Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

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

84 reviews

marietimus's review against another edition

emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

Beautifully written, and I loved reading through the family’s history. Perfect ending!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Drug use

beanew's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective 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

4.25

Gyasi’s storytelling is a magnificent accomplishment in oral tradition despite being a written book. The many vignettes throughout the generations read like one would expect a great oral storyteller to speak, capturing every detail and filling the listener with emotion and understanding. 
The motifs throughout the book were well explored and neatly wrapped up, and I wish I had could write an essay on the ways Gyasi chose to resolve certain elements (the stone necklaces!!!). I found so many of the characters deeply compelling and empathetic, so wildly different from each other. Gyasi never shies away from the brutality of the slave trade, it feels very painfully realistic in ways that Americans are never truly shown in history class. 
My criticisms are that I felt the very final chapter was not as moving as I expected it to be simply because Marcus is the least fleshed-out character (in my opinion) of the whole book, so to end with him felt weak. I loved the character of Marjorie, but I found that the similarities to Gyasi’s own life experiences took me out of the story many times; instead of being immersed, I found myself wondering which pieces of that chapter were autobiographical or wish fulfillment of the author. Also a pattern of minor fat phobia happened frequently enough that it simply can’t be the character’s perspectives, it’s just Gyasi’s opinion. Beautiful people are “thick”, dumb/mean/loud/gluttonous people are “fat”. Felt weird, but didn’t majorly detract from the story! 
Overall, the concept was so beautifully executed and the book was so moving and heartbreaking in equal measures. I would highly recommend it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Police brutality, Confinement, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Slavery

Moderate: Child death and Colonisation

Minor: Fatphobia

greenan26's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Colonisation, Classism, Homophobia, Rape, Trafficking, Torture, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Pregnancy, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Excrement and Confinement

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

beezinda's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is a book that will live in my heart. I'm not one to read narratives about the horrors of slavery and everything that came after. This was a hard read for me in some places... I had to put the book down... but this book accomplishes something rare. The narrative allows these characters to exist as whole 3 dimensional people and not as caricatures to exemplify tragic time periods. To me, this book is one of the best character studies I may have ever read.

This book was crafted and really showcases the author's narrative skill. There's a lot to relate back, forth, across, and between characters. I don't have the words to explain that this is so much more than a slave book. 
This book resonates deeply for me as it is a shining example of how the strength and soul of black people is the unrelenting spirit to be fully human despite all the circumstances and systems that constantly seek to deprive us our humanity. 

This book showcases the full range of human emotions and experiences. I hate that I find it refreshing and revelatory to see such range with black nuanced characters. It really is so good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Slavery, Colonisation, Death, Rape, Child death, and Racism

isabelgb's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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: Death, Colonisation, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, War, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Blood, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Classism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, and Slavery

thefall's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Drug abuse, Confinement, Addiction, Sexism, Racial slurs, Vomit, Murder, Hate crime, Colonisation, Classism, Drug use, Death, Child death, Violence, Trafficking, Slavery, and Excrement

arayo's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Excrement, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Religious bigotry, Rape, Trafficking, War, Confinement, Drug use, Genocide, Sexual assault, Slavery, Racism, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Violence, Police brutality, Mental illness, Death of parent, Infertility, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Chronic illness

emcheym's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Rape, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Confinement, Slavery, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, Death of parent, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, War, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Infertility, Suicide, Cursing, and Death

vittoriav's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective 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

4.75

Wow.
Um check the trigger warnings first and foremost. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Racism, Sexual assault, Vomit, Colonisation, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, War, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Police brutality, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Cultural appropriation, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, and Rape