Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

87 reviews

megansoetaert's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

This didn’t live up to expectations for me. I like the idea of a book being a study of a community, and how community will save you, but I don’t feel like this was executed in a way that holds your attention. There was not enough and too much happening at the same time. I think Dodo’s story is all I was really invested in, but ended up feeling rushed anyway.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Rape

elletrixie's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder

wackydopamine's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

3.75

I would've loved it if not for the way that the women were described and for the wildly unnecessary interject of a "cell phones are evil" message in the middle of an intensely dark and sad scene.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Excrement, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

zombiezami's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

I read McBride's memoir about himself and his Jewish mom years ago. It's wonderful to see how, in addition to research, he clearly pulled from aspects of his upbringing in crafting this book. I will say that, although I liked the connection to USAmericans being on stolen land, this would have been a stronger theme if there were any indigenous characters, which there weren't, as far as I remember.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Excrement, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Outing, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Colonisation

Minor: Slavery and War

jaybis's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Beautifully written book about a town of characters. Several scenes will stay with me for a long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, and Sexual assault

theabee's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

4.25

A poignant interwoven story. Sometimes hard to follow with so many characters

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment

megandirks's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Violence, and Xenophobia

marini_lexa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, and Antisemitism

kamrynkoble's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-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

3.5

3.5 stars rounded up. I'm not sure I would've read this if it wasn't for my book club, but I'm glad I did.

My main complaint is the sheer volume of characters and the lack of a clear goal/plot/central story. And for all of the random stories I had to read about them, I really don't know them well at all. I told my cousin that if I was trying to make these characters in the Sims, I would have a bear of a time trying to come up with three traits for any of them. 

Reading felt like a bit of a chore, and I think I would've taken much longer if I wasn't trying to meet my book club deadline. The nature of it just made me skim, and when I skimmed, I missed a lot of what makes this book strong. I ended up transitioning to audio because of how much I was skimming, but then I struggled to focus on the audio too. I ended up reading a summary that made me appreciate it a bit more, and I think I would've benefitted from active discussion as I read rather than just being independent until the end.

I do wish that the setting would've been more grounded. I feel like I can't clearly picture much of it, and it was so important to the story.

The strength lies in the themes. It provides ample opportunity for reflection and discussion. For these reasons though, the content warnings abound. Make sure to scan the list ahead of time if you have any common triggers. 

While the summary I read helped me appreciate the bigger picture of this novel more, I think it often gets lost in the slog with this one. I didn't need McBride to be heavier-handed, but a little more focus/less distraction would've made it more impactful in my opinion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Violence, Excrement, and Murder

maddamreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-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

3.5

Definitely not what I initially expected going into the book. I expected a murder mystery and got an intricate weaving of lives of Black, Jewish, and immigrant communities. The build is slow, and I almost DNFed a lot. The intense world building starts to pay off towards the middle of the book. I learned a lot about Jewish and Black communities, culture, and music of the 1920s and 30s. It is obvious that this was created with immense care. That being said, it was a bit too slow for me and just interesting enough to keep me in. I did not connect with all of the characters, but some of them I loved. Overall middle of the road book for me. Should definitely be an AP high school required reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Death