Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

73 reviews

nialiversuch's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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thatenbyisisreads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The constant battle of allowing oneself to be vulnerable in a world that hates you was written poetically in a way that made me take several moments to process. This book was so raw and honest, I highly recommend everyone to read this.
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ktkeps's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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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laurataylor's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective 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

4.0

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livd1200's review against another edition

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emotional 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

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shaniamarie21's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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bethancy's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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

4.75

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cyberbullet's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

on love, Blackness, identity, friendship, what gives us purpose 

tender, heartbreaking, poetic 

———
i could’ve highlighted absolutely everything from this book, but doing so would be like not retaining anything at all. 

i have never read such perfect articulation of words — mastery of expression. no line was wasted, which ended up being this book’s greatest strength and only weakness: 

sometimes, my reading flow was interrupted or simply not quite /there/ because everything was so perfectly calculated. 

in the last few pages, i rushed to finish it even. so it would’ve been great if there was a bit less “concreteness” to this text — and i don’t mean the writing style should change, but more the structure of the story because GOD. i have never FELT so much through words 

AND THE FACT THAT THIS IS A DEBUT ???? i can not wait to read more of Nelson’s work 
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charity_ix's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This writing was so beautiful I couldn't give it anything less than 4 stars. The perspective the author chose to write this in made the book feel more vulnerable like I was in the main character's mind. The romance felt super intense in the beginning and I love reading about a couple who were both black. The small cultural aspects of his Ghanaian background and the discussion about racism in the U.K. that people like to pretend doesn't exist.

With that being said, I couldn't give this 5 stars because, in the last quarter or so, it fell flat.
I think their separation was not as high stakes as I imagined it and while the topics discussed were important, it felt like the book was steering in a new direction that had nothing to do with the main plot. I also just hate the classic miscommunication trope so maybe that was it.
The ending also left me a little unsatisfied. The author probably intended it this way though because in real life there aren't always happy endings.

Regardless, I would recommend this book for its amazing writing and storytelling! 
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jasminrain's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This book is the most stunning piece of literature I've read over the past decade and I'd be suprised if it didn't become a modern classic. The storytelling is extraordinary - I have never read a book written so beautifully. It just feels like poetry in a shape of a novel. It deals with difficult topics and as such is not an easy read. But it portrays black manhood in a manner I've never seen before in literature. It's bittersweet, touching and just simply stunning. There's so much I've taken from this book and I'm already looking forward to reading it again.
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