Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

57 reviews

ardoby's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• 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

Moderate: Addiction

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

rebe_roa's review

emotional sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction

letterpress's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Solid 4.5 stars.

Jesmyn Ward writes so descriptively. I could almost feel the swamp of Mississippi as I was reading this book. I could feel the resentment Leonie had towards her children, parents, and the grief of losing her brother. It made it easier to understand maybe why she was such a neglectful mother.

I enjoyed how she used the ghosts to showcase how our past can sometimes hold us back or make us stronger. As we read with Jojo and his sister Kayla.

She even explored the slave to prisoner pipeline at Parchman prison. A terrible penitentiary that is still being used to this day.

I am definitely going to keep her on my radar for future reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Death, Cancer, Violence, Racism, Vomit, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Addiction, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Pregnancy

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

mel_j's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.5

Sing, Unburied' Sing' was a marvellous reading experience. In some way, I could feel for and understand all the characters and their motives. The magical realism was well-done and felt not too over-the-top; it fit very well into the story.

There was a slight historical feel to 'Sing, Unburied, Sing' that is connected to the magical realism. I loved the historical references and facts; sad, but important, they added a lot to the book

It's a heartbreaking book that made me stop and think quite a few times; very moving.
The ending felt quite rushed and incomplete, which is why I don't give the book 5 stars – I feel there could've been done more, but I enjoyed the reading experience a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Addiction, Blood, Death, Toxic relationship, and Drug use

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Vomit, Hate crime, Blood, Cancer, and Grief

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

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

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

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

florecita_lectora's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Racism, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Police brutality, Hate crime, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Child death

Moderate: Animal death, Grief, Murder, Terminal illness, and Cancer