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nicoleisalwaysreading's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Death, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Sexual content
idtirnan0g's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction and Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Religious bigotry, and Racism
lupitabaeyongo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Addiction and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Racism, Drug use, Excrement, Grief, Racial slurs, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Vomit
menomica's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
“There is no living thing on God’s Earth that doesn’t come to know pain sometime.”
This book broke my heart.
Yaa Gyasi is so amazing at describing trauma without coming off as gratuitous. She manages to capture the multiple aspects of pain and hurt, and even how at certain level you begin to normalize it.
I think this book is very beautiful, especially if you go in not viewing it with the expectation of a narrative structure. A lot of the storlines don’t tie up in neat bows, they simply end, come to their own natural conclusions. And to me, that feels very much like how things happen in real life.
Anyway, I think this book is so amazing. Definitely recommend.
Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Suicide attempt, Child death, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and Dementia
ejs2000's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Grief, Bullying, Body shaming, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Racial slurs, Classism, and Child death
Minor: Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, and Racism
hannahbailey's review against another edition
- 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
It made me feel more open-minded towards those that devoutly follow the Bible (I'm an atheist and quite the sceptic) and I always love it when I learn something new from a book - it's why I read! It's a great way to challenge your perceptions and grow as a person IMO.
Gifty's struggle understanding the events in her life in the context of God, and later in the context of neuroscience was a really powerful way to explore these issues. The impact of her brother's drug abuse in crushing her religious faith was interesting to follow, especially with the first-person narration. The strained relationship she has with her mother added another layer to this book making it a very captivating read.
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, and Racial slurs
vaniavela's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
- As this book questions faith and religion, I think the author did a great job exploring the relationship between religion and science.
- There is an emotional depth within the writing so I came to empathize with the characters.
- The structure was confusing. The jumps in time and space were an interesting portrayal of reading how the pain and trauma affected her life, but it wasn't for me. Especially since these time jumps were not chronological.
- I would have loved to read the mother and brother's perspective, especially since so much of what Gifty narrates is related to them.
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Addiction, and Child death
Moderate: Sexism, Drug abuse, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexual content and Misogyny
i_dont_know_what_im_doing's review against another edition
- 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
but I HIGHLY recommend this. it took me some time to get through but it was so worth it. I will be thinking about this for a long time & may even pick it up for a reread.
Graphic: Grief, Racial slurs, Drug abuse, and Racism
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, and Religious bigotry
jazzeeazz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
pages 228-229 actually broke me emotionally and i will never recover 🤪
Graphic: Addiction, Medical content, Grief, Death, Child death, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Racism, and Drug abuse
grboph's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, and Addiction
Moderate: Abandonment, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Infertility, Racial slurs, Racism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Minor: Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Animal death
The two main plot points driving this book are the main character's older brother becoming addicted to painkillers and then dying of a heroin overdose and the main character's mother becoming depressed and attempting suicide as a result.