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bootsmom3's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Death, Abortion, Ableism, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual content, Suicide, Xenophobia, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Racism, Terminal illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Murder, Misogyny, Islamophobia, Alcohol, Blood, and Cancer
moniipeters's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death of parent, Police brutality, Ableism, Abortion, Blood, Drug use, Genocide, Cancer, Deportation, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Mental illness, Sexual content, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
bookobsessedmommy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
4.5
The sadness and foreboding permeated this book. Even when the ladies were happy, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. A wholly captivating storytelling style that wouldn't let me look away.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, Terminal illness, Body shaming, Cancer, Islamophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
jasminealizae's review against another edition
challenging
tense
slow-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
1.0
I wanted to like this book so badly. With less than 10% of the book left I had no clue what the purpose or plot of this story was, and upon finishing I am still just as confused. This story was so extremely slow and dull. The characters made such poor decisions at every opportunity they could and it made them unlikable for me. The idea of these women all being tied to one man was very loose and the believability was just as flimsy. I completely understand what the author was trying to accomplish, but she unfortunately fell extremely far from that goal. The ending really negates the entire story and made the read feel pointless. The audio version was perfect to hear the accents and languages the characters spoke, and to be able to correctly hear the pronunciation of names for the places and people, but the narrator who spoke for both Kemi and Brittany often confused their established accents. Also was strange how Brittany was made to have a very stereotypical unrealistic American country accent and was off putting. I also couldn’t tell if all the Swedish characters were just unnaturally slow speakers or if the narrator was struggling using the accent so her words had extremely long pauses between them and everything was drawn out. This book was all over the place in a bad way and truly felt like it had no real direction and that the author had no actual vision for the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Body shaming, Cancer, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Abortion, Grief, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Cultural appropriation, Death, Pregnancy, Stalking, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
owlliecat's review
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Three women of color with very different careers, all somehow intertwined with a white man.
The perspective of what life is like for black women in predominantly white northern countries was a much needed read. All 3 women faced some sort of sad ending, leaving the discussion open for how POC are still treated in today's world.
The perspective of what life is like for black women in predominantly white northern countries was a much needed read. All 3 women faced some sort of sad ending, leaving the discussion open for how POC are still treated in today's world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Racism
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Cancer
jahodge714's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
now_booking's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The thing is I liked this book and what it was trying to accomplish. I think it did a really good job at capturing the micro (and macro) aggressions Black women face living in a white, “Western” society where they are othered, and it did so through the perspectives of three very different women. Kemi is a marketing guru on the rise in corporate America who’s head-hunted to direct diversity and inclusion in marketing at a top Swedish firm, Brittany is a flight attendant, former model and general grown up sugar baby never quite recovered from a past trauma, and Muna is a refugee from Somalia who has lost everyone she’s ever loved, trying to build a life for herself in Sweden.. These three women’s diverse experiences, I believe, are intended to reflect the many different experience of being Black and female intersectionally in the “West,” where no matter your social class, social network or experience, there is a sort of discrimination and even dehumanization that takes place where you’re always seen as other and not quite deserving of respect and equal humanity. Specifically for these 3 women as immigrants/expats in Sweden, Black Womanhood in this context is lonely, isolating, disrespected, as gaslit to heck and back.
I found the author’s writing to be engaging and interesting. The thing is that I feel like this book may have tried to accomplish too much in discussing all the different means through which Black women experienced discrimination and so thematically it had perhaps too much ground to cover. Because of this, I think there was not enough time to build to an ending, the resolutions felt rushed and it didn’t come together for me. The first issue for me was the story trajectories for the three women- in the end there was no proper convergence- it felt like 3 very different projects about many very different issues (corporate discrimination and sexualisation, trauma recovery and autism, and issues for refugees and new arrivals in supposedly welcoming Sweden but then also radicalization and extremism, racism, sexism, xenophobia, fatphobia, gaslighting, domestic abuse, sexual violence). There were too many themes and moreover I would have liked to see more integration of the characters across the different plots- what existed felt very last minute. Chronologically, it took 2 years for Kemi and Brittany to connect and then it’s never quite clear why their relationship was what it was- was it due to their personalities, is it about them being Black women, it just seemed very out of character especially for Kemi to be the way she was. Furthermore, very interesting character dynamics would frequently be set up with supporting characters in a scene, only to never come up again- for example Kemi with Tobias’s sister, or Brittany and Antonia, the bits about multiracialism with Malcolm and Tobias- it’s like things were touched on that could have revealed something deeper about the characters but then without exploring that depth, we were rushed on to another theme or another event so that the net was cast wide but it didn’t have a chance to sink deep. A bit more integration may have helped us learn a bit more about the lead characters and even the supporting ones. The character trajectories were also clashing. They sometimes went through personality transplants (e.g. Antonia, Kemi from time to time) and acted completely out of character, OR they stagnated and by the end remained to me mostly static and they ended up in the knowledge and positions they already had at the beginning which kind of made me wonder the point at the end- Kemi gets a rushed realization at the end, Brittany ends up pretty much where she started in terms of power and agency, and Muna- the main sympathetic character in this is also more or less stagnant, if you can call it that. I think this book felt a little rushed at the end and the resolution with Muna felt to me a little too like a manipulative device for shock value like with Ahmed or Yasmeen or Khadijah- I mean I understood it and it made sense in a full circle way, but I also felt a little manipulated because of precedent about the fate of refugees and immigrants especially those who were Muslim.
One issue people may bring up is the treatment of ASD, the author does bring it up in a note at the back but if you’re at all sensitive to having a person’s toxic traits be linked to their neurodiversity, consider if this is for you. Themes of ableism also exist in this character’s experience.
