Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

118 reviews

na_no's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Racism and Suicide attempt

beetsbydwight's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Addiction, Child death, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racial slurs, Grief, and Abandonment

leonormsousa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.5

I really liked this one. It is beautifully written, and the constant time jumps were done perfectly, which is something quite rare. It hooked me from the start, and I found myself wanting more at the end, even though I know this was the perfect size for this story.

Small note that I was pleasantly surprised by the queer representation in this one (MC is queer). 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Grief, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Racism, and Religious bigotry

violerwolf's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

Realistic fiction, especially as slow paced as the “plot” is in this book, isn’t typically my cup of tea. But Gyasi, through masterful prose and a constantly shifting timeline of events, makes this such an engaging story about addiction, depression, family, and religion. The way she interweaves themes through various points of the main character’s life and places them throughout the narrative is beautifully done. My one critique is that the main character’s internal reflection can be a bit heavy handed at times, but don’t let that stop you from checking this book out.

I picked up this book because Homegoing had such a long waitlist at my library, and I’m so glad I did. I can’t wait to read Gyasi’s other works.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Child death, Animal cruelty, Racism, Mental illness, Grief, and Addiction

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Homophobia

mrlsdevos's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Child death, Racism, and Drug abuse

Minor: Dementia and Death of parent

jasmine_reid16's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Suicide attempt, Child death, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

aritacb's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Child death, Grief, and Drug abuse

laura2107's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Abandonment, and Mental illness

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

amazing book. fantastic representations of grief 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Grief, Child death, and Drug use

pandact's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.5

   This book nailed my feelings with scientific precision, and Gyasi simultaneously leaves room for different kinds of faith. This reflective fine-tuning happened to be exactly what I was looking for, plus the slightly lonely and queer first-generation bildungsroman. I'd read a whole book where they dive into ethical and religious questions!

   I hope it's also impactful for others who read it, and it shares similar themes with Freshwater, Liturgists, Semler, and the X-files.

   Spoilers in tags

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Addiction, Drug use, Grief, Death, Drug abuse, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Racism

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Medical content, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Child abuse and Animal cruelty

Also I thought the ending made sense, almost like when a documentary flashes forward before the credits. The mother still wrapped up the emotional arc better than I expected from getting it spoiled in reviews!