Reviews tagging 'Blood'

There There by Tommy Orange

92 reviews

elg1105's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Racism, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Car accident, Abortion, and Death of parent

danielnski's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I wish I could give this book two ratings. I loved the writing, the characters, and how all of the context and history was woven into the narrative. However, I am frustrated by how much of the plot and what linked the characters was their trauma and by how the story ended. I can understand how that is a reflection of many people's experiences, though, and appreciate how the novel contextualized it. I come away feeling very frustrated by the book but also appreciating its beauty and all it must have taken to write it. I don't think I ever want to revisit it but I also desperately want to read the sequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

booksoversecondbreakfast's review against another edition

challenging informative relaxing sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was such a heart wrenching book and an all around literary masterpiece. I will definitely be purchasing my own copy (I borrowing from the library) and rereading this over and over.

This is the kind of multiple-POV book where a bunch of stories start out seeming kind of disjointed, and then they all come together and intertwine in a satisfying way that you get to uncover throughout your read. Each chapter is told by one of several characters, where each has their own voice that is unique to them and that helps the reader really empathize and connect with them.

The book reveals fairly early on what traumatic event will take place at its climax, so it has a slow-burn thriller feel to it as the story progresses. This, plus the fact that you've built such deep connections with the characters make the read feel even more exhilarating as you start to see events unfold towards the climax and you wonder if the characters you've come to know and care about progressing towards that event.

I really loved that that author included some non-fiction chapters in the story, and I thought that the self-insert character, Dene, was written really tastefully yet in a way that singled to the reader what he was aiming for with the book. This books also teaches a lot about different Native American experiences, and I really enjoyed that about it.

The writing was so beautiful and full of symbolism that one could spend hours pondering, and this is all around a book that will stick with me. It's so heart wrenching and so sad, but only in the way that some of the best books are. 10/10

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Rape, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Abortion

eveybrittin's review against another edition

dark informative sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I love books where there are several character perspectives that are connected through events/history/happenstance. This book had that, which was cool, but there were so many different characters that I had a hard time remembering who was to connected to who. A couple times I completely forgot who characters were, since some only had 2 or 3 chapters that were a page or two long. I like that format in that I got to see lots of different Native American lives. I didn't love it because I wasn't able to form much of an emotional connection with any of the characters. I really enjoyed the cultural aspects of the book; the depictions of the regalia and dancing were beautiful! A lot of the stories were left completely open-ended, which I'm sure was done on purpose, but I hate not knowing the real ending. I'm soooo excited to hear the author speak!! And I'm super excited to study this more in depth in class this fall, I think it will help me understand the connections between characters more. I have a lot of lingering questions so hopefully I get the chance to ask the author 🤞

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Mass/school shootings, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse and Death

Minor: Cursing, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Grief, and Abandonment

disguisedposer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Abortion, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

chastitymarie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Rape, Blood, Trafficking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Fatphobia and Abortion

mdwsn27's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

solenodon's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Mass/school shootings, and Colonisation

Moderate: Animal death, Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, and Pregnancy

libbybooboo1123's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-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

4.5

thoughts:
I don’t usually read contemporary so this was a good book to get me out of my comfort zone. The writing was superb, the complexity of the characters was enthralling and the connections between them intricate. The moments of reflection were also great.

 I would have loved to know what happens to the characters next, I feel like the ending was so sudden and there were still story lines that didn’t get wrapped up fully. There was a lot of backstory on the characters until suddenly the tragic events happens and then it’s chaos. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation

cjrmusic's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad tense 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

4.25

A spectacularly woven together tale of Urban Indians descending on the A’s Stadium in Oakland for the Big Oakland Powwow. Informative, sad, and an honest portrayal of how American Indians had their culture stripped from them. Tommy Orange’s writing style is beautiful, his voice rings out through every page. A difficult but necessary read for anyone grappling with feelings of loss of identity and generational trauma.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Violence, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Sexual assault and Blood