Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Penguin Readers Level 7: Homegoing (ELT Graded Reader) by Yaa Gyasi

8 reviews

mirandalikesbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective 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

My favorite part of this book is that every character is the main character. I was invested in every one. I don't understand how Gyasi was able to construct the life motivations of each character so perfectly with only giving each character like 20 pages. Seeing some of the characters age throught the generations is such a gift. Because so many wonderful characters had their life cut short as a product of white violence. 

It is awe inspiring and heart breaking how many generations were and still are affected by slavery. How slavery has direct ties to the oppression and cyclical struggles of black people in America and in Africa. White oppression has killed generations of black joy. 

This story demonstrates the struggle of being a woman so brilliantly too. How many generations of woman went undefined until a man defined her. 

I learned so much through the course of this book. The birth of our modern prison industrial complex being born of the enslavement of African and Black men is something that makes perfect sense. But it was laid out so clearly here.  Some of the violence was so vividly painted that I keep retracing those scenes in my mind. Some of the heartbreak too.

Absolute must read. We have been privileged to not know these stories for long enough. And we are privileged now to see these stories through the perspective of each of these characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Classism, Genocide, Violence, Racism, Rape, Confinement, Death, Body horror, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, and Torture

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Infertility, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexism, Abandonment, Drug use, Vomit, Xenophobia, Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, War, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Sexual content, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Suicide

bootsmom3's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Child death, Death, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Ableism

Moderate: Sexual violence and War

rieviolet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

It is not easy to cover such a vast temporal space in a single book, so I recognize Gyasi's ability to tackle a story so big in scope. 
Still, I think that this kind of narrative structure (chapters with an ever-changing point of view) is just not my personal preference. Inevitably (as it happens, for example, with short stories collections), there were certain characters' storylines that I appreciated more compared to others. In general, I found the final chapters (those closer to us in time) less engaging. 
There were also sections that I liked but that ended a bit too abruptly, leaving too much left unsaid about crucial events and the characters' fate (and not all of the storylines got mentioned again and expanded upon, further on in the narration).

At times, the book got a bit too graphic for my (I admit a bit delicate) sensibilities, but it does deal with very heavy topics; just be sure to check the content warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, Sexual content, Excrement, Kidnapping, Death, Drug abuse, Slavery, Racism, Colonisation, Violence, Trafficking, Sexual violence, and Torture

Moderate: War, Child abuse, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Rape, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs

Minor: Suicide, Vomit, Cannibalism, Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Ableism, Murder, Infertility, Bullying, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Child death

bashsbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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? No

5.0

I don't have words for how incredible Homegoing is. The blurb cannot do justice to the journey it takes you on. Two Ghanaian half-sisters with divergent paths (one as a wife to a white colonizer and slaver, the other captured and sold into slavery) is only the beginning. This book follows Effia and Esi's lineage for seven generations, one line primarily in Ghana and one line primarily in the United States. It is a sizzering, raw, unflinchingly honest depiction of the experience and the legacy of the slave trade, in all its awful minutia; the creation and the evolution of the systems that still oppress black people. Truly, I've never seen a clearer depiction of generational trauma. It's incredible. That's all I can say. Cannot recommend enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Vomit, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Suicide, Mental illness, and Ableism

Minor: Car accident and Medical content

someonelikeblue's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Sexual content, Sexism, Rape, Pregnancy, Trafficking, Sexual assault, War, Child abuse, Violence, Racism, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Excrement, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Infertility, Ableism, Gun violence, Death of parent, Blood, Grief, Addiction, Drug abuse, Death, Child death, Vomit, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Bullying, Mental illness, Abandonment, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, and Racial slurs

Minor: Car accident, Police brutality, and Hate crime

jojo_'s review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Confinement, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Rape, Slavery, and Torture

Moderate: Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, Physical abuse, Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, War, Xenophobia, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Excrement, Genocide, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

cantfindmybookmark's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Violence, War, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, and Racism

Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Addiction

skudiklier's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

This book was incredible, and heartbreaking, and beautiful. I knew nothing about it going in, but I don't think anything could have prepared me. So much of what happens in it is so hard to read, but I'd recommend Homegoing to anyone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Death, Death of parent, Colonisation, Child death, Xenophobia, Violence, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Infertility, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Drug use, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, and Confinement

Moderate: Ableism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Pregnancy, War, Vomit, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Genocide, Fatphobia, Cursing, and Animal death