Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Five Little Indians by Michelle Good

83 reviews

watsme's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

• 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

ouch :(

“To be little again, living without fear and brutality—no one gets that back. All that’s left is a craving, insatiable empty place.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Child death

Moderate: Self harm

cdb2453's review against another edition

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

4.0

Wow, while the book is fictional, the stories of the abuse and mistreatment these characters faced at the Mission boarding schools and the trauma they carried with them their entire lives is no doubt based on reality. It is quite sad.

I appreciated the hopeful tone and slight monetary justice at the end.

Recommend this book especially to those looking to gain perspective and insight in different ways that boarding schools caused so much hurt and trauma to generations of Native people. The only reason I did not rate higher is the pacing is slightly awkward. There are big time jumps and some parts felt rushed while others moved slowly.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

jess_vitale's review against another edition

dark informative sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book is a tough read, and so important. Each chapter provides the point of view of a different character (and circles back to some of the same characters), and at first, much of the book was focused on recounting the horrors they experienced as children at the Mission School. One child's chapter after another, the terrible stories were relentless. I enjoyed the book more as the story moved on to the characters as young adults and later in life, with their stories intertwining and showing the characters trying to survive and have a life after such trauma. Although the book moved on from specific first-person narratives while at the school, the author does an amazing job at showing how these experiences affected them (and their loved ones) for the rest of their lives.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Racism

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Alcoholism

babieyunie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Suicide, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Trafficking, and Drug use

alli_the_bookaholic13's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Rape, Racism, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Suicide

pipn_t's review

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Really good book, but another really tough read.  Deals with residential schools so lots of tough history for all the characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Alcoholism, and Child death

Minor: Suicide

nasvans's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Cultural appropriation, Child death, Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

kherrington3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Suicide, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Colonisation

sab3467's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Suicide, Death, Colonisation, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, Torture, and Kidnapping

katietotallybooked's review against another edition

emotional informative 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

4.0

I am happy that I can finally say I've read this book. I also understand why it won the Canada Reads competition in 2022. I do believe it is a must read for Canadian readers.

Liked Most:

• How each of the character's storylines intertwined, even when it wasn't obvious that would happen from the beginning. 
• How different each character's story was. Their experiences were varied and how they handled their traumas varied. I think this helps make the book more representative (while still fictionalized) of the many shared histories of our Indigenous community. 

Liked Least:

• The timeline of the story felt unclear while I was reading, and I found it hard to follow at times because there was so many characters to keep track off.  

Themes/Topics:

• Residential Schools
• Indigenous History
• Child Abuse (Physical, Sexual, Emotional)
• Grief
• Loss of Innocence
• Suicide

Would Recommend To:

• All Canadian adult fiction readers
• Those interested in Indigenous lives, experiences, and histories

The audio is well done too!

Quotes:
“…she told me she was sorry about my mom. I didn't know, but she didn't need to say more. I had so many dreams at the Indian School about going home to her. Dreams about sleeping safe in my own room, playing on the beach at ease and without fear, and cooking with her. What I so desperately needed was to be standing on that stool by the stove, carefully stirring under her watchful eye like when I was little. To be little again, living without fear and brutality-no one gets that back. All that's left is a craving, insatiable empty place.”

“Kenny walked along the meandering creek, enjoying the sound of it when it narrowed and quickened, the peace of it when it widened and slowed, deeper and quieter, the rusty-coloured stones casting a sparkling copper tone on the crystalline water. There was a bitter sweetness in seeing his old friend. He was happy to share their tricky survival memories; it was the other ones, the ones that slipped in through the silences, that he was relieved to lose in his usual solitude.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Suicide

Moderate: Grief