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tiamia1084's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
sad
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Sexism, War, Alcohol, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Cursing, and Sexual content
shannynbarnett17's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I am a huge fan of historical fiction, and James McBride has become one of my new favorite authors. This is the second book I have read by him, with the first being Deacon King Kong. This book is slow-paced throughout the first 3/4 of the novel, but it REALLY picks up towards the end. The action-packed ending makes the book in my opinion. I would recommend this book to anyone that is interested in the American Civil War era. It gives an insightful look into the minds and thoughts of slaves, both still in bondage and free, throughout the country.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Death of parent
larareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
fast-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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Slavery
Moderate: Transphobia, Homophobia, War, Violence, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
tashadandelion's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Having read Deacon King Kong this year and loved it, I was eager to try this one out too, and it did not disappoint. McBride has a knack for the ridiculous-and-yet-lovable old man character. John Brown, the iconoclastic abolitionist, and Deacon Sportcoat are about as different from each other as two old men can get, but they're both crazy like foxes. They have something to teach the younger generations when you strip away all the bluster and swagger and disorientation and see their inner truths shining clearly at their cores. The story told in The Good Lord Bird is a fictional imagining of the events leading up to John Brown's doomed raid on the U.S. arsenal at Harper's Ferry, VA (now West Virginia). We see the action through the eyes of a young, enslaved Black boy named Henry who in early pages is swept up in Brown's wake after his father dies suddenly. He's mis-gendered as a girl named Henrietta, and is nicknamed "the Onion". He goes along with this absurd turn of events because it helps him survive the buffeting whims of the dangerous world around him. If you can take the irreverent and nuanced portrayal of power dynamics between whites and Blacks (and among Blacks) in the pre-Civil War US, this rollicking tale will entertain you, start to finish.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
Minor: Death
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