Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

64 reviews

headachesince03's review

challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, War, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Death, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Grief, Gun violence, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting

Minor: Medical content, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Infidelity, and Infertility

katewhite77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I Really Enjoyed This Family Saga

Memphis, as the tite would maybe suggest, is the main character in this book. As there is a polyphonic cast of characters.

This is the story of three generations of females in the North family.  The story starts in  the middle in the mid-90s and makes its way back through the 60s, when there was a colour bar in place, all the way 30s. The narrative ends in 2003.

The main themes of this book are race, violence, relationships, war, nherited trauma, and grief.

This is not an easy read, so check for trigger warnings if you feel as if there are a few. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Death, Death of parent, and Racism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Police brutality, Violence, Grief, Racial slurs, and Domestic abuse

teeslooseleaf's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Racial slurs, Death, Gaslighting, Police brutality, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Rape, Mental illness, and Classism

The ending may be triggering for SA survivors.

anna_rubin's review

dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Police brutality, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Violence, War, Sexual assault, Racism, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Murder, and Gun violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Death, and Misogyny

alhelton's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Rape, Violence, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Child abuse, Hate crime, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Classism, and Alcohol

Moderate: War and Murder

mckennasmith361's review

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Incest, Rape, Death, Murder, Racism, and Grief

hettylo's review

sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, War, Alcoholism, Police brutality, and Hate crime

loesm's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Hate crime, Grief, and Sexual assault

jazzy_g's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

Memphis was so beautifully written. While the book deals with a range of very heavy and emotive subjects, at its heart is the celebration of strength and resilience of Black women, family and community and this left me smiling throughout. 
The protagonists - three generations of North women, a Black family living in Memphis, Tennessee - were so well developed that I felt very connected to them, their experiences, struggles, grief and triumphs and this even extended to some of the peripheral characters who did not have chapters written from their perspective. 
The timeline was not linear and and spanned across multiple decades and the 3 generations which sometimes left me momentarily distracted and having to recap. 
I understand this was the author's debut novel and I will be eagerly awaiting her next! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, Police brutality, War, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Antisemitism and Alcohol

books_hay's review

hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Minor: Murder, Gun violence, Alcohol, Police brutality, and Grief