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gummifrog's review
- 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: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Abortion, Blood, Miscarriage, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Medical content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Excrement, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Infertility, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Alcoholism, and Murder
Minor: Vomit, Gun violence, Car accident, and Animal death
ggema's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, and Police brutality
sabmanosa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The power and sex dynamics made me very uncomfortable, and I don’t know if the plot had a point, but not necessarily in a bad way. I didn’t learn anything from it, I just experienced the book. I’m interested in reading some of her shorter works, because I feel like I would enjoy them more with her writing style.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy
prey4thefemale's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Police brutality, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, and Racial slurs
Minor: Animal death
megmahoney1'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Racism, Car accident, Cursing, Self harm, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug use
vrcreads's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Medical content, Racism, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide, Blood, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Police brutality, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death of parent, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Drug use, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
🌟🌟🌟🌟
🏠 The plot: Edie is just scraping by. She's coasting in a dead-end job at an all-white office, having unfulfilling encounters with men, and she's barely doing the thing she really loves, painting. Starting an affair with an older man soon takes an unexpected turn as she moves in with his family: his (kind of intense) wife and adopted black daughter.
I went into this read knowing that it has a divisive main character, and I can kind of see why. Edie's narration is depressive and one-note for much of the novel, especially in the first half, and she is wilfully self-destructive in her relationships. Reading it directly after another book with a mentally struggling main character, I did find it very heavy reading at times.
However, as the novel unfolded I thought the style of narration was very clever, and I found that the connection I formed to Edie was more interesting because of her more complex motives. Particularly as she developed a friendship with her lover's adoptive daughter - and tried to teach her things that her white parents had neglected to - I thought the way she opened up to the reader was really powerful.
To be honest, I suspect a lot of the discomfort around this book - mainly, it has to be said, from white reviewers - comes from the fact that Edie is scathing of white spaces and the behaviour demanded from her to assimilate into them. The book also draws a clear connection between this generalised hostility and police violence. It's a really powerful novel, especially for a debut(!!) so don't let the "unlikeable narrator" label from many reviews put you off!
🏠 Read it if you liked My Year of Rest and Relaxation or if you like unflinching portrayals of difficult relationships, grief, racism, and depression.
🚫 Avoid it if you're avoiding scenes of police violence, sexual violence, and workplace discrimination.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Police brutality, Racism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Racial slurs, Death of parent, and Mental illness
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Addiction
madelinedalton's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Miscarriage, Police brutality, Self harm, and Blood
Moderate: Eating disorder, Racial slurs, Racism, Abortion, Drug use, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol
ceedy'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
3.5
Moderate: Racism, Sexual violence, and Racial slurs
Minor: Abortion and Animal death
thebookhoarder17's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Racism and Police brutality