Reviews tagging 'Child death'

River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

23 reviews

monicabach's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book is devastatingly beautiful. It has completely changed me as a mother. When I read the first few chapters and she explained how she came to lose every one of her children, I was rocking my 2 year old. I sobbed and held him tight and prayed to God to never take him from me. This book is slow at times but so full of emotion and hope. 

Content: not a single curse word. Implications of rape and prostitution but not in detail. Some instances of the overseer beating a slave but not terrifyingly graphic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Death, and Child death

laheath's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? No

3.0

It was interesting, yet heartbreaking, to read about the supposed end of slavery in the Caribbean and how plantation owners used apprenticeships to get around it.  With any prior knowledge of the treatment of slaves, the reader won't find anything new here.  Though the main character, Rachel, is technically freed by England, she has to run away from the plantation owner and overseer who refuse to comply with the law.  She courageously sets out to find her surviving children who were taken away/sold.  The plot was predictable with simplistic writing but managed to give examples of different scenarios when searching for lost family, though each was portrayed as quite a simple process.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Slavery

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Death, and Grief

Minor: Colonisation, Child death, Racism, and Sexual assault

silodear's review

adventurous emotional reflective sad 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Child abuse, and Slavery

Moderate: Child abuse and Child death

katja24's review

challenging dark hopeful reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Racism

Moderate: Child death and Death

micaelamariem's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective tense 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? No

3.0

From a perspective that helps one see the different culture and understand the brutal history of slavery in the Caribbean, this book is great. It really tugs at the heartstrings as you follow a mother who escapes slavery to search for her sold children. The descriptions of the landscapes are also great. However, when it came to the characters, I found them, apart from Rachel, a bit one-dimensional and like their descriptions were more “telling” than “showing.” I also was frustrated that Rachel didn’t start her quest until about 100 pages in of a 300 page book—the slow beginning made me less inclined to really immerse myself into the story. Overall it was good, but I think it could’ve been better. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Death, Blood, Violence, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Bullying, Gore, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Alcohol

jordynkw's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Child death, Death, Blood, and Grief

craftyanty's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Beautifully written. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Slavery, Racism, and Child death

yoadrienne16's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Medical content, Slavery, and Racism

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Rape

allapaz's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.25

a STUNNING debut novel, oof. this did everything historical fiction is supposed to do--teach you and connect you to the past. Rachel's journey was a beautiful tribute to the history of women who had to make that same journey in history. my only critique is the pacing toward the end, I could have spent a lot more time on that last leg of the journey, a few more dead ends, lessen the suspension of disbelief a bit.

but truly, that does not take away much at all from how many times I was OVERWHELMED by FEELINGS reading this book. while I didn't cry, there were many times I had to look away from the book to yell into the void, either through happiness, sadness, overwhelm, or heartwarm. what an experience

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Racism, Death, Child death, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Miscarriage

This book does not shy away from the brutalities of slavery, but doesn't revel in the grotesque either, if that makes sense. You won't get gratuitous descriptions of injuries or violence, but those things are happening, because that's real history.

bedtimesandbooks's review

hopeful sad tense 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Miscarriage, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Racism, Violence, Colonisation, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Suicide, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Blood, and Physical abuse