Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Binti: Trilogia Completa by Nnedi Okorafor

18 reviews

timsormin's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring 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? It's complicated

3.75

The extra story, added in between the 1st and 2nd novella, really hurts the pacing. I recommend reading the original trilogy straight through, saving the extra story for in case you feel like you want to visit the characters again afterwards.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Gore

Moderate: Xenophobia, War, Racism, and Panic attacks/disorders

starlitpage's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, War, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Racism, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Medical content, Death of parent, and Death

Minor: Slavery

_lilyonbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, and War

hannahbee_97's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

I really liked the way that Okorafor created a world that felt somehow realistic, even with the fantastical sci-fi elements. I highly recommend reading the whole series as one book, I don’t know that I would have been as interested in the stories if I was reading them as individual books.

Especially with the cliffhanger between home & the night masquerade.

I loved the diversity in the book as well! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

When I write that I wept in this review, it was the ugly kind of bawling that happens when you get very attached to characters.

The world building, the characters, the technology, the journey..  Impeccable.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Child death, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Cursing, War, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Medical trauma, Bullying, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Body horror, Murder, Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Violence, Grief, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Hate crime

tifftastic87's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a collection of four short stories about Binti, three previously published and one new story. In the first story, Binti, we follow our main character of the same name as she leaves her large family in the middle of the night to go to a planet called Oomza Uni where the best Universe in the Galaxy is. This is hard for her because her family and culture doesn't leave, but Binti believes she's made for more. While en route to Oomza Uni, the living ship (Third Fish) is attacked by a race of jellyfish like people. Binti is the only survivor and must continue to survive the remainder of the journey. However, Binti is a master harmonizer and she uses this skill to communicate with the attackers. She is forever changed from this interaction. In the remainder of the stories we follower her growth as she comes to terms with those changes and hones her harmonizer skills. 

Binti has a lot of discussions about racism, xenophobia, colorism and sexism within the realm of Afrofuturism. These conversations are always based in reality and I find them at times really well done and at times a little heavy handed, I liked the nuance in Binti though. We analyze some of our preconceived biases about people different than us through the use of an alien race, which was nicely done here. 

Binti as a character seemed to actually fit the actions of a teenager fairly well, she wasn't one of the chosen one types that is just "oh so strong." She had a lot of emotions, often crying a lot, but finding her resolve to get the thing done. 

The story was surprisingly inclusive of trans folk, which I didn't expect. However, there were still a couple of throw away lines about gay folk that were a little off. 

The stories are also extremely connected and have a really good through line. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Xenophobia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Death, War, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Gore, and Confinement

Minor: Infertility and Eating disorder

tubercule_oursidae's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective fast-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

it was a game changer for me, this book is incredible, I want more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and War

Moderate: Xenophobia

species are at war in this book, and it is violent. Violence is not free, it is well written and justified

maximauve's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, War, Death, Grief, Xenophobia, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

boglord's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Body horror, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Dysphoria, Gore, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Medical trauma, and Genocide

Minor: Mass/school shootings and Emotional abuse

amandadevoursbooks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense

• 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

4.5

Binti is an amazing series of books. I appreciated reading them as a collection. It made the story cohesive. 

Book 1: Binti is the first of her people to go to school on a University Planet filled with students and teachers of all kinds of sentient life. The story examines culture, what it means to maintain your culture even if it rejects you, even if you are far away from your home world. 

Book 2:  Binti and Okwu go to Earth after being on the University planet for a year. Binti learns that coming home is always complicated, and who she is becoming is bigger than her culture wants/needs to be. It ends on a cliff hanger

Book 3: Binti struggles with the impact of the end of book 2. It's a story about belief, hope, and forging new futures. It was a fitting end to the series. 

Overall, this world is inventive, the stories are kind even as they examine hard truths around culture, oppression, generational trauma, and war. Nnedi Okorafor is an autobuy author for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Xenophobia