Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

45 reviews

kayarosee's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I loved the beginning and the end. The middle had a very teen sounding voice which wasn’t my favorite, but I understood why it was done. It was nessacary to portray the emotions of the adolescent characters at that moment. But the beginning with the history and the letters, and the end with the grown revelations really took me and made me feel so many emotions. It all felt so close to home and so beautiful. The only reason I am giving it a 4 and not a 5 is just because I had a difficult time getting through the part filled with high-school angst. Maybe that is just because I do not really want to re-live those days or those feelings. All-in-all a beautiful book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Gun violence

Moderate: Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Colonisation, and War

amanda884's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-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: Drug use

Moderate: Genocide, Self harm, and Colonisation

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Suicide, Car accident, and Pandemic/Epidemic

arrr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Powerful intergenerational story of colonization and its effects on an Oakland Indigenous family up to and after the modern day shooting in the first book. Some parts are understandably dark, but the message is hopeful and reflective. Worth getting to the end, even if you have to put it down a few times to have a break and a cry. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Absolutely worth the read if you're in a good safe headspace to cope with the many triggers.

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

3.5

I liked it better than There, There, but it was emotionally draining to read. There were too many characters and storylines to get invested as deeply as I would’ve liked. Felt like the author was trying to cover way more ground than made sense for one book, or that it would’ve been a more successful effort if the book had been longer and taken more time to unravel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

colormecaro's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

Ok so first up, I read this and There There chronologically, so:
1 - historical “before” part of Wandering Stars
2 - There There in its entirety
3 - Aftermath & Futures parts of Wandering Stars

I would thoroughly recommmend this way of reading the two books. If I hadn’t been able to follow on immediately after finishing There There, I think I would have rated it worse because it leaves quite a few questions at the end. 

Equally, while the historical part seems very short (and I would love to read it in more detail), it provides some very necessary context for the general feeling of displacement and lack of connection to native roots that ripples through both books. 

And while I still have some quarrels with the way Tommy Orange writes (a few more full stops instead of commas would have been nice), I loved how in Wandering Stars he focuses on fewer characters and gives them more depth. Something I was missing in There There. 

I also hope Tommy Orange will write a book focussing on Lony in the future. That character just made sense to me (I am a white European woman, so this is absolutely a tribute to Tommy Orange and his writing ability).

I know I critiqued the writing so it should only be 4.5 but I want this in my 5⭐️ reads because feelings wise, it definitely was. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation

letsgolesbians's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Colonisation

Minor: Rape, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

skitch41's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Drug use

Moderate: Genocide, Self harm, and Colonisation

Minor: Alcoholism and Suicidal thoughts

katrinky's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad

5.0

a book about addiction that was 5 stars for me?!?! I had a characteristically hard time during the Orvil and Sean drug chapters because I hate reading things from the view of addicts while they're high, but the context of generational trauma and generational addiction meant I could get distance and perspective on it that made me want to hang in and keep reading. every character was written deeply and fully; everyone was a main character. it took me a long time to read because it was not a pleasant story, but also because the writing is gorgeous and I wanted to pay attention.  EXTREMELY recommend. will read again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Gore, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ukponge's review against another edition

challenging 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Colonisation

chrism6'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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Drug abuse

Moderate: Cancer and Colonisation

Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Abandonment