Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi

63 reviews

itsnotalakeitsanocean's review

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emotional hopeful sad 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

This and Pet are one of my favourite stories of all time. Definitely read Pet before going into this one, because you are missing a lot of context for some of the characters if you don't

What I liked
  • We got to see the inner workings of what a freedom fighter support group looks like. I feel like most modern stories about rebellion and stuff focus far too much on the people on the frontlines, or imply that you are either with a rebellion on the frontlines or against it completely which is just not true.
  • In a similar vein,
    the revolution is presented in a way that suggests there isn't a "one size fits all" clean solution, which is crucial to stories like this. People fighting will get brutalised, people's entire legacies will be destroyed in an instant through death or destruction. Emezi doesn't spare killing off characters or injuring them just because they're on the side of revolution or allied with it. Not only that, they do it with the appropriate amount of gravity that doesn't wallow in angst to the point of narm.
  • Perhaps a controversial opinion but I liked Bitter's hesitance and guilt over not being able to do anything. I think it's all too easy to expect characters to be willing to jump into the fray, with any doubts or hesitations easily fixed for plot convenience (something that with Black characters runs the risk of portraying stereotypes). Bitter has a lot of trauma to unpack about being shifted from foster home to foster home - each with their own problems that wore her down over the years. Of course she's going to be hesitant to leave the one place she's only just found is safe in her life.

    Of course this mindset is challenged and approached from various different perspectives instead of coddling her safety in favour of larger community safety, but I found it refreshing that Bitter's mindset was portrayed and given respect whilst doing so.
  • Lots of amazing queer relationships and characters that were normalised and given the approriate amount of focus when necessary without slowing down the plot. I also really liked Ube in general - he's a really cool guy who just happens to be a wheelchair user.


What I didn't like
  • The only thing I didn't care for was how quickly Aloe and Bitter got together. However, this is a very small, easily overlooked problem because they are one of the healthiest couples I've read in a while (not that I don't like a messy couple from time to time), and unlike a lot of other modern couples, they put in the effort to love each other and you can see why they love each other so much.

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jessicaludden's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense 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

5.0

“Hope is not a waste of time. It's a discipline.”

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hailstorm3812's review

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dark emotional hopeful 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

4.0

After Pet blew me away, I was hoping for more from Bitter. It wasn't bad by any means but they are very different stories. While Pet explores an individual story of failure in an overall good society, this explores how to find your place in a broken society working to get better. I think the use of angels works better in the first, but fill an interesting role here. I do love Bitter herself and seeing how the other characters were as children. I also liked exploring the role of art in revolution and how different people can provide different good works. I liked Miss Virtue but didn't think this aspect was as strong as it could have been. I kind of just want to read Pet again.

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therewillbenewsuns's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.5

I loved this even more than PET, which I really did like. It’s tricky reading books that relate to revolutionary practices— are the ideas in the book a reflection of the author or the characters? Or both? Just interesting questions that I ask when reading books of this genre. Although, it’s hard to limit this to one singular genre. Like Pet, I was drawn to the blurring of reality and fantasy. I found that this was better paced and detailed than PET. 

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frankieclc's review against another edition

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4.0


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edenclam's review

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dark emotional tense fast-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

4.0


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cameronreads's review against another edition

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4.5

For some reason I was sceptical that I would like this as much as Pet but I absolutely did; perhaps even more. The discussions in this book were genuinely so necessary and powerful, but also handled with an incredible nuance. There were conversations about responsibility to make change, when you should prioritise yourself, whether eventually peace is worth present violence, etc. I loved Bitter’s character and the friends she made. The representation, as always, was fantastic. This was a great prequel, and I think this duology is a must-read. 

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arijones91's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful tense 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

3.25


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lynxpardinus's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective tense

4.5


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read_a_lottie's review

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0


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