Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Infinite Country by Patricia Engel

85 reviews

rynicolereads's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Infinite Country follows a family as they move from Colombia to the US—exposing readers to the darker realities of pursuing "The American Dream." Eventually, half of the family ends up back in Colombia, and the other half remains in the United States. Every page is impactful and thoughtful, but you also feel so much tension as the characters navigate their challenging situations. I was invested in the characters and their journeys and loved the writing—highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, and Violence

bookishcori's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Racism

yarelhdi's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Bullying, and Violence

Minor: Pregnancy, Gun violence, Death, and Mass/school shootings

bodiesinbooks's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Animal cruelty

imaginaryempire's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, and Rape

kayles514's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Dementia, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Pedophilia and Alcoholism

pyotrkrothotkin's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, and Racism

kizzy's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Racism, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcoholism

anonreads's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, and Racism

kclark's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

 This book explores the complexity of family relationships strained across time, distance, immigration status, and class. While Talia's journey from the correctional school back to Bogotá is used as the main plot of this book, the actual story of this book centers on her whole family and how they wound up split between two countries. We learn through non-sequentially how her parents met, started a family, and moved to the United States before the family was split up as a result of complex immigration status.

The way in which family saga is relayed is often a scene of Talia on her journey home, and then something triggers a memory of her family which then spins into a brief tangential story about a member of her family and often times will branch off a few more times into different vignettes which may last several chapters. This felt a bit messy while I was reading it, but by the time I reached the end of the novel and I reflected on the book as a whole, it worked for me.

The concept of Justice is central to this plot. Characters ability to react to unjust situations and dole out a version of justice is often restricted by their circumstances. We see how immigration status can disproportionately impact undocumented people and make them unable to access justice. We also see how one's personal justice and society's concept of what is just can often be at odds. Engel also explores how access to power skews the sense of justice.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. There were moments of beautiful prose that really struck me, but overall the book was not one of my favorites. In short, I liked it, but I did not love it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and Animal death

Moderate: Body horror, Dementia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement