Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

There There by Tommy Orange

24 reviews

cshinner's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Excrement, Mass/school shootings, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

sarah_kula's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual assault, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

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

katekatiekait's review

dark emotional funny informative reflective sad fast-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, and Grief

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Excrement, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation

readingwithgoose's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Body shaming, Rape, Excrement, and Abortion

stellahadz's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

Tommy Orange can definitely write - the prologue was powerful and pulled me right into the book. It was interesting to read about urban Indigenous people in the US, and I really liked the premise of the story. That being said, I felt like there was something missing, but I can't put my finger on exactly what it is - maybe there were too many characters? It took me a while to remember who was who, which I think made the story drag a bit. There are quite a few loose ends by the end of the book, which is odd because the ending itself feels extremely rushed. I know there's a sequel (which I will probably read), but I feel like the story could have been wrapped up in a single book. 

If you liked this book (particularly the multiple-narrator technique), you might also enjoy Katherena Vermette's The Break (and the two follow-up novels, The Strangers and The Circle). It follows various members of a Métis community in Winnipeg and recounts the story of a crime and its aftermath through all of their perspectives. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Racism, and Colonisation

Minor: Excrement

language_loving_amateur's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I feel like I would need a second read through with a character chart to understand the basics of what is happening in There There, let alone fully understand it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Death of parent

Minor: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Excrement, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

marissasa's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I always love a story where we get multiples POVs, and especially if they are people whose individual narratives all connect to each other by the end. This book delivered that along with a lot of emotional and heavy truths about Native Americans' experiences in the past and in the modern time. The essays in the beginning really set the tone for the book and leave you breathless. I liked the exploration of many different themes in this book, with a big emphasis on identity, family ties, and participating in your culture. While all these things were done well and the buildup to the ending was anxiety-filled and tense as intended, the book was also on the short side which resulted in a lot of the 12 characters who were given a POV not getting as much development as they could've. Some were fleshed out and we got to dive in and hear their backstories, while others felt more like a toe dip in the pool only getting to the surface level. Regardless, this book will keep you engaged and make you feel things while learning about life for the indigenous people who live in a land that is theirs but also stolen from them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Mental illness, Suicide, Terminal illness, Car accident, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Excrement, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and War

jmcampbell57's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, and Gun violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Racism, and Excrement