Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

There There by Tommy Orange

94 reviews

sarah_kula's review against another edition

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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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minella's review against another edition

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4.5


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carlytenille's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-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

4.25


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caits_lh's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0


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danielnski's review against another edition

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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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teekay_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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

4.25


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booksoversecondbreakfast's review against another edition

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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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eveybrittin's review against another edition

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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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bookiebooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective tense 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? It's complicated

3.75


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besan's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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

3.0


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