Reviews

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

shannonpryor's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? Yes

4.5

celeste072's review against another edition

fast-paced

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

4.25

mayrad's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

I wanted to love this book, but it was impossible. The author introduces us to a mystery death in the first chapter and then proceeds to spend the next 75% of the book giving us vignettes on dozens of characters. And somehow, we are brought back to the original crime mystery. I liked some of the accounts, including Dodos' story, but the choice to spend 3/4 the book on character introductions was overwhelming. Also... the complete lack of description when it mattered was strange. The title is all about the Heaven and Earth Grocery, yet I could not describe it at all because the author never describes any of the settings. This was a hard book to finish. 

akready's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

mdwsn27's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.5

bananalover's review against another edition

4.0

fun to read, but no character development/random characters pop in and out 

Malachi why are you still at Chicken Hill? 

jt793's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Religious bigotry, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Cursing, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Classism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Death, Antisemitism, Rape, Racism, Pedophilia, and Hate crime

Minor: Infertility and Alcohol

rw_123's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

4.5

mcclapper's review against another edition

It was just too slow and didn't seem like any plot was happening 

caddyh301's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25