Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Maa ja taivas by Yaa Gyasi

170 reviews

dannythestreet's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Classism

Moderate: Eating disorder, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

taulkstoomuch's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

4.75

This book is so beautifully written, you could turn to any page in it and will find the most gut-wrenching and heart-striking quotes adorning the pages.

The discourse around race, class, science v religion, identity, motherhood, and so many more - every single one of them were gorgeously woven into the narrative. The switching from past and present felt natural and didn't affect the flow of my reading. Yaa Gyasi is such an amazing writer, truly wow.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, and Classism

fluffy1st's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Death and Grief

melarie's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Racism

bek_p87's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-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

I loved Yaa Gyasi's debut novel, Homegoing, so much that I was worried that this wouldn't live up to it, but I soon found that it isn't fair to compare them. While Homegoing is a sweeping epic spanning continents and centuries, this is a still, quiet story of one woman's life. The way Gifty grapples with shaping her identity through her thoughts and feelings on religion, science, and family resonated so deeply with me, and Gyasi treats these topics - and more (addiction, mental health, racism) with sensitivity, openness, and care. I await with bated breath Yaa Gyasi's future books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

jazhandz's review against another edition

DNF at 27%. The writing is really lovely, but I found the story to be too slow and dull for me. I’m also very sensitive to medical experimentation, which I didn’t realize was going to be such a huge part of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Medical content, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Racial slurs, and Abandonment

The main character’s neuroscience research is based on experimenting on mice, and this is described in some detail.

lindsaylhunter's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

Much like with Homegoing, Gyasi writes with incredible sincerity about topics of substance. She is the voice of a generation, and I hope that voice only gets louder and stronger as the years go by.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Racism, and Grief

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Death of parent

lyricallit's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, and Suicide attempt

silverrose187's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

streetmuseums's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.5

reading this on a plane was a mistake.  so good 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Grief, and Suicide attempt