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lucinotlucy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Trafficking, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Confinement, Genocide, Torture, Child abuse, Slavery, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, and Grief
caitlin_bookchats'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Racial slurs, Slavery, Abandonment, Murder, and Racism
Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Police brutality, Rape, Colonisation, Death, Genocide, Medical content, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, and Trafficking
This book in some ways is a greatest hits of 19th century racism so it includes eugenics, forced sterilization, genocide, weekly lynchings, it doesn't revel in any of these things but know going in that reading this book will involve acknowledging these happened and some reckoning with who perpetrated these atrocities against whom. Oh also, warning for repeated use of racial slurs, including the n-word, by characters.hunkydory's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Violence
sprucy2427's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Xenophobia, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Colonisation, Confinement, Child death, and Bullying
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
carisamarie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Trafficking, War, Vomit, and Xenophobia
whatannikareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
i'm rating this book higher than a 4 bc i can't deny that this was the first time in a while i've been absorbed into a fictional narrative. for the most part, i enjoyed the pacing, and when things became stagnant, i enjoyed the flashbacks to other characters' plots; i think it helped me to care about the characters other than in Cora and to tie up loose ends.
i agree with others in that there could've been more done with the actual railroad, as it's the title of the book. i also personally got lost a bit in the wording as well as the names of the side characters; i couldn't remember if someone was white or black as slaves obviously were given anglo names, but the author would name drop people from the past and i'd just gloss over it bc i couldn't remember their storyline.
i think it's overall a really captivating, well-researched book. you can tell the author took a lot of time with this story. it's hard to read as any slave narrative would be, so it requires a lot of attention, but i'm glad i read it!
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia
vash_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Slavery, and Sexual assault
rachbake's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
hannahkt's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
A compelling work of speculative fiction that feels all to real and current in the moment we live in, both in 2016 and in 2021.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence
lena_and_her_books's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, and Religious bigotry