Reviews tagging 'Murder'

There There by Tommy Orange

84 reviews

cass_ward's review

5.0

if i had a way to rate this higher, i would. read the trigger warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Abandonment, and Addiction

Minor: Pregnancy, Fatphobia, and Rape

language_loving_amateur's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.75

I feel like I would need a second read through with a character chart to understand the basics of what is happening in There There, let alone fully understand it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Colonisation, Blood, Genocide, Death, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence

Moderate: Death of parent and Domestic abuse

Minor: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Car accident, Self harm, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Excrement, Rape, Suicide, Abandonment, and Fatphobia

vicnicbasket's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Murder, Grief, and Colonisation

Moderate: Car accident, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

bibliomich's review against another edition

challenging informative 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

As I made my way through There There, I found myself thinking repeatedly that my schooling must have failed me. I know so little about the history of Indigenous peoples here in the Bay Area. At a certain point, though, I have to acknowledge that I am a grown adult who is more than capable of learning more, regardless of what I failed to learn in my youth, and that's one of the reasons why I need to read more books like There There.

Tommy Orange’s novel is a story about family and history and violence and Indigenous identity. But also, it is very much a story about Oakland. I am so grateful for the recent release of Wandering Stars (which I’m planning to read next), as it brought There There back into the spotlight, without which I may have never discovered this phenomenal book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Colonisation, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Racism, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Violence, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

library_anne's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Pregnancy, Mass/school shootings, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Rape, War, Violence, Child abuse, Hate crime, Murder, Drug use, Addiction, Blood, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Cursing, Genocide, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse

signeskov's review against another edition

emotional informative sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder, Colonisation, Genocide, Death, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Addiction, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Abandonment and Fatphobia

la_licia33's review

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Addiction, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

marissasa's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I always love a story where we get multiples POVs, and especially if they are people whose individual narratives all connect to each other by the end. This book delivered that along with a lot of emotional and heavy truths about Native Americans' experiences in the past and in the modern time. The essays in the beginning really set the tone for the book and leave you breathless. I liked the exploration of many different themes in this book, with a big emphasis on identity, family ties, and participating in your culture. While all these things were done well and the buildup to the ending was anxiety-filled and tense as intended, the book was also on the short side which resulted in a lot of the 12 characters who were given a POV not getting as much development as they could've. Some were fleshed out and we got to dive in and hear their backstories, while others felt more like a toe dip in the pool only getting to the surface level. Regardless, this book will keep you engaged and make you feel things while learning about life for the indigenous people who live in a land that is theirs but also stolen from them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Death, Mass/school shootings, Alcoholism, Suicide, Death of parent, Excrement, Sexual assault, Child death, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Car accident, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Domestic abuse

jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

sad fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Violence, Blood, Genocide, Alcoholism, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Minor: Rape

morgankailackerman's review

dark sad 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

This is an absolutely gorgeous book. There is so much there in the pages of this book less than 300 pages. It’s so well written and it’s filled with depth. I’m excited to see what Tommy Orange does in the future if this is the debut novel. I love the format of the book and the scope of characters is amazing. Orange weaves the narrative together so ingeniously. 

Although I really liked it, my own personal history puts me off to it. It is so violent, not my normal kind of book (I read this for one of my grad classes). I would not teach this book to high schoolers, like my professor suggested, because it is way too violent. It has a beauitful message, but the Native on Native violence is nuanced, and I would worry it is too nuanced (and triggering and intense) for a high schooler to understand. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Drug use, Murder, Hate crime, and Sexual harassment