Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

330 reviews

dhermann123's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction

Moderate: Racism and Mental illness

siebensommer's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

2.5

my need to diy my mother‘s mental health 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Addiction, Abandonment, and Death

Moderate: Racism and Racial slurs

Minor: Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Medical content

sangsmiles's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Addiction, and Racism

Moderate: Racial slurs and Suicide attempt

katrinarose's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.0

This book was raw, beautiful, and heartbreaking in a way I didn’t expect. It’s more like a character study or fictional memoir than a plot-driven novel, with scenes jumping from present to past in all different stages of the main character Gifty’s life. It’s so well done that I feel like Gifty is a real person I could meet. The narrative is all of Gifty’s inner thoughts and we see her struggle with her brother’s addiction and death, her mother’s depression, her father’s absence, and her own religion and faith especially now as a neuroscientist. I would highly recommend it if you enjoy literary character-driven books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Racism, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Animal cruelty

amgarrido's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Drug use, Grief, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Death

lauraportalupi's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I wouldn’t have read this book if I had known about the evangelical Christianity and testing on animals themes. It simply was not enjoyable to read.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Addiction, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Death

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Grief, and Racism

kavanomo's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism

pkc's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

This was a gorgeous exploration of dueling identities. I absolutely tore through this book. I found Gifty to be the most fascinating and loveable protagonist and I rooted for her throughout. I felt emotional for her family and their various plights and I just really wanted good things for them all, but sadly good things weren’t destined throughout. Overall really loved this story. It was searingly singular but multiple all at once. By which I mean

Gifty tries to make sense of the world through both a scientific lens and a religious context all at once to answer questions about her brothers addiction and ultimate death, as well as her mothers depression. Her longing for answers is so relatable and it’s a great example of grief finding its way into the cracks in the pavement wherever you walk.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Grief, and Mental illness

amvera's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

One of the best book I've read in 2023. Beautifully written and engaging. A lot of elements in this book hit too close to home and I felt it described very well what someone feels or does when going through grief, and dealing with mental illness. 
Highly recommended, just before if the many trigger warnings in case you're someone who can't deal with this kind of content at the moment

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Racism, and Addiction

mxpringle's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring 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

This book talked about really hard topics, but it was beautiful enough to where that was completely okay and warranted. It had such a unique reflection on both the value and harms of religion to a person's life that I found so inspiring. All of the hard topics that were brought up were like experiencing them the way real people experience them, not merely for a plot point, but intentionally crafting those as background to a person's character. This is the best book I have read in a long time. It was so stunningly beautiful that I'm honestly left a little bit unmoored after finishing it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Drug use, Addiction, Suicide, Racism, and Alcohol

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Sexual content