Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

42 reviews

thenovelmaura's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

Who knew such a short read could convey so much about this family and have such a powerful impact on the reader! I also loved how it delves into the impacts of the Tulsa Race Massacre, a topic that was briefly touched on in my U.S History classes in high school, but never in a meaningful way that conveyed the devastation wreaked upon these Black families. 

I see why everyone raves about this book and the full-cast audiobook was incredible. Hearing Melody's grandfather speak about his family with such love and regret made me want to cry while listening. If you're going to read this one, get the audio from your library. Full stop.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Racism

Moderate: Hate crime

Lynching

kathleencoughlin's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

An interesting window into three generations and their perspectives on love, family, and grief, drawing parallels across time. Despite the many different perspectives and time jumps, this was a quick read and did not feel confusing or unmoored, which can happen if there are too many voices and time periods. I think it helped that the book was strongly character-driven.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Racism, Biphobia, and Abandonment

Minor: Terminal illness

aguattery's review against another edition

fast-paced

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

3.0

I struggled for a long time on how to review this book. It read to me as a series of short stories, with time jumps that I had a hard time following and no central storyline. Going in expecting a novel, I had a hard time getting into it. But I do think it had a lot of potential and I would try reading another book by the same author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent and Sexual content

shellroch285's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.75

I thought the story was executed very well, and I appreciated the format. I’ve read novels in verse before but never one quite like this one. I feel like I got to know all of the characters equally, and I loved how much the story dove deep into the past before returning to the present.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Racism, and Sexual content

kimveach's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

What a beautiful story and it's told in such an interesting way. It's multiple narrators and part of the fun for me was figuring out who was speaking at the start of each chapter. It's also not linear. I enjoyed that but realize it's not for everyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Sexual content, Cancer, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Drug use, Medical content, Racism, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy

cesarreads's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

Moderate: Racism, Death, and Sexual content

Minor: Cancer

anmariefweeks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective fast-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: Murder, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Abortion

libraryghost's review against another edition

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: Grief, Sexual content, Racism, Death, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Cancer, Racism, Terminal illness, and Child death

Minor: Addiction and Drug abuse

camialafraise's review against another edition

emotional sad tense fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child abuse, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

absolute_bookery's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

What a beautiful book - the writing is so poetic and heartfelt it blew me away. It touches on so many difficult topics but in an incredibly sensitive way, I was swept away and heartbroken all at the same time.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Cancer, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, Racism, and Terminal illness

Minor: Child death