Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

There There by Tommy Orange

41 reviews

1414's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Animal death, Suicide, and Body horror

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Abortion

percys_panda_pillow_pet's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Colonisation, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Car accident, Drug abuse, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Violence, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Fatphobia

Minor: Abortion, Child abuse, Death, Excrement, Incest, and Infidelity

mommarex1221's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

😢

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Grief, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Child abuse, Child death, Genocide, Grief, Suicide, Colonisation, Abandonment, Addiction, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

anniefwrites's review

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

I think this book is one of those reads that I’ll need to reflect on for a while to understand its full effect. Tommy Orange has such a strong voice and uses inventive and intensely visual and sensory language. I personally found the multiple perspectives a little difficult to keep straight (and appreciated the cast of characters at the front; I referred back to it often) and

I understand why Orange opted for a violent ending, but especially given what’s going on in the news right now, it was disappointing and hard to take in.

Nonetheless, I think this was a great place to start for me to read more Indigenous stories, and it explores an often ignored community—Urban Indigenous groups—in a very complex and full way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Alcoholism, Blood, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, and Gun violence

Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Pregnancy

Minor: Ableism, Abortion, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Genocide, Sexual assault, War, and Racism

foxowl2005's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Colonisation, Violence, Genocide, Addiction, Blood, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Vomit, Abortion, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Cancer

kelly_e's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective 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

Title: There There
Author: Tommy Orange
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: June 5, 2018

T H R E E • W O R D S

Urgent • Profane • Gritty

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Set in Oakland, California, There There is a debut novel following 12 Native Americans as they converge on the annual Powwow. Following the death of his uncle, Dene Oxedene has won a grant and has decided to put together a documentary in the hopes of preserving the stories of his people. Weaving together past and present, each character divulges their story of what life is like for them. Exploring themes of violence, identity, despair, family, community and history the story takes us into the urban experience of each character.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Tommy Orange has taken a lot of risks, and with unique style and voice has delivered an ambitious and healing debut novel. It tackles many themes through both cultural and political perspectives, opening the eyes of the reader to a history they may be completely unaware of. It shines a light on the daily victories and losses, the multi-generational trauma of displacement, and stolen identity of not just the individual but the collective. The writing is superb and it's hard to come away unchanged. This book is filled with so many big ideas and the power in telling our stories.

I listened to the audio while reading a physical copy, and this added to the richness of the story as the audiobook contains a full cast. Because the book follows so many different characters I was appreciative of the list naming each one at the start.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers wanting to expand their knowledge
• book clubs

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"'Life doesn't work out the way stories do.'"

"'Some of us got this feeling stuck inside, all the time, like we've done something wrong. Like who we are deep inside, that thing we want to name but can't, it's like we're afraid we'll be punished for it. So we hide. We drink alcohol because it helps us feel like we can be ourselves and not be afraid. But we punish ourselves with it. The thing we most don't want has a way of landing right on top of us.'" 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Racism

Moderate: Death, Cursing, Drug use, and Suicide

Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, Excrement, Sexual assault, Rape, Child death, Abortion, and Domestic abuse

substance misuse, fetal alcohol syndrome, adoption

gmwells's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Abortion, Cancer, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Terminal illness

lessour's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.0

Incredible and devastating, I loved the multiple narratives and perspectives. Beautifully simple and evocative prose. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

dannythestreet's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

That's the kind of book that helps you become a better person and reader, it dives deep into exploring human emotion and behaviour which is exactly the reason I read books.
Honestly, this book made me care for every single character in it (there are a lot btw). Can't wait to come back to it and read it again

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, Death of parent, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

cnelston's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Abortion, Addiction, and Sexual assault