Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

16 reviews

hannah_a_r_teatalksbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

3.5

I really enjoyed the worldbuilding in this book; conceptually, it was fascinating. However, sometimes mysteries were picked up and set down again for reasons that escaped me. One example is the place where Lune's notes were stored, which seemed like it could have been much more developed. The resolution of the mystery of Lune's disappearance was anticlimactic,

and I was also very confused about the insistence the book had that she slit her throat, when there was no body and we never find out what happened

. Mostly, I was just unprepared for the incessant sexual violence in the book. There is so much sexual violence. It made the book hard to read, and not in the "this is hard but good/important for me" way, but in the "yes, we get it already, women of the Lowerdecks are raped incessantly, yes, I understand the problems inherent in this society and how it represents our own past and present, we've now passed the point where it develops theme, character, and plot and is just beating me up" sort of way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Child death, Confinement, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death, Murder, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Classism, Grief, Police brutality, Racism, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, and Sexual assault

Minor: Incest and Pedophilia

honeynutmalcontent's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Police brutality, Racism, Death, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Violence, and Suicide

Moderate: Colonisation, Homophobia, Transphobia, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Torture, Classism, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Rape, Mental illness, Abandonment, Transphobia, Blood, and Dysphoria

kellyofcali's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

Very much a modern sci-fi for me, I liked the world the author created and the way they wove in themes of classism and racism while still pursuing a vibrant sci-fi story with a more diverse and varied cast of characters. My main issue was the ending - it felt like someone told them to "wrap it up" and so the ending felt unhurried and less gripping than the earlier parts of the book. However, definitely worth a read and made for an interesting book club discussion (people were very split) - especially for sci-fi lovers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Abandonment, Abortion, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Gaslighting, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Death of parent, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Blood, Medical content, Misogyny, Slavery, Chronic illness, Grief, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Pregnancy and Racism

dragon_s_hoard's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense 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: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Suicide attempt, Torture, War, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Infertility, Abandonment, Ableism, Confinement, Lesbophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Sexism, Stalking, and Terminal illness

sarkenobi's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Torture, Xenophobia, Ableism, Classism, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Gore, Homophobia, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Abortion, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Miscarriage

Minor: Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Vomit

arguhlincozzi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Self harm, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, War, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abortion, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Blood, Child abuse, Excrement, and Physical abuse

oworthyfool's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Rivers Solomon weaves a deft tale of oppression, family, and ultimately hope in the face of human evil. A timely story of how society turns on the less fortunate and intentionally marginalized, the focus nonetheless is of Aster struggling to make sense of her mother's death, the day of her own birth. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Vomit, Dysphoria, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Murder, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, Confinement, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Hate crime

Moderate: Abortion, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, and Excrement

brynalexa's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

5.0

This book  is one of my favorite of all times. I’m delighted by the neurodivergent and queer representation. The world building is phenomenal and the relationships are dynamic and deep.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and Abandonment

nagev's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, Abortion, Classism, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, and Confinement

Moderate: Pregnancy, Police brutality, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Bullying, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Blood, Abandonment, Torture, Transphobia, Rape, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Vomit, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Medical content, Lesbophobia, and Grief

Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, and Alcohol

nytephoenyx's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.25

My favorite thing about Rivers Solomon’s An Unkindness of Ghosts is its easy inclusivity. Never does this book feel like its trying for token characters or to write a specifically “race” or “LGBTQIAP+” book. The individuals aboard the Matilda are who they are and I think that’s beautiful and it deserves top billing in this review.

While I cannot speak to the overall accuracy of this representation based on personal experiences, it flowed very well and read as quite genuine and normal in every way, which I loved. We have Theo, who is mixed and struggles with religion vs. desire. Giselle is Black. She faces her trauma every day. And Aster? Aster is also Black, neurodivergent, and certainly LGTBQIAP+ though I couldn’t pin down nonbinary vs. gender fluid vs. asexual… but you know what? It doesn’t matter. Aster was a little of all of these and so beautifully defied labels (though Aster does use the she/her pronouns, which Solomon shares early in the book). Even minor characters like Flick are given all their dignity and we know their pronouns are they/them.

An Unkindness of Ghosts tells the story of four different people, to my reckoning. Aster is our front-and-center protagonist, but we also learn Theo’s and Giselle’s stories, and Aster’s mother Lune Grey. All these characters are BIPOC and they are all oppressed in this worldship that so closely parallels the antebellum South. Each one struggles to navigate a system that is so strongly set against them. They fight on different levels and through different professions and pursuits. This book is painful to read – the violence, the torture, the sexual abuse. Solomon doesn’t shy away from sharing the worst of Matilda in full detail, and nor should they. Although An Unkindness of Ghosts is a dystopian science fiction… is it? The largest divergence between this book and our own history is the location: a ship, in space.

The writing is stunning, but reader, please proceed with caution. While I think it’s an important book and everyone should be aware of it, read it, and feel the pain of our history of slavery laid out so bluntly before us… it’s not going to be a safe read for everyone. Please please review the content warnings on my blog and on The StoryGraph before starting this book to steel yourself for the content to follow.

An Unkindness of Ghosts was immersive from the first moments, and aside from the astounding plot and character building, the world itself burst alive from the page. There is so much hurt in this novel, but the moments of beauty are there too, although much fewer. The dance of all the elements woven together seamlessly make An Unkindness of Ghosts a particularly impressive novel. My one disappointment was the non-excitement of the very ending. The book was running full speediest moments before, and the end fell a little flat for me.

I dearly recommend this book to anyone. It has some heavy adult moments so may be more of a longterm TBR item for younger teen readers. As an adult, this story made me ache and I will certainly be reading Solomon’s next book, Sorrowland.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Homophobia

Moderate: Ableism, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Pedophilia, and Religious bigotry