I think what the author did well was write deeply flawed characters that were also relatable in the ways that most of us are self-saboteurs in some way. We’re prone to bad decisions and wrong choices and being influenced out of our own happiness. We deny the obvious red flags and consider other people’s opinions when we shouldn’t and don’t listen to good advice when we should. We are judged and discriminated against but sometimes judge and discriminate against others. The author in writing these characters teases out a lot of nuances around racism and intersectional lived experience for Black women in Sweden.
Overall, I liked this. It felt very realistic and authentic, even when I rolled my eyes at their decisions, I thought the author did a great job writing these people. I wish this had narrowed its thematic scope a bit to develop more deeply some of the nuances and tidbits dropped along the way in the plot. I’m glad I read this and highly recommend if you’re looking for a book about race set in what is often idealized Scandinavia, with messy main characters and ALL the drama. Beware that this is potentially a very triggering book so approach with caution.
Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy!
I found the author’s writing to be engaging and interesting. The thing is that I feel like this book may have tried to accomplish too much in discussing all the different means through which Black women experienced discrimination and so thematically it had perhaps too much ground to cover. Because of this, I think there was not enough time to build to an ending, the resolutions felt rushed and it didn’t come together for me. The first issue for me was the story trajectories for the three women- in the end there was no proper convergence- it felt like 3 very different projects about many very different issues (corporate discrimination and sexualisation, trauma recovery and autism, and issues for refugees and new arrivals in supposedly welcoming Sweden but then also radicalization and extremism, racism, sexism, xenophobia, fatphobia, gaslighting, domestic abuse, sexual violence). There were too many themes and moreover I would have liked to see more integration of the characters across the different plots- what existed felt very last minute. Chronologically, it took 2 years for Kemi and Brittany to connect and then it’s never quite clear why their relationship was what it was- was it due to their personalities, is it about them being Black women, it just seemed very out of character especially for Kemi to be the way she was. Furthermore, very interesting character dynamics would frequently be set up with supporting characters in a scene, only to never come up again- for example Kemi with Tobias’s sister, or Brittany and Antonia, the bits about multiracialism with Malcolm and Tobias- it’s like things were touched on that could have revealed something deeper about the characters but then without exploring that depth, we were rushed on to another theme or another event so that the net was cast wide but it didn’t have a chance to sink deep. A bit more integration may have helped us learn a bit more about the lead characters and even the supporting ones. The character trajectories were also clashing. They sometimes went through personality transplants (e.g. Antonia, Kemi from time to time) and acted completely out of character, OR they stagnated and by the end remained to me mostly static and they ended up in the knowledge and positions they already had at the beginning which kind of made me wonder the point at the end- Kemi gets a rushed realization at the end, Brittany ends up pretty much where she started in terms of power and agency, and Muna- the main sympathetic character in this is also more or less stagnant, if you can call it that. I think this book felt a little rushed at the end and the resolution with Muna felt to me a little too like a manipulative device for shock value like with Ahmed or Yasmeen or Khadijah- I mean I understood it and it made sense in a full circle way, but I also felt a little manipulated because of precedent about the fate of refugees and immigrants especially those who were Muslim.
One issue people may bring up is the treatment of ASD, the author does bring it up in a note at the back but if you’re at all sensitive to having a person’s toxic traits be linked to their neurodiversity, consider if this is for you. Themes of ableism also exist in this character’s experience.
I think what the author did well was write deeply flawed characters that were also relatable in the ways that most of us are self-saboteurs in some way. We’re prone to bad decisions and wrong choices and being influenced out of our own happiness. We deny the obvious red flags and consider other people’s opinions when we shouldn’t and don’t listen to good advice when we should. We are judged and discriminated against but sometimes judge and discriminate against others. The author in writing these characters teases out a lot of nuances around racism and intersectional lived experience for Black women in Sweden.
Overall, I liked this. It felt very realistic and authentic, even when I rolled my eyes at their decisions, I thought the author did a great job writing these people. I wish this had narrowed its thematic scope a bit to develop more deeply some of the nuances and tidbits dropped along the way in the plot. I’m glad I read this and highly recommend if you’re looking for a book about race set in what is often idealized Scandinavia, with messy main characters and ALL the drama. Beware that this is potentially a very triggering book so approach with caution.
Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Cancer, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Racism, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Abortion, Body shaming, and Cultural appropriation
librarybookscene's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia
krys_kilz's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.75
This book was incredibly engaging and I could not put it down. The characters are rich, complicated and multilayered. I thoroughly enjoyed engaging with their multiple perspectives, personalities, hopes and dreams. The characters disrupt the racist notion that Black women are a monolith. There is also a lot of visceral metaphor and imagery woven throughout.
I am still sitting with the ending, which was heartbreaking in so many ways. I am not a fan of happy, neatly wrapped up endings, so that's not something that bothers me. What I'm sitting with is what message the ending reveals along with its scathing critique of misogynoir and xenophobia. The entire novel does an incredible job of shattering the picture perfect image of Nordic countries we are often fed in the so called "united states."
I am still sitting with the ending, which was heartbreaking in so many ways. I am not a fan of happy, neatly wrapped up endings, so that's not something that bothers me. What I'm sitting with is what message the ending reveals along with its scathing critique of misogynoir and xenophobia. The entire novel does an incredible job of shattering the picture perfect image of Nordic countries we are often fed in the so called "united states."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Islamophobia, and Stalking
Minor: Drug use
If suicide is a trigger for you, I would advise taking great caution with this book.
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