Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

10 reviews

autismandniamh's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Car accident, Grief, Police brutality, Racism, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content

cass_ward's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.25

I had a hard time getting into the second person POV at first, but it was used perfectly. Caleb puts the reader into the shoes of a young, Black man and leads us into an experience of joy, love, fear, and deep sadness and it was, at least in my opinion, essential that the book be written that way. This MC laughed with his friends, and cried alone in the dark. He fell in love and grappled with his reality of “[praying] every day that this will not be the day.” We existed in the fullness of his life with him and that’s important because Black men are never given permission to show these parts of themselves. They are told to be small, to fit a part society wants them to play, to hide away and suppress and ignore and never, ever cry or be weak. And all the while, more Black men and boys are dying, and more pain and grief are accumulating. 

I loved that this book has honest depictions of grief and pain and fear, and also joy and love and life in equal amounts. This isn’t just a story of how a Black man endures trauma. This is a story of how a Black man lives in the truth of systemic racism and the hope for joy despite it. 

What a stunning story. What an important one. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Death, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Gun violence, and Murder

Minor: Chronic illness

alisonfaith426's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, and Racism

pkc's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective 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? No

4.0

If I was asked to review this story around the mid way point, it probably wouldn’t have been massively favourable. In fact, I came reasonably close to DNFing but in the last 70 pages, something happened. The core of the story unveiled itself, made itself known in a really profound way that I hadn’t expected. At just over 140 pages I hadn’t expected as much depth as I got from this book. It’s a touching and haunting look at the safety (or lack thereof) of black people  amidst the persistent thrumming drumbeat of a system that is built to oppress and violate in equal turns. The second person narrative is so well considered and any reader can become engaged in the unease and feel everything that “you” are supposed to feel. I loved the protagonist and the rich storytelling was poetic, languid and sumptuous at points.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Car accident, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pregnancy, Racism, Alcohol, Blood, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, and Police brutality

dannythestreet's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

That must be one of the most beautiful things I've ever read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Police brutality, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, and Gun violence

Moderate: Classism, Death, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Cursing, Drug use, and Medical content

garynoplastie's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Police brutality, and Racism

Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, and Sexual content

radfordmanor's review

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Hate crime, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, and Violence

anxiousbookclub's review

emotional hopeful tense slow-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, Police brutality, and Death

Moderate: Racism, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

sib_reads's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, Violence, Death, and Racism

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Animal cruelty, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Mental illness, Alcohol, Blood, and Sexual content

imaginefishes's review

emotional reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

The book is incredibly reflective and draws the reader in through a 2nd-person POV, and emotions are further intensified via constant repetition of certain words or phrases. The book vividly depicts what the Black experience is like, good and bad, and while not the intent of the author, I think anyone from a minority group can relate to a certain extent regarding the thoughts and emotions the main character feels. While I found the story to really speak to me, I began losing some interest by the end, though the unconventional descriptors and metaphors the author uses really targets the precise emotions the character was feeling. All in all, it was a fantastic read and sent me off my own journey of exploration of love (not just romantic) and what that means to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, and Racism

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, and Blood