Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

66 reviews

emmagreenwood's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

Minor: Cursing, Excrement, Pregnancy, Infertility, and Vomit

libbymden'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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, and Racism

Minor: Death of parent

nell_bell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Racism, Mental illness, Medical content, Grief, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Minor: Animal death, Death, and Death of parent

blessing_aj's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing fast-paced

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

4.5

This hit close to home. Thought provoking and very relatable. Loved it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Mental illness

teo_rodas's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry

jahoythere's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Addiction, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Death

bekah445's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Animal death

aqtbenz's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Death, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Animal death, Suicide attempt, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Death of parent

sfbookgirl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

What I love most about this story are the relationships that the main character has with family. Gifty, a sixth-year Ph.D. student at Stanford University, studies reward-seeking behavior in mice as a tool to discover why her brother was addicted to OxyContin. Raised in a religious household, Gifty grapples with the tension between science and religion and how to balance these two important aspects of her life. 

 

I have yet to read Yaa Gysai’s Homegoing, but I really enjoyed Transcendent Kingdom. Some of the scenes involving the lab mice made me squirm and I didn’t love the fact that there were several incorrect Bay Area references, but overall, I liked this character study. Transcendent Kingdom might resonate more with readers who identify as religious, but I found the main character’s inner battle between religion and science fascinating. I can’t see myself rereading this book, but it’s one I will definitely keep on my shelf to remind myself of Gyasi’s prolific writing. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Racism, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Child death, and Animal cruelty

kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt