Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Water Dancer

Coates has a strong writing style and lots of good ideas. I also appreciate his portrayal of slavery, which is sensitive and emotional but feels honest. The characters and plot are where this book falls very flat. I couldn’t make a list of personality traits for any of the characters, not even the first-person narrator Hiram. They feel very one-dimension and lifeless, which significantly reduces the connection of readers to them. The plot does little to make up for the lacking characters because it meanders and drags until it ultimately fizzles out, with no sense of climax or resolution. The Water Dancer feels like a really well-written outline of a story.

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therainbowshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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

5.0

What if the Underground Railroad had some help from incredible magic powers? Hiram Walker, a man born into slavery, finds his life unexpectedly entangled with the Underground when strange happenings in his own life catch their attention.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting, and the book really took a hard look at the lives of enslaved black people in US history. I also liked that the story worked magic into the amazing work of the Underground Railroad without being reductive.

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seanml's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? No

3.5

The Baker was the best, and it took me way too long to figure out that Harriet was Harriet. 7/10.

Highlights: The Ghostly magical realism, the shifting and incredibly gray moralities.

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samanthaleereads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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deepfriedaries's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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? Yes

3.0

This book tells an incredibly story of resiliency in the face of racism and the history of enslaved people on the deep south. It is a slow paced narrative, and I struggled to engage with the main plot given the main character spends a lot of time in introspective thought. I found the mysteries captivating, and what adventures there were, breathtaking.

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nicki_d's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective slow-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

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thevietvegan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A beautiful and heartbreaking story (based on a true story) with twists and turns I did not expect, and magical elements that were delightful and powerful.

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