Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

26 reviews

dlrosebyh's review against another edition

emotional 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

2.75

 The novel begins in 2001, on the evening of Melody's sixteenth birthday celebration at her grandparents' Brooklyn brownstone. She makes her entry to the music of Prince, watched affectionately by her relatives and friends, wearing a stunning custom-made gown. However, the event is not without significance. Sixteen years ago, that very dress was measured and sewn for a different wearer: Melody's mother, for her own ceremony—a celebration that never happened. 

 

Woodson considers not only Melody's parents and grandparents' ambitions and successes, but also the costs, the tolls they've paid for striving to overcome expectations and escape the pull of history. As it delves into sexual desire and identity, ambition, gentrification, education, class and status, and the life-changing realities of parenthood, Red at the Bone most strikingly examines the ways in which young people are frequently forced to make life-altering decisions—even before they have begun to figure out who they are and what they want to be. 

 

The trouble about short novels is that you never know whether you'll like them or not. Most of the time, it leaves you with unanswered questions, leaving you unsatisfied—which is exactly what happened in this novel. It had a lot of potential. It's a powerful read with beautiful prose, yet something was lacking, and I'm not sure what it was. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Racism

Moderate: Cancer and Grief

Minor: Hate crime

books4bee's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Infertility, Death of parent, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Cancer, Drug use, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Cursing

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

ryanichole's review against another edition

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Genocide, Hate crime, and Murder

hayleyvharrington's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

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

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

ebgat's review against another edition

inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Pregnancy, and Racism

Minor: Child death

mengzhenreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

4.5

The writing and prose is beautiful and all the different perspectives made this book truly thought-provoking and profound.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, and Cancer

Minor: Child death, Drug use, and Hate crime

my_plant_library's review

challenging emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer and Death

Moderate: Grief and Sexual content