint I’ve never been able to understand but this really breaks it down. It takes a minute to get into that voice and headspace but once you’re there, it’s hard to leave it. It’s haunting but powerful.

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