Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

64 reviews

perdita's review

dark emotional informative sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Death, Police brutality, Violence, Child abuse, Vomit, Domestic abuse, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Rape and Torture

lottiegasp's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-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

3.75

This is a tragic book about the pervading anti-Blackness in the US from Jim Crow era until the modern day, and how this collective trauma is passed down intergenerationally

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Grief, Cancer, Murder, Addiction, Hate crime, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Physical abuse, and Child abuse

Minor: Abandonment

This is a very sad book and covers a lot of dark topics relating to Jim Crow era anti-Blackness and abusive, neglectful parents. Read when you can handle it

sydneythekydneybean's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I really wanted to like this book. It's one of my friend's favorite books, it's our next book club book, and I hate being that person who goes to a book club with negative or neutral things to say about something many people love.

I don't know what it was about Sing, Unburied, Sing that I didn't like. Out of all of the characters, Richie's story was the most intriguing and interesting, and the relationship between Jojo and Pop was mesmerizing and, honestly, something I wish we focused more on instead of Jojo and Kayla's relationship with their mother and father (which... I have many, many words to say about them and their particular parenting style, but I will plead the fifth here). Jesmyn Ward is undeniably a very good writer, but sometimes I felt like her lyrical prose outweighed the voice of the character we were in the head of. In the end, it might have been that which led me not to feel as connected to the characters as I wanted to. Some worked (see Richie), but many didn't (see Leonie).

It's a beautifully written and important book about poverty, family, racism, the ghosts of our pasts, and the hopes for our futures, but ultimately, it just wasn't for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Death, Racial slurs, Animal death, Racism, Child abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Violence, and Cancer

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Rape

kruthdetroit's review

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Child abuse, and Drug abuse

lizziaha's review against another edition

4.5

This is a book about families, and the people that make them up. It’s about how the things we can’t control shape our lives, and how the tiny pieces of control we carve out can come back to haunt us. 
Ward manages to capture the very essence of the South. The violence that runs through the mud, through the blood. The history that some people can’t even see, and that other people can’t ignore. 
It wasn’t an easy book to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Addiction, Child abuse, Grief, Drug use, Vomit, Racism, Police brutality, and Slavery

Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Murder, and Physical abuse

titi_reads_more's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Animal death

rebekistan's review

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Murder, Torture, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Vomit and Child abuse

rhall19's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Cancer

Moderate: Abandonment and Addiction

annamay1021's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Child abuse, Racism, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, and Gun violence

hanngigi's review

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