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kalyaniwarrier's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
The childhood weariness of having to belong somewhere, and the wanting of acceptance is unfortunately a common occurrence as we grow up to our visioned idealism.
In this state of mind, Gifty, the protagonist, despite living the life of professional quixotism, is met with broken familial arrangements, suicide of her brother and her skepticism towards the religion she was bought up in.
In this state of mind, Gifty, the protagonist, despite living the life of professional quixotism, is met with broken familial arrangements, suicide of her brother and her skepticism towards the religion she was bought up in.
The plot is highly philosophical - questioning one's beliefs and the entirety of human existence, which leads the protagonist to right the wrongs in life to bring meaning to her existence. Transcendent Kingdom also highlights the racial profiling of African-American communities, immigrants and their struggle of belonging to a strange community, in spite of the marginalisation.
Berry's model of acculturation in cultural studies (further divided into four parts: assimilation, separation, integration, and marginalisation) plays a huge role in this text; parts of assimilation, separation, integration, and marginalisation are widely discussed in this text that give nuance to the cultural phenomenon observed in immigrants and migrated populations. For further details on Berry's model, please check out this website: https://open.maricopa.edu/culturepsychology/chapter/berrys-model-of-acculturation/
The book is beautiful in form, content and structure. It gives a hope of wanting to believe in something, be it a religious inclination or a secular one, and gives meaning to life. This message of self-preservation has allowed me to rate this book in such a manner.
Berry's model of acculturation in cultural studies (further divided into four parts: assimilation, separation, integration, and marginalisation) plays a huge role in this text; parts of assimilation, separation, integration, and marginalisation are widely discussed in this text that give nuance to the cultural phenomenon observed in immigrants and migrated populations. For further details on Berry's model, please check out this website: https://open.maricopa.edu/culturepsychology/chapter/berrys-model-of-acculturation/
The book is beautiful in form, content and structure. It gives a hope of wanting to believe in something, be it a religious inclination or a secular one, and gives meaning to life. This message of self-preservation has allowed me to rate this book in such a manner.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Suicide
rach_reads_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Drug abuse
skylerreads28's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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
3.5
This is not an easy read if you have any type of strained relationship with your mother. Or religious trauma. Luckily for me I have both! I enjoyed this read and it gave me a thought to think about as I read. I had hoped more would happen, so the ending fell flat for me, almost like the story was given up, but the ending was also fitting for the story and I was happy to see Gifty got the life she worked so hard for. All her work came full circle and in a way that was healing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Suicide attempt, Child death, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
readingrachael's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Suicide
I found following the main character’s (narrator) struggle with the interplay between faith, religion, science, mental health, trauma, and addiction to be very meaningfuljammons's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
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? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Grief
Minor: Racial slurs
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.
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
megb64's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Racism, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Suicide
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
lou_mac's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
There were parts of this book I adored, and moments of writing so beautiful I had to stop reading for a moment. The themes of religion and science coexisting. where fascinating, and how both of those inter-act with human nature really made me think.
I did find some of the time jumps quite erratic, and maybe that was the point, but it was a bit confusing when starting a new paragraph and the a few lines in realising we weren't where we were before.
I did find some of the time jumps quite erratic, and maybe that was the point, but it was a bit confusing when starting a new paragraph and the a few lines in realising we weren't where we were before.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Suicide
meaglovesbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Drug abuse