Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Passeggiare la notte by Leila Mottley

94 reviews

kalmia31's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Racism, Trafficking, Abandonment, Misogyny, Police brutality, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape

Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Classism, Pregnancy, and Drug use

danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

This book burns with a righteous fury and deeply affecting pathos. A searing indictment of systemic racism and classism, it centers a teenage girl who turns to survival sex work only to find herself taken advantage of by those who, in theory, are supposed to protect her. Also the prose is stunning with Mottley's experience as a poet paying off greatly. Additionally, it's written in first person, and the way the protagonist's voice shifts throughout the story from shut down and survival focused, to making room for her anger and grief, is just stunning.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Death, Abandonment, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Police brutality, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

maggiekateb's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Abandonment, Self harm, Gun violence, Addiction, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Gore, Child death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Emotional abuse

lidia7's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, and Police brutality

Moderate: Child death, Trafficking, Drug use, Child abuse, Alcohol, and Cursing

Minor: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Transphobia, Addiction, Blood, and Torture

b_carlson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

<REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS>
This is a gorgeous yet confronting book of survival as a black teen living in America. I am not black but reading it I felt like I, at least in theory, understood the feeling of being robbed of a choice. Sometimes people have to make choices they don't really have a choice in. The rawness of Kiara's need to survive, top carry the whole world on her back, made me feel like she was standing there in my living room, close enough for me to reach out and take her hand and say "tell me more". This story explored power dynamics in such a real way, it wasn't white washed, it didn't build some fake reality where the young black girl wins going up against the police force, but it did provide a reality in which black joy can co-exist with black trauma. Being white and reading this book makes me feel like there is a core that I can't see, I can read it but I can't see it, I can't feel it, and I think that's how it should be. I felt moved and angry after finishing this book but I think if a black person were to read it they would take away just a little bit of something that white people could never touch and I think that takes an incredible amount of skill from Mottley, to connect with both of those audiences in the way they need to be connected with by using the exact same set of words. I can't believe this way a debut, the writing style and the realness of the characters, none were two dimensional was something I rarely see in a debut novel. The way the story was strung together, I felt a stirring in my chest and a sickness in my stomach but also a lightness in my heart for Kiara still being able to find joy in the end. To be able to actually make me, a reader, have that physical, real reaction to the story being told, that's when you know it is a job well done. This is a rare and unique read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Murder, Addiction, Drug use, and Self harm

zara89's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Abandonment, Child death, Mental illness, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, and Trafficking

Moderate: Alcohol, Addiction, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship

emmamcelderry's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Child death

alisonannk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Trafficking, Panic attacks/disorders, Cancer, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Chronic illness, and Excrement

syds_shelves's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really fucking liked nightcrawling. it was so sad throughout that I took a 3 week break from reading it. I have two younger brothers so anything with a young boy that needs protecting is immediately gonna crack my heart open. The last 3 pages also beat me down in a way I wasn’t expecting BECAUSE the end wasn’t that bad? I’m not sure if i’ve been hearing too many folks say the ending really hurt them or what but… I feel like this reality is very true and near for a lot of black folks so I was not hurt or surprised more than I am by being black every day in a country that doesn’t give a shit about me. Maybe it’s all the open ends and “what happens to ___” that has left folks reeling but, again, cannot say. 

That aside, the book??? It felt like my emotions were getting jumped every single page. There was nearly no relief, but I couldn’t stop reading. I think this book is very similar stylistically to The Hate U Give (A lot of colorful background characters that aren’t fully fleshed out, a lot of strong values and beliefs presented from the author through the main character, and a deep love for where the characters come from. You can tell Leila has a deep love for Oakland) until it’s not. Some of this prose is for sure over written and flowery but fuck did it knock me out of my shoes. Because who would think to pair the blows of poverty, trafficking, and how generally deplorable police are with language like this.

There are other parts where I read and was like “yeah, this feels like a debut by a young author” in the kindest way. There is always room for growth, and I think this is also the unfortunate result of reading a heavily talked about Oprah/Booksta book. She’s made a fan of me and i’ll ABSOLUTELY be back for her next ones.

I get why this book was what it was, but personally I do wish it had more black joy. Take it or leave it, but there is so much misery and awfulness going on that I think you have black books for white folks and black books for black folks. The difference between The Help or a Tyler Perry production and a James Baldwin or Toni Morrison. Sad, but loving black folks vs sad and putting that on display for folks who don’t know black people irl, people who don’t watch the news, people who aren’t tapped in to politics, etc. This didn’t feel like the former, but it wasn’t quite at the ladder for me. A weird limbo. I think when writing truth to power for all these stories for and about black folks, I personally as a reader value something to pull your head above water.

The characters, I wanted to love but so many of them felt cut short just as i was beginning to know them. The really bad ones felt super hallow and like they were there to serve only a purpose and get you to the next few pages. This is where it can get hard to critique something based on a true story. Something that happens every day more gruesome than even described here. idk I guess all i’m saying is being black every day prepared me for this ending but not the things leading up to it. The book itself was very good, and I have high hopes for what will come next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Misogyny, Addiction, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Vomit, Gun violence, Self harm, Death of parent, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Blood, and Rape

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Domestic abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Excrement, Grief, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Vomit, Police brutality, Rape, Trafficking, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, and Child abuse