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ejthephoenix's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Cancer, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Mental illness
Moderate: Drug use, Incest, Murder, Pregnancy, Slavery, Racism, Rape, Cursing, and Sexual assault
Minor: Suicide, Vomit, Outing, and Blood
parasolcrafter's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexism, Violence, Classism, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Incest, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Ableism, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Grief, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Racial slurs, Abortion, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Rape, Slavery, and Terminal illness
allisonmaier's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Drug use, Terminal illness, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Death, Murder, and Cancer
rumay's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Violence, Vomit, Incest, Infertility, and Infidelity
cdoubet's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Blood, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Incest, Murder, Slavery, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Medical content, Child death, Mental illness, Cancer, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Addiction, and Alcohol
kennedybullen's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Cancer, Racial slurs, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racism, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, and Child abuse
Minor: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Incest, and Suicide
udari's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Sexual assault, Racism, Rape, and Cancer
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Addiction, Cursing, Infidelity, Alcohol, Child death, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Suicide and Bullying
becca_w_'s review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Torture, Violence, and Stalking
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Self harm, and Vomit
Minor: Car accident, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Excrement, Gun violence, Infertility, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
foreverinastory's review against another edition
5.0
CWs: Abandonment, ableism, addiction, blood, cancer, child abuse, chronic illness, death, death of parent, drug abuse/use, emotional abuse, fatphobia, forced institutionalization, grief, incest, infidelity, medical content, medical trauma, mental illness (PTSD), physical abuse, pedophilia, pregnancy, racial slurs, racism, rape, sexual assault, sexual content, sexual harassment, terminal illness, vomit.
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Vomit, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness
marieketron's review against another edition
2.0
the good bits
- the science history
- discussions on science ethics, especially in regards to informed consent
- the life history of Henrietta
- overview of the scientific controversies related to HeLa
- life of the Lacks family and how they relate to Henrietta and HeLa
the not so good bits
- clearly the story of Henrietta and HeLa is important and needs to be told, but at the same time the Lacks family did not reach out to reporters or writers in order for the story to be told. It calls into question whether we have the right to a story just because it's important and regardless of the people connected to it, which very closely ties in with the type of issues the book itself is discussing.
- this issue is emphasised by the author continuously inserting herself into the narrative, to the point of almost making herself up like a White Saviour. i skipped through the last few chapters where the we are learning everything about Deborah from the author's perspective. It is important for Henrietta's family to have a clear voice in this work, but it could have been done in a way that didn't include the author.
- specific for the audiobook version, I felt very uncomfortable with the accents the narrator used to give form to the Lacks family, other Black people, and a few Asian and German characters. this issue is especially egregious because Bahni Turpin was contracted as one of the two narrators but only used very sparingly and extremely inconsistently. She would have been the perfect voice for Henrietta's daughter Deborah, but she only reads the occasional direct quote from her. I can remember three instances throughout the book where the narrator is Turpin.
Graphic: Incest, Vomit, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Infertility, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, and Cancer
Moderate: Blood, Chronic illness, Drug use, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, and Slavery