Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie

3 reviews

kittycaserine's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

4.25

This was almost a 5 star book but I found the ending unsatisfying. Which, perhaps was the goal. But I wanted real justice for this poor girl and that was ember received.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Sexual violence, Grief, Rape, Suicide attempt, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, Classism, Torture, Abandonment, Violence, Child abuse, Self harm, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Sexism, and Car accident

yetilibrary's review

dark reflective sad slow-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

2.5

This book was a solid 3 until I got to the ending. I would have given it a 2, but, in spite of the slow pace (and the fact that it doesn't need to be 450 pages), it kept me engrossed. So I'll give it a 2.5.

So. That ending. Spoiler-free thoughts: I hated, hated, HATED the ending. The ending was utterly infuriating. I thought through it, and while it can be justified on the basis of character (flaws?), I think there are arguments that justify an alternative ending, and perhaps more to the point: I HATE IT. 

After finally finding "home"--in a person--and accepting love in her life, Nori returns to Japan. I agree that she pretty much has to. But then, she accedes to her merciless grandmother's demands, because she ... thinks she is fulfilling what Akira was going to do? Because she can probably close down one brothel? Because she believes she can eventually REFORM A GIANT MAFIA ENTERPRISE? Because she plans to change even more of her personality such that she can command mafiosi, and powerful businessmen in general? She isn't even ready to face her dying grandmother without ripping herself to shreds and fainting! And to do all this, she has to turn her back on her only true friend AND the man she loves--the father of her child. Furthermore, she dooms that child to the position in life that she held, albeit with a much better existence. 

It's possible to argue that she would do this out of devotion to Akira, the great love of her life, and because deep down, she still doesn't believe she deserves happiness or love. That's true. But this choice also requires belief that this is what Akira wants (her vision of him never says this), AND that this is what he wants for HER. It also requires belief that she is willing to hurt the two people she loves most in the world, and (essentially) sacrifice her child, for the sake of fulfilling her grandmother's wishes. Let's be clear: this was always what her grandmother wanted. 

My final reason for hating this ending is purely selfish: after so much pain in this book, I just wanted better for Nori. I wanted better for her than a return to the place that hurt her so much (she vomits when she gets to this house!), and a choice to take over the role that her wicked grandparents had held for so long, with no one she could trust at her side. And this was all due to a vision of her dead brother and a quixotic belief that she could stop her family's widespread evil, singlehandedly. (In fairness, I'm sure she can stop some of it. And it's a good and worthy goal. But I have my doubts that any one person can take down an operation that large, and that old.)

TL;DR I HATED THIS ENDING WITH ALL MY BEING.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Trafficking, and Rape

Minor: Rape

cc0906's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Grief

Moderate: Car accident, Child death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, and Xenophobia

Minor: War