Reviews with content warning for Rape - We Meant Well

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

We Meant Well by Erum Shazia Hasan

8 reviews

rei_reads's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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brogan7's review

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challenging informative tense fast-paced

This is a harsh story. I can't quite decide if it was needed or not. By the end I felt the author treated her own characters as disposable

Lele could only have a defensible injury if it was more than a sexual assault, if it was public and visible, and Maya could only have power by avenging Lele's attack, letting others mete out brute justice. This last didn't seem likely to me, neither did Chantal's late awakening to her partner's true colours.

However, the ending isn't the whole book, and the story carries with it many important insights into colonialism and relationships between countries and continents, people trying to help, people doing damage in various ways.

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christajls's review

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

A thought provoking book about the role and impact of NGOs operating in the Global South. As a graduate of an international development program there was a lot of familiar ideas and characters. I’m not sure how I feel about the ending but overall I think it’s worth reading as we consider the impact of our ‘charitable’ work.

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teacupsandfirereads's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

This was only on my radar because it was a finalist. It intrigued me, but one big thing I wanted was a conclusion, which I felt we do not get in anyway. This was a big detractor for me. I wasn't really sure of the trajectory and it felt a bit like the main character's life took away from the other events and I didn't see how that part fit. Overall, I enjoyed it, though it was challenging in content.

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nebulous40's review

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challenging emotional 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

4.0

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gellyreads's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced

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

1.5

This is the type of book that makes me not want to go in blind to books. I didn't expect this subject matter and I didn't really like the savior vibes? This just really feels like it's not meant for me. I wanted to enjoy it, but I just couldn't connect and found it hard to follow. I feel like this is a book I should re-read, but I didn't enjoy it enough to attempt to re-read it to make sure I understood it.

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librarimani's review

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challenging reflective 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? Yes

4.0

Honestly this book was a rollercoaster and I'm not sure if I'd recommend necessarily. The author really used the narrator's stupidity to walk the reader through and the ending is really when things speed up. Could totally see this being adapted

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hippiequeen's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
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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