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midnightmarauder's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
The Unfortunates follows Sahara Nwadike, a depressed college sophomore who no longer wants to live. Sahara attends an unnamed PWI that prides itself on diversity and inclusion, yet their black students are constantly dying, disappearing, or both.
There are many characters within the book that are unnamed, besides Sahara herself and Mariah, one of her close friends and also the girl she has a crush on. Everyone else is referred to by a pseudonym, like her best friend, ROD (which stands for Ride Or Die), her parents (only referred to as Mother and Father), and her brothers (aptly called B1, for Brother 1; and B2, for Brother 2), which I thought was interesting.
The book tackles many issues, one of the most prominent being mental illness in black people. Sahara suffers from depression (who she refers to as her "Life Partner", or LP, for short). LP constantly drags her down and convinces her that no one cares about her, and aids in her self-destruction throughout the novel. One of the things Sahara does to cope is drink and self-harm. Both LP and one of Sahara's friends, C1, help enable her addictions.
C1 is basically the human personification of LP. She is negative, self-hating, and a terrible influence on Sahara. She constantly encourages her to drink and do drugs with little regard to how it affects her. Once, as the pair are changing for a party, C1 noticesSahara's self-harm scars , and without asking her why she did what she did or caring about helping her stop, changes the subject back to herself. She was, by far, my least favorite character in the book.
Another issue that was tackled in the book was how black people (and people of color in general) often have a hard time finding community and support at primarily-white institutions. Sahara is one of many students at the university she attends that struggle with mental health issues. There is offered support for the students, but it is not enough and tends to be focused on the needs of white people. One of the people that fight to change the discriminatory practices at the institution is Mariah, who spent a lot of time at the head of different organizations on campus built to uplift and support other black students on campus whose voices were often ignored. Later in the book,it is revealed that she suffers from a health issue that she seeks help for from the university's hospital, but they constantly ignore her. Eventually, the issue is shown to be fibroids and she goes into emergency surgery, only to die from complications later.
Overall, I really loved this book. Sahara and I are very similar; we're both black women who struggle with depression and attended PWIs. I experienced very similar isolation and pain while I was on campus, with little to no support. I wished I had read this book while living on campus in order to be reminded that I wasn't alone and that there were other people out there dealing with the same issues.
There are many characters within the book that are unnamed, besides Sahara herself and Mariah, one of her close friends and also the girl she has a crush on. Everyone else is referred to by a pseudonym, like her best friend, ROD (which stands for Ride Or Die), her parents (only referred to as Mother and Father), and her brothers (aptly called B1, for Brother 1; and B2, for Brother 2), which I thought was interesting.
The book tackles many issues, one of the most prominent being mental illness in black people. Sahara suffers from depression (who she refers to as her "Life Partner", or LP, for short). LP constantly drags her down and convinces her that no one cares about her, and aids in her self-destruction throughout the novel. One of the things Sahara does to cope is drink and self-harm. Both LP and one of Sahara's friends, C1, help enable her addictions.
C1 is basically the human personification of LP. She is negative, self-hating, and a terrible influence on Sahara. She constantly encourages her to drink and do drugs with little regard to how it affects her. Once, as the pair are changing for a party, C1 notices
Another issue that was tackled in the book was how black people (and people of color in general) often have a hard time finding community and support at primarily-white institutions. Sahara is one of many students at the university she attends that struggle with mental health issues. There is offered support for the students, but it is not enough and tends to be focused on the needs of white people. One of the people that fight to change the discriminatory practices at the institution is Mariah, who spent a lot of time at the head of different organizations on campus built to uplift and support other black students on campus whose voices were often ignored. Later in the book,
Overall, I really loved this book. Sahara and I are very similar; we're both black women who struggle with depression and attended PWIs. I experienced very similar isolation and pain while I was on campus, with little to no support. I wished I had read this book while living on campus in order to be reminded that I wasn't alone and that there were other people out there dealing with the same issues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Racism and Eating disorder
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Blood, Body shaming, and Misogyny
tjminus's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
4.5
First, definitely check the trigger/content warnings before reading this book. It is a DARK comedy. The writing style/presentation was so unique and creative and I truly enjoyed it. I just felt like the last 80 or so pages rushed to complete the plot and the book easily could have gone another 20-30 pages to match the plot pace of the first 2/3rds of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Drug use, and Mental illness
Moderate: Grief, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Alcoholism, and Addiction
Minor: Racism, Death, and Classism
thepermageek's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-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
5.0
A really poignant debut novel exploring the negative impact that living in a society utterly shot through with anti-Black racism, misogyny, and heterosexism can have on the mental health of Black queer women. Chukwu does a masterful job, through the first-person POV of the protagonist, at capturing the inner life of someone who has lived with depression and suicidality their entire lives.
To be honest, I think this book would have been too much for me to handle when I was at the absolute depths of my own despair. But now that I'm in a (relatively) mentally healthy/stable period in my life this book was an absolute delight!
To be honest, I think this book would have been too much for me to handle when I was at the absolute depths of my own despair. But now that I'm in a (relatively) mentally healthy/stable period in my life this book was an absolute delight!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Addiction, Racism, Self harm, Alcoholism, Drug use, Racial slurs, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Mental illness
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, and Homophobia
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