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agavemonster'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
5.0
A sober, cynical, heartbreaking work written in the long dark shadow cast by true history. As in the great American novels, each character serves to symbolize a social role or system, but is starkly and truthfully etched in the details of their own specific existence as well. Elwood and Turner could be perceived as ciphers of the two survival strategies of Black Americans pre-civil rights—standing up straight in a shirt and tie to demand your dignity like Elwood's hero MLK, and doing what needs to be done to run the "obstacle course" in which Turner has lived his whole life—but they're also two young boys who are caught in the crosshairs of this Jim Crow-era torture house, and you can't forget it. The daily degradations are inescapable, and the horrors you don't see are sketched in light pencil contour, just enough to wrench your gut as you fill in the rest of the picture. This happens again and again. The intimately depicted evil of the white superintendents and staff runs the gamut from complicity to sadism. "The sons held the old ways close." Griff and Chet's boxing match really killed me. Finally, I should have seen the well-foreshadowed turn near the end, but it still blew me apart: brilliance and tragedy. One of my best books of the year.
Graphic: Bullying, Pedophilia, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Confinement, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Torture
ominous_emu'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Racism, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Child death, and Confinement
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Classism, Pedophilia, Abandonment, and Cursing
princess_marie'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Confinement, Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Child death, Gun violence, and Torture
Minor: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, and Murder
ragoreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
Graphic: Torture, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Child abuse
Moderate: Death
knitterscasket's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Torture, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual violence and Racial slurs
sophiabee3's review
- 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: Bullying, Murder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Classism, Grief, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Hate crime, and Police brutality
Minor: Vomit
thissagreads's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Racial slurs
avareadsbookss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Racial slurs, and Racism
maria_49's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Torture, Racism, and Racial slurs
Minor: Sexual violence
m_egg_o'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
4.25
Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Death, Child death, Child abuse, and Racism
Moderate: Rape and Gun violence