Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

75 reviews

cheryl1213's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

Beautiful and haunting. Too hard to capture without telling to much. A mix of gritty reality with a touch of magic

(Actually a reread but deleted the prior entry bc it was appearing as the wrong edition...probably wouldn't care but it was the audiobook and those just aren't my thing. The first paragraph was my old review, but it's still spot on (humbly said))

Beautiful and haunting. Too hard to capture without telling to much. A mix of gritty reality with a touch of magic

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Cancer

Moderate: Death and Addiction

Minor: Vomit

hanngigi's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Drug abuse, Death, Racism, Drug use, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, and Confinement

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-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

2.75

something about this doesn’t quite feel complete. maybe it just wasn’t for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Drug use, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Grief

cathrynveronica's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Child death, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Physical abuse, and Police brutality

christynhoover's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Murder, Death, Hate crime, Child death, Vomit, Addiction, and Grief

Intergenerational trauma

thatchickengirl23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death, Drug abuse, and Drug use

crabbytaco's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Vomit, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Cancer

Minor: Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Hate crime

lorenag5's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Cursing, Murder, Racism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Addiction, Cancer, Grief, Hate crime, and Sexual assault

lynettegabriella's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Police brutality, Racism, Terminal illness, Death, Drug use, Grief, Cancer, Hate crime, Murder, and Slavery

mmcloe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

One of those books that I read and I know immediately will be studied and taught for decades and will come to define the literature of the early 21st century. There's so much to be said about hauntings (especially on my mind right now), the long shadow of slavery in the prison system, and the war on drugs and mass incarceration. 

I'm especially drawn to ecological interpretations of what is essentially a road novel. It's incredibly interesting to see the ways in which car culture and dependence on oil (from the literal movement of the car to Michael's former job at Deepwater Horizon) intersect with police violence, systemic racism, and rural southern poverty. The constant non-human animal metaphors and the blending of natural with spiritual landscapes makes this a wonderfully wonderfully deep text. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Death, Drug use, and Child abuse