Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

37 reviews

froggybooks's review against another edition

reflective sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Dementia

Moderate: Alcohol and Sexual assault

zoe_archambault's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

Went into it knowing the general plot, but was still impressed with how it was executed. Very emotional and raw, it had me in a chokehold.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Dementia, Murder, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Racism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Racial slurs, and Bullying

Minor: Car accident

sjduncan's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Cursing, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Dementia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Hate crime

Minor: Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Transphobia, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Sexism

erd's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

Love how the story is organized into chunks diving deeper on specific characters and their pain.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexism, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Death, Classism, Grief, and Rape

Minor: Drug abuse, Slavery, Stalking, Violence, Alcohol, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, and Pedophilia

None of content is over-the-top or overdone, all of it drives the story along.

elodiepoline404's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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, Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Bullying, Death of parent, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, and Racism

sib_reads's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Violence, Death, Hate crime, Murder, Outing, Racism, Dementia, Grief, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Transphobia, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Medical content, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Blood, Drug use, Classism, Cursing, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Sexism, Animal death, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

zombiezami's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

I don’t know why, but when I first heard of this book, I thought I wouldn’t be interested. In reality, it is practically made for me: a mid-century historical fiction where the narrative changes perspective. That’s right up my alley. I loved the way this was written and the way the plot unfolded. My one complaint is that it felt like Desiree didn’t get as much development compared to other characters. Still, I truly loved this, and I would highly recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Bullying

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Dementia, Drug use, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Excrement, and Slavery

Colorism, lynching

particledamage's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.25

 I'm ashamed to admit, it took me a bit to get into this book. Part 1 felt like more exposition than story, veering heavily into entire chapters that felt like they were screaming "These are the themes of this novel! Here is the allegory!" and it was hard to wade through at times. 

But once the story got truly going, pushing past character introductions and scene setting, an amazing story blossomed. This book is stuffed to the brim with a compelling cast and stories that you don't always encounter. It knows exactly what it wants to be and it takes you along with it, eager to travel through time and history.

I've been in a reading rut for ages but this story brought me back.

So, if there's anyone out there who maybe feels discouraged by Part 1, keep going, it's well worth it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Hate crime

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Sexism

Minor: Alcohol and Drug use

bootsmom3's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Racism

Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Alcohol, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Sexual content

galexy_brain's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Dysphoria, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Violence

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Deadnaming, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Pregnancy, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, and War