Reviews

Perish by LaToya Watkins

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littlepepperguy's review against another edition

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Yeah no there was an explicit scene of incestual CSA. Yeah that's just not okay with me to go into detail about.

lenamarie21's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

2.0

Trigger Warning: molestation and child rape

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

I don’t know why Grandmoan who she is, but I ain’t got to understand her. Sometimes we don’t get to understand things. People. We just got to try to be better than the things that spit us out.

This is an incredibly heavy read about generational trauma about a Black family in the south (Texas & Arkansas). The matriarch of their family is dying, and her family confronts the trauma they have put each other through. It pretty much starts off with pain, and just does not stop. It spans times from the 50s to current day, and every single family member is quietly suffering from the wounds that have been inflicted on them by others. You know the phrase “hurt people hurt people”? This book exemplifies and delivers that tenfold. 💔

I will say that it ends on a hopeful, brave note for one of the characters and her kids, as she decides they must talk to each other, and they cannot keep secrets from each other like she did with her siblings and older generations. She recognizes what kept them from healing, and she vehemently wants to break that cycle, because she wants better for her kids. She even notes that she doesn’t believe making a bad choice or harming someone makes the person who hurt her a bad person, but she just knows he is bad for her and her kids right now. That’s so gracious and compassionate of her to recognize, and more forgiving than most folks would be. It’s admirable, it’s devastating, and it’s incredibly raw.

See content warnings below and take care while reading.

Content Warnings

lit_vibrations's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Okay I’m gonna keep this one short and simple. This book . . . . . this boooooook . . . The Turner family‼️ I’ve never read anything so traumatizing and gut-wrenching in my life like I don’t know where to begin. The writing was very descriptive and the dialogue was raw love Latoya Watkins but the way she wove this book together it’s not for the faint hearted man. It was sooooo heartbreaking not even a happy ending. PERISH is the right title because that’s exactly the energy it gave. It was so hard to love any of the characters if anything I felt bad for them all.

So, much generational trauma and everyone turned a blind eye to what was happening. Was it outta fear or complete denial? Helen Jean failed her children and grandchildren because someone failed her. I kept thinking when will this end because it was all so horrific. I do applaud Watkins for touching on such a tough subject because let’s be honest this was very common back in the day I just wasn’t ready for it. I can’t even tell you how many times I stopped in between reading this.

Overall, the book was okay just traumatic asf and tough to read at times. I’m not gonna say I recommend but if you want your heart ripped out of your chest then read it but be prepared‼️

bohemiangem's review against another edition

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4.0

The audio book performance was outstanding! I can still hear each character days later.

By holding on to pain, we perish. Those we love perish as well from our hurt because they don't understand where it comes from or how it was passed down.

Perish is heavy. LaToya Watkins has written this story and each character so vividly and amazingly that I'll gladly carry them with me.