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bonnie9595's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Slavery, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Murder, Rape, Racism, Child death, Torture, Violence, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Death
madyreadsig's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Torture, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Child death, Slavery, Death, and Violence
pine_rhyme's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Slavery, and Violence
bigteo's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Above all, this is a book about trauma. It’s obvious that every single part of the characters’ present lives are dictated by the trauma of slavery. It’s so much more than a ghost story. That part is almost irrelevant to the book. I feel like that’s important to say since I myself went into the book with the expectation of the “ghost” part to be a lot more present. It’s not a thriller ghost story. The horror doesn’t come from the paranormal, it comes from real life events that real life people had to suffer through, which is far more horrifying.
The writing style is amazing. It reads like a train of thought, which can get confusing at times, but that’s probably all on me. I didn’t really like the main characters, except Denver. I feel like that’s something a lot of people will say. For example, it’s obvious that Sethe is deeply flawed and that her decision (spoilers, I won’t say) is morally bad. Does that mean she deserves to be cut off from the society and effectively punished for 18 years? Denver certainly doesn’t. I just felt really bad for Denver and how she was held back from things like education because of the family’s bad omen that Sethe brought upon them. The characters being perhaps a bit unlikeable is only because of deep flaws that serves for an extremely interesting read. They all felt like real people.
Graphic: Confinement, Pregnancy, Death, Racism, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Child death, Sexual content, Slavery, and Cursing
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, and Alcoholism
Minor: War
realesttorturedpoet's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Hate crime, Gun violence, Child death, Sexual violence, Death, Slavery, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Racism, and Torture
morenowagain's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Blood, Rape, Racism, Child death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gun violence, Death, Violence, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal cruelty
alcmusso's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Rape, Gore, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Death, Sexual assault, Child death, Deportation, Slavery, and Blood
thomasina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Rape, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Grief, and Colonisation
Moderate: Death, Child death, and Pedophilia
sailorpunk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
emilyreads15's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I think I would’ve liked this a lot more had she not included Magical Realism. That’s the part that really got me confused the most when it came to understanding the overall meaning. I wish it would’ve been left to realism without the magic (ghosts, afterlife, etc). Like I just truly don’t rlly get it. I also wish there would have been more defined answers throughout the book but I suppose I understand why the author didn’t include that.
This is one of those books that you could talk for hours about what it means and never truly know. The unfortunate thing is other than the historical aspects, I didn’t enjoy reading this at all. I feel asleep multiple times while reading, nothing ever really kept me engaged. I didn’t like the story and I didn’t really like the plot (whatever that was meant to be). It just felt really dragged out.
This novel did discuss many interesting and less talked about aspects of slavery (some of which were quite disturbing and made me want to puke. I’m shocked they are allowed to teach this at my school). Anyways I would recommend it for that as it was educational and eye-opening. But overall I just didn’t enjoy this book at all.
Graphic: Sexual assault and Slavery
Moderate: Child death and Death