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Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
19 reviews
zosiablue's review
4.25
Graphic: Slavery, Genocide, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Classism, Colonisation, and Racism
Moderate: Violence, Torture, Physical abuse, and Grief
wifeslife's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual violence, Rape, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Genocide, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Child death, Death, Deportation, Violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Racism
brynalexa's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Rape, Slavery, Bullying, Torture, Violence, Child death, Colonisation, Grief, Kidnapping, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Genocide, Hate crime, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia
amsswim's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Kidnapping, Violence, Trafficking, Racism, Confinement, Murder, Racial slurs, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Rape
discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
3.5
The locations themselves were well-curated: highlighting both places where we, as present day Americans, are attempting to reckon with our nation’s past relationship with chattel slavery, and places where we are instead choosing to prioritize comfort over truth.
It asks us to question (among other things) all we’ve been taught about a) those who were supposedly “the good guys” like Thomas Jefferson, and b) the “innocence” of northern cities, both pre- and post-civil war. It asks us not to shy away from discomfort, but to face the ugly truth head on. And no matter what was being discussed, it continued to remind us of the personhood of enslaved people—never allowing us to reduce the enslaved population of the United States to a faceless, amorphous concept in our minds, but instead repeatedly giving enslaved people names, identities, cultures, and deep familial bonds. Always always always reminding us: these were human beings. These were people. I really appreciated that aspect of Smith’s storytelling.
Graphic: Kidnapping, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Murder, Racism, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
analenegrace's review
I cannot recommend reading this book, especially if you're trying to deconstruct what racism in America looks like. While there are so many lines I marked as pivotal to the book, the most important comes on page 289 in his epilogue,
"The history of slavery is the history of the United States. It was not peripheral to our founding; it was central to it. It is not irrelevant to our contemporary society; it created it. This history is in our soil, it is in our policies, and it must, too, be in our memories."
Graphic: Torture, Classism, War, Racism, Genocide, Grief, Violence, Murder, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Confinement, Death, Medical content, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Trafficking
heatherilene's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Sexual assault, Classism, Racism, Violence, Slavery, Child death, and Confinement
leahkarge's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Slavery, Trafficking, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Genocide, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Racial slurs, Classism, Death, Torture, Violence, Racism, and Rape
albernikolauras's review
5.0
I highly recommend for everyone to read this - although definitely look for some own voice reviews on this book. I found How the Word is Passed is approachable and without apology. Smith is an excellent writer and I loved the way he wove his own narrative throughout the story.
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Colonisation, Kidnapping, Confinement, Sexual violence, Racism, Physical abuse, and Rape
shieldbearer's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Rape and War