Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

160 reviews

robinsharma's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

This book is immense. Not only is it 800 pages, but it was historically detailed with many characters and a lot of heavy content. I am extremely impressed by the author, and can understand why it took 12 years to write. There were sections of this book I loved, and some that read too much like a textbook. The middle of the book was the most impactful for me. The ending came full circle but left me unfulfilled. Maybe if I had the time to read it in a few days, it would have impacted me more. But this beast was the longest book I’ve ever read, and it took me a month to do it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Child abuse, and Slavery

radlizareads's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Rape, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Vomit, Suicide, Drug use, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexism, and Physical abuse

Minor: Abortion

kierajane's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Death, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Addiction, Abortion, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Grief, and Sexual violence

fabio360's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Slavery, Child abuse, and Racism

mycatmycatandme's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.75

Posting a delayed review now that the HarperCollins strike is over:

I took my time reading this one and feel like I need to sit with it more before I can even review it fully. It’s the kind of book that feels like it should be required reading, especially as a white American with ancestors that lived in the South, and it’s a book I want to buy immediately. It deserves a place on my shelf and deserves to be reread.   

The only reason that this isn’t a 5 star book for me is because I feel like I’d need to be careful recommending it. I was trying to note content warnings for StoryGraph because I personally find those really helpful, and it was honestly harder to find ones that didn’t apply. It makes sense given the scale of this story, but it was genuinely hard to read at times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Rape

Moderate: Pregnancy and Abortion

Minor: Self harm and Vomit

sshelbyreadss's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Violence, Colonisation, Sexism, Slavery, Grief, and Rape

roasjeno's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Beautiful. Lyrical. Truly a masterpiece. Jeffers paints each character with such fine detail to convey these were and are real people; she challenges us to feel empathy for people we have been told are the past. I personally love intergenerational family sagas, and especially appreciated how these tales were woven into our main character’s research, as if we were following along with the author Jeffers as she researched for this novel. I’d say that this book is comparable in its scope and (potential) influence to One Hundred Years of Solitude by Márquez.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Pregnancy, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Child abuse, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Sexism, Racial slurs, Grief, Hate crime, Drug use, Colonisation, Murder, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Classism, and Child death

qqjj's review against another edition

dark sad medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Death of parent, Homophobia, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Incest, Murder, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Mental illness, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Abortion, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Self harm, Drug abuse, Child death, and Violence

mprinton's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

4.25

My only issue with this book is the length. I think the content could have been divided into multiple shorter books, but overall, it's incredibly well-written and packs an emotional punch. I've never been incredibly interested in my own ancestry, but the author of this book does a fantastic job of showing why heritage is so important to Black people in America. While the book could be slow at times, I'm glad I stuck it out and I appreciate the insight into America's history.
I also think that the payoff is worth it. Ailey's journey is touching, and I love seeing her interest in history grow and turn into a career in academia. The different connections that are made between the past and present could have felt contrived or forced in another book, but Jeffers is an incredible writer who made the connections clear and fitting for the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Sexual assault

azariamckay's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Drug use, Sexual content, Abortion, Rape, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Grief, and Drug abuse