Reviews with content warning for Cancer - What We Lose

Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons

11 reviews

brooketreads's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

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

2.0

To me this felt all over the place. I couldn’t follow the timeline, because it was jumping around so much. I didn’t find our main character Thandi likable. I wanted to love her mom but we didn’t get enough of her in the story besides mainly when she was sick. There were some good moments and it had some potential, but the skipping around just ruined it for me. I wish it had followed a timeline and we would have gotten to see more from before illness, then during, then after. Thandi was sex obsessed and it kind of overshadowed the story. There was also a really crass line about f-ing death in the a- and death liked it… that just felt completely unnecessary.

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khuppe's review against another edition

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emotional 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? No

3.25

A compelling coming of age story

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fraidyghost's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

4.25

Really enjoyed the narrative structure of this book, and its narrator Thandi, whose relationships with her culture/identity and family I found deeply relatable. The story was rich without being weighed down by overly descriptive language (although there were places I wished for more). I only put it down once, and only because the style took a little bit of acclimation; once I fell into the rhythm I finished the rest in one sitting.

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hartendief's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

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ejsreads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.5

What an absolutely stunning debut novel!

This book made me smile, cry, laugh, think --heck I felt it all. Some parts were absolutely soul-crushing. The way Clemmons portrayed love, joy, grief, and despair through her characters was raw, palpable, and equally heartfelt yet heartbreaking. The highs were triumphantly high and the lows were extremely low.

It definitely reads more like a memoir. There were times I had to remind myself it was fictional. This is the type of book you are sorry to finish for it truly made you think and, more importantly, made you feel. Read best on public transportation (read: university bus) so you can then gaze longingly out the window.

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carleesi's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

3.75

The writing style of this book was really interesting. The combination of non-linear storytelling with the short chapters helped develop the emotional impact for me. One of the downsides that pulled me out of the story was the frequent fatphobia. Sometimes it was covert and other times it was really blatant, made it hard for me to stay in the story.

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