Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

La canción de los vivos y los muertos by Jesmyn Ward

102 reviews

peachykeenultra's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, Police brutality

trippalli's review against another edition

4.5

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A moving but sad story of surviving in a challenging world with racism and drugs and the hero is a young teen boy who looks out for his little sister while his dad is in jail and his mom and her friends do drugs. A story of survival and persistence. ...I especially liked the grandmother who has a talent for herbs and healing medicines but still is dying of cancer.. The grandpa is struggling with his wife's slow struggle with cancer and while he grieves the grandkids go with their mom and her girlfriend to get their dad when he's released from jail. A dad yet moving story full of care concern and love in different ways

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, Murder, Injury/Injury detail

kathleencoughlin's review against another edition

3.5

challenging medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Vomit

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Police brutality, Murder

ellaroshea's review against another edition

5.0

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stunning, mournful, heartfelt. the themes of orality and synergy with nature are breathtaking. how this approaches the haunting of enslavement for Southern Black families is moving and so powerful

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Vomit

Moderate: Police brutality, Death of parent

Minor: Rape

corporal punishment of children

regnistegra's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Vomit, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment

Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol

pagnljel's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Jesmyn Ward writes so poetically about difficult topics. This book switches character perspectives each chapter. Each character is tied to the main family, gaining insight from each one of them was valuable. Tackling issues of generational trauma that Black Americans have endured, specific to Southern Mississippi, and how that haunts and affects them to this day. Absolutely beautiful writing and thought provoking. Timely for Black History Month and a reminder that never in history has “othering” people on the correct side. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Murder

Moderate: Rape, Police brutality, Death of parent

alexisarlette's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Amazing novel, perfect pacing, inspiring, and extremely well-written. Set up to either love or hate her characters, in my case loved most. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

2.75

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Excrement, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment

maryehavens's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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 Really 3.5 stars - it's too emotional for me to give it 4 stars as a "really liked it" but "liked it" is too few :D
There are some very rough parts of this book and some very beautiful ones. I loved the herbalism ancestry and the magical realism that was woven throughout. But, how the ancestry presents in Leonie is tragic. Leonie seems to be stuck (or haunted?) and that manifests into something very destructive.
Poor Jojo!! Man, just want to scoop him up and give him a huge hug. He was definitely the most mature contemporary figure (save Mam and Pop). I hope his ending is good.
I didn't understand Richie's perspective until the very end and that was also incredibly tragic.
Looking forward to reading more from Ward. I hope I can go backwards (this was #3 but I don't think they are sequential). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Drug use

justjesskidding's review against another edition

3.0

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime