Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Poza królestwo by Yaa Gyasi

81 reviews

ruthcg's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Suicide attempt

laurenw22's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, and Suicide attempt

jennikreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: Animal death

amressing's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, and Racism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, and Forced institutionalization

sfbookgirl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

What I love most about this story are the relationships that the main character has with family. Gifty, a sixth-year Ph.D. student at Stanford University, studies reward-seeking behavior in mice as a tool to discover why her brother was addicted to OxyContin. Raised in a religious household, Gifty grapples with the tension between science and religion and how to balance these two important aspects of her life. 

 

I have yet to read Yaa Gysai’s Homegoing, but I really enjoyed Transcendent Kingdom. Some of the scenes involving the lab mice made me squirm and I didn’t love the fact that there were several incorrect Bay Area references, but overall, I liked this character study. Transcendent Kingdom might resonate more with readers who identify as religious, but I found the main character’s inner battle between religion and science fascinating. I can’t see myself rereading this book, but it’s one I will definitely keep on my shelf to remind myself of Gyasi’s prolific writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

libbyhb's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.5

Yaa Gyasi can apparently do it all! Reading Transcendent Kingdom right after Homegoing was an interesting pivot because of how different the scope and format is. At first I wasn't sure about the way this book flows between current events, memories, and thoughtful tangents about big concepts, but after a few chapters I was totally sucked in. Often I feel like attempts to talk about science vs. God kind of fall flat, but this was so beautifully done. I really felt like I was with Gifty every step of the way, trying to figure out how to reconcile her work and her beliefs, and the way both inform her grief over her brother. Honestly, I'm not even someone who has ever believed in God in any significant way, but this was *still* so moving. I really loved this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, and Grief

Moderate: Animal cruelty

hungrybookworm_meg's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Racism, and Suicide attempt

allimoose37's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Minor: Misogyny and Sexual content

bodiesinbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal cruelty