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Reviews tagging 'Car accident'
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
363 reviews
thereadinggradstudent's review
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, and Death of parent
livlamentloathe's review against another edition
3.25
I would like to start this review by pointing out that most of the angry one-star reviewers are over the top. This is not a simple story with black-and-white characters. Although there are blurred lines, there is no cheating. I think context is important to this story—there is a lot going on underneath the obvious. And it’s easy as heck to judge from behind a computer a world away. There are real feelings displayed by the story. And I think the characters were equally real.
I can’t tell if the lingo is just out of date or if the dialogue felt uneasy. There was a lot of slang that didn’t feel natural, BUT I’m very white and I know how white people will steal from black culture and burn it into the ground. So I cannot speak on it much, but it’s possible the lingo IS true to the characters, and I’ve just been burnt out on its use by other white people.
I think I wanted a bit more of a natural flow to the relationship between Feyi and Alim. They barely knew one another! I think the before: them joking or discussing things, etc. could’ve made it feel smoother.
As it was, their relationship did seem unfair to pursue over his children. I was kind of with them. Although they were entirely unfair to Feyi. Nasir, especially, really frustrated me. He acted like a fuckboy when she didn’t deserve that. Also I’m annoyed with how the kids had handled (and continued to handle) their father’s sexuality.
All that aside, I think this was a lovely book about the tide of grief and loss. How it never goes away; just recedes temporarily.
I can’t tell if the lingo is just out of date or if the dialogue felt uneasy. There was a lot of slang that didn’t feel natural, BUT I’m very white and I know how white people will steal from black culture and burn it into the ground. So I cannot speak on it much, but it’s possible the lingo IS true to the characters, and I’ve just been burnt out on its use by other white people.
I think I wanted a bit more of a natural flow to the relationship between Feyi and Alim. They barely knew one another! I think the before: them joking or discussing things, etc. could’ve made it feel smoother.
All that aside, I think this was a lovely book about the tide of grief and loss. How it never goes away; just recedes temporarily.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Car accident, Biphobia, and Homophobia
ms_read's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Violence, Car accident, and Biphobia
Minor: Death of parent, Death, and Child death
rachelfayreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Death
nukie19's review
emotional
reflective
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Grief
Moderate: Blood and Death
Minor: Homophobia
emlawley's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book had a lot of promise and started with a 'bang' with a very intense first chapter. I got the book through the Rare Birds Bookshop advent calendar so had expected good things, but I have to say I found the main character Feyi's choices hard to believe or relate to. There has been a lot of talk in other reviews about how it feels unbelievable and in slightly poor taste that her somewhat poor decisions in the book are down to the trauma she has experienced and that this is a little reductive and I would hasten to agree. Also, after a lot of build-up throughout the book, the pivotal sex scene was really disappointing from a feminist perspective! I think the book could have been much better with more character development and a more heart-warming story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Domestic abuse, and Death
faithbee's review
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Death, and Car accident
pm_me_book_recs's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Akwaeke Emezi is such a dynamic author- I'm all in.
Romance is def not my typical area of enjoyment, but this was so entertaining and the overall message was heartfelt. I really want to see this on screen! There also seems to be a pattern of me enjoying food focused romance??
The amount of growth and healing that happens across the board, even with periphery characters, is so good to see. With the numerous shenanigans and circumstances Feyi gets into, it does get comedic, but never degrading. I love the honest and upfront relationship Feyi and Joy have, we all need someone like Joy! The family drama is raw and painful, the matter of consent is constant and normalized, the writing and descriptions are gorgeous. I also loved that we get to see closure across the board and that Feyi is not the only focus!
The beginning is hot and heavy, but the rest of the story is mostly steam-free aside from imaginings and a few happenings later on.
Romance is def not my typical area of enjoyment, but this was so entertaining and the overall message was heartfelt. I really want to see this on screen! There also seems to be a pattern of me enjoying food focused romance??
The amount of growth and healing that happens across the board, even with periphery characters, is so good to see. With the numerous shenanigans and circumstances Feyi gets into, it does get comedic, but never degrading. I love the honest and upfront relationship Feyi and Joy have, we all need someone like Joy! The family drama is raw and painful, the matter of consent is constant and normalized, the writing and descriptions are gorgeous. I also loved that we get to see closure across the board and that Feyi is not the only focus!
The beginning is hot and heavy, but the rest of the story is mostly steam-free aside from imaginings and a few happenings later on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Sexual content
Moderate: Grief, Death, and Car accident
rexpostfacto's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
Minor: Violence and Sexual content
bibble_kingly's review against another edition
The book started off incredibly messy and the mess was just a lot for me.
Things to note:
Things to note:
- The main character is supposed to be unlikable
- Almost all of the prominent side characters are incredibly messy in their own way. (Yes, people can be messy in real life and fiction. The behavior is also really toxic despite the fact, we are told our main femme characters are in therapy)
This book just wasnt for me and that's okay.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Sexual content
Moderate: Biphobia, Toxic relationship, Self harm, and Car accident