Reviews tagging 'Grief'

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

99 reviews

eloiseisreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Homophobia, Infertility, and Adult/minor relationship

cuppa_curiositea's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective tense slow-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

4.75

I knew that this book would be an important one when I started it, and maybe that's why I avoided it and let it sit on my shelf for several years before actually starting it. From a craft perspective--what a beautiful and ambitious debut! From a content perspective--there are so many points of education crammed into this book without being preachy. The format was unique and engaging, and it captured so much nuance in such a little amount of space.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, and Trafficking

msennflinn's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

"A hatred like a bag filled with stones, one stone for every year racial injustice continued to be the norm in America. He still carried the bag."

If you haven't read Yaa Gyasi's "Homegoing", please don't wait. It's a living, breathing history in such a pure form. Each character in the story is connected, in some ways big, some small, but Yaa does an amazing job pulling these stories together throughout, especially at the end!

If you dare to call yourself an ally to people of color, specifically black folx, consider this book required reading. I promise you won't regret it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Trafficking

mablayy'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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Excrement, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Hate crime, Violence, and Racial slurs

Minor: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

thebakerbookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

Wow, this book. It’s so ambitious, and I don’t think I really knew what I was getting into, but it pulls it off SO well. There are fourteen main characters—seven generations—and we really only spend a snapshot of their lives with them, but man, Yaa Gyasi is a masterful writer and she makes you care about each and every one of them.

This is almost like a collection of short stories, with the thread of a family line connecting them to each other. And I loved following that line, seeing how what happened to their ancestors affected the new characters, and how so much of our lives are decided just by virtue of what family we’re born into.

It was an excellent book to listen to—though I am forever grateful for the PDF of the family tree that is included because I was referring to it constantly!

I loved Transcendent Kingdom by this author, but I think I loved this one even more, just because I’ve never read anything like this book. I’m excited for whatever Yaa Gyasi writes next!

Read if you like: character-driven stories, generational sagas, family trees, missed connections.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, and Rape

musewithxara's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Hate crime, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Drug abuse

alongbookshelf's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring 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? No

4.5

I thought this book was amazing. The writing is truly so beautiful, simple yet elegant and every word adds to the story in a meaningful way. Each chapter is narrated in a different POV, each character descending from one of two bloodlines. One woman remained in Africa, another sold to slave owners in America. The characters represent different existences as a black person in either country, all with a collective unconscious, memories, and visions of ancestors. I think it's incredibly difficult to link smaller, shorter stories that attempt to encompass the entirety of someone's life and being and THEN link those to a larger, more holistic view of a group of people. In my opinion, Gyasi did an incredible job doing exactly that. Each character has their own storyline, but is inevitably connected to their home, their family, their life. I loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Trafficking, and Violence

thrillofthepage's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective 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

 Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi has cemented itself as one of my favorite books. The story is incredible and the characters are some of the best I’ve ever read.

This generational novel spans 300 years and tells the story of two half-sisters whose lives are vastly different. Homegoing begins in 1775 in Ghana when two half-sisters are born in different villages. Effia is married off to a white man to maintain her villages status in the slave trade. Esi becomes a spoil of tribal war and is enslaved and bound for America. Effia lives in the very stone castle where Esi is kept in the dungeons below.

Each alternating chapter introduces the descendants of Effia and Esi. We learn about each generations struggles, hardships, and challenges. You would think that a book spanning centuries would be 500+ pages, but Homegoing is a little over 300 pages. Each chapter is only about 20 pages long, which initially worried me. I thought that there is no way Gyasi could adequately develop or describe the life of a character. Well, I was so wrong! Her writing is impeccable and I was drawn into each chapter immediately and felt the emotions experienced by each individual. I really appreciated the alternating chapters because it expertly displayed the dichotomy between the two family trees.

Knowing that this was Gyasi’s debut novel made reading Homegoing even more astounding. Her ability to craft each character independently while weaving together the two family trees is amazing. Each generation is compelling in its own right and seeing the circumstances each faced because of who they descended from was captivating.

I listened to the audiobook and I have to say I think that was the right way to go for my first read of this book. Dominic Hoffman did an incredible job bringing each story to life. His inflection and emotion provided another layer to the story and took it to a new level. I plan on purchasing a physical copy of Homegoing to to reread and annotate.

TW: sexism, rape, racism, slavery, violence 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Slavery

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Excrement, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking

georgiesutton's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Death, Genocide, Grief, Infertility, and Slavery

achingallover's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• 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: Addiction, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Genocide, Grief, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Violence, and Vomit