Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

23 reviews

lllomnylll's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.25

I definitely recommend this book! Some of the stories are much stronger than others.  The last story has some of the best world-building. The stories vary greatly and all condemn aspects of society and of individuals' values, beliefs, and actions. Very dark and dystopic but neccisarry and gripping. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

eklektikam's review

dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, and Murder

shayrawd's review

dark mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Abortion, and Murder

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mass/school shootings and Abortion

Minor: Sexual content

booksandteatime's review

adventurous challenging dark reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder

sarahmackenziey's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse

catsbreadbikes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This book was not for me, but that's my own fault as i didn't seek out any information about the content warnings for this book. It was really well-written, and vivid in detail though! Some of the stories i liked vetter than others, but even when i didn't lile a particular story, it was still worth listening to. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Abortion, and War

cheazcakeguy's review

challenging dark funny reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

This is a collection of short speculative fiction. There is a decent amount of variety, but there are a few stories that tackle similar themes/topics, especially consumerism and racism. Many of the stories are set in a world similar to our own, where one or more aspects of our own world have been exaggerated to the point of absurdity. As a result, the stories often have an extremely dark sense of humor and expose the absurdity inherent in real-world concepts like racism, violence, consumerism, and truth. Some of the stories have a different tone, but I never quite felt the emotional weight behind the ones with a more pensive, poignant feel. To me, the writing was much better at evoking feelings of rage, shock, despair, and defiance than sadness or regret.

Some stories were more interesting than others. A couple were a bit dull, but my favorites were the ones that really leaned in to the ridiculousness. I especially liked The Finkelstein 5, Friday Black, Zimmer Land, and Through the Flash. Nothing really blew me away, but this book was certainly unique and unexpected. Overall, this is a pretty thought-provoking, well-written collection of stories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Racism, Torture, Xenophobia, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Police brutality

literaryintersections's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

A lot of this I loved:

The finklestein 5 is an unbelievable story. Heartbreaking and sad. Feels realistic and also highlights the ends people will go to try and get some kind of justice. To get people to say their names. 

Lark Street was WEIRD but also sad. Maybe a take on abortion overall but more a take on how women are impacted by abortion. 

Zimmer Land was disgusting and horrifying and felt like the early stirrings of Chain-Gang All-Stars. The idea of doing something good when really it’s stripping of humanity. 

Friday Blsck - capitalism and materialism. 

Light Spitter - honestly heartbreaking all around. 

Some were so strong and others not as strong. But overall, such a great read. I want a full Finklestein 5 and full Zimmer Land story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Police brutality, Abortion, and Murder

Moderate: Gore

wanderingtones's review

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Racial slurs, Suicide, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Abortion, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Mental illness, Self harm, and Torture