Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Other Americans by Laila Lalami

16 reviews

machenn's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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

Moderate: Death, Violence, Car accident, Death of parent, Infidelity, Alcohol, Hate crime, and War

Minor: Bullying, Racial slurs, and Islamophobia

eurikahc's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Was torn between 3 and 4 stars. The book was very interesting and had some good moments. It seemed like it was trying to prove too much of too many people. But the overall concept showed that we grapple with the different versions of ourselves, particularly with how our society and community accepts us, influences how we view happiness and success.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism and Death of parent

spinesinaline's review

challenging emotional mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Death, War, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Bullying, and Sexual content

Minor: Drug use and Addiction

onion's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, Car accident, and Grief

Moderate: Alcohol, Infidelity, Abandonment, and War

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Blood, and Bullying

zoenelson's review

challenging emotional mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, Car accident, Racial slurs, and Islamophobia

Moderate: Murder, Alcohol, War, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Misogyny, Hate crime, and Violence

Minor: Addiction

whitneyonline's review

hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing 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

5.0

Easily one of my favorites of the year. I loved its simplicity, but yet it held so much weight. It wasn't fast paced but it never once dragged, and I found myself devouring every chapter with an intense greed. Lalami executes the multiple POVs flawlessly, keeping the chapters short and enticing all while creating extremely compelling characters. I was obsessed from start to finish. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Hate crime, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, Grief, Racism, Racial slurs, and Murder

narbine's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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? Yes

3.0

ACAB

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Racism, Death, Sexual content, and Car accident

Moderate: Deportation, Grief, Infidelity, Blood, War, Police brutality, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Pregnancy

hilaryreadsbooks's review

4.0

A Moroccan immigrant is killed in a hit-and-run in a small town in the Mojave Desert. His daughter, Nora, returns back home, determined to figure out who did it—but her homecoming sparks more than what she was anticipating. There is romance, there is deception, and Nora is unsettled by the tarnish spreading over things she once saw as perfect. And what is “home,” truly? Does she really know the people she thought she once knew?

There is a quietude to Laila Lalami’s writing. Despite this book being marketed as a “murder mystery,” there are no thrills, no fast pace. Rather, this book is all about the unveiling of various secrets through the interiorities of the characters; the crime is only the starting point, the stimulus. The story really revolves around two characters—Nora and her love interest, Jeremy—with the other voices stepping in occasionally. There is, therefore, a sort of incompleteness to some of the narrations, which I think is not an indication of incompleteness for the book itself, but rather a statement that not all narratives are ever cleanly completed by the end of a story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, War, and Infidelity

zeta's review

emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Death, Racism, Murder, Hate crime, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism

hazelgirl21's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, War, and Death of parent

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Addiction