Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

El ferrocarril subterráneo by Colson Whitehead

38 reviews

rachbake's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

goodoldfashionedidiot's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I did like the book, but the writing was somewhat confusing and I think on some parts it was written to fast and then again to slow. I never could completely fall into the storys, which is probably a good thing considering the topics. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence

alicialoebl's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

The twists made the book go so fast, such a tough topic but really informative and emotional 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Rape, Racial slurs, Murder, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Gore, and Genocide

ehmannky's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-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

This book is excellent, but it's not a particularly easy or pleasant read. It's an unrelenting look at the myriad and downright creative ways that white Americans caused violent trauma towards Black people. Turning the Underground Railroad into a literal railroad was a creative masterstroke, though I wish more had been done with the setting in the actual story). I also feel like it's important that this book is set decades before the Civil War, because it emphasizes that yes freedom came eventually, but for many people like Cora's mother and so many of the Black people she meets along her journey, that freedom never comes and they die at the hands of white people and their system of pain and suffering. Although

Cora does makes it out to freedom in the fabled North

, this isn't a particularly hopeful novel and the ending is about as downer as I can imagine. I feel like this book is going to get embedded in the literature as a Classic, and rightly so.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Trafficking, Rape, Racial slurs, Medical trauma, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Grief, Genocide, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Blood

Minor: Suicide and Child death

hannahkt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

Read for my Introduction to American Literature class. 

A compelling work of speculative fiction that feels all to real and current in the moment we live in, both in 2016 and in 2021. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence

lena_and_her_books's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, and Religious bigotry

emmaslibrary's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, and Slavery

Moderate: Suicide

nora__reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

An amazing slave narrative tracking one woman’s escape from slavery via the Underground Railroad.

Cora is a wonderful heroine and as an audience all you want is for her escape attempts to succeed. 

Colson also makes some very important points about slavery, race and the idea of America. A powerful book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Torture, Trafficking, Slavery, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, and Grief