Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

3 reviews

laurajenkins's review

dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad 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

Lots of idolatry, which made parts of it difficult to read. Spiritual abuse.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Child abuse, Hate crime, Death, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Police brutality

zombiezami's review against another edition

5.0

This book left me almost about to cry. I realize from reading this and The Color Purple years ago: I'm a sucker for books about women and girls coming together to heal themselves from the pain of patriarchy. They build a form of spirituality that centers and affirms them. They learn to value themselves, their wants, and their perspectives. And then the healing they are able to do simply radiates outward, and it causes a reaction in everyone around them to witness that healing taking place. Some don't understand what's happening and they hate it. They mock or terrorize them for daring to live differently, to think that they can excuse themselves from the patriarchal structure they accept unconsciously. Others realize by their example that they don't have to accept patriarchy either, and they can find their own ways to be whole. 

I also especially loved the author's approach to grief, especially the importance of feeling it fully and creating rituals and remembrance about it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Grief, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Racism, Hate crime, Suicide, and Confinement

Moderate: Misogyny, Child death, Slavery, and Sexism

Minor: War and Animal death

michaelion's review

emotional funny 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

4.25

Teenage me would've loved this.

I think the movie warped my  little baby brain, so then I ended up liking stuff like The Help and Hairspray, which I absolutely was obsessed with. But the focus on women, bees, connections to mothers and ancestry and selfs... Like ancestry lives within you and also you are your own mother... That white lady kinda popped off writing this. She kinda had a point to make. She kinda dotted her i's and crossed her t's. She kinda had her cake and ate it too. She kinda gobbled ate right the fuck up left no crumbs. She kinda did her thing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Death, Racism, Grief, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Child abuse

Moderate: Confinement, Murder, Abandonment, Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Torture, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Police brutality, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, and Child death

Minor: Vomit, Misogyny, and War