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emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
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:
Complicated
Made me cry, but in a good way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Police brutality
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Pregnancy
Minor: Alcoholism, Car accident, Suicide attempt
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
😠this was heartbreaking. A devastating look at racism, police brutality, systemic oppression, and how they all affect marginalized communities, particularly Black communities and families. My heart ached for these characters and it was a stark reminder of how much work there still is to do.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Pandemic/Epidemic
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A bit slower moving than Hold My Girl but another great premise.
We Rip the World Apart tells the story from the perspective of three generations of women in a family that have roots in Canada and Jamaica. Kareela, the daughter/granddaughter, has just discovered she is pregnant. She isn’t sure she wants to bring a child into a world that killed her brother. She becomes active in the BLM movement in Halifax, Canada in part to follow in her brother’s footsteps. As a biracial woman, Kareela feels like she doesn’t fit in any one community. Her mother, Evelyn, left Canada for Jamaica after a suffering at the hands of her father. There she met her husband and the couple returned to Canada during uprisings in Jamaica at the time. Evelyn is forever changed when she loses her son and then another incident happens that changes her again. Violet is Kareela’s paternal grandmother who dispenses advice as she understands to be best after her own traumatic time.
While not propulsive, I did enjoy the viewpoints and dilemma discussions. I cried during one scene and that plotline affected me deeply. I will add content warnings to my StoryGraph review as there are several.
The experiences of the characters seemed to happen for the most part in silos which surprisingly made me feel sorrow for the person struggling in each scenario. I felt the loneliness of the characters.
Bookclubs will find good discussion points especially in a group that is culturally diverse.
Thank you to @Harpercollinsca for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. We Rip the World Apart publishes January 30, 2024.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Death of parent
Minor: Abortion
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Title: We Rip the World Apart
Author: Charlene Carr
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.25
Pub Date: January 30, 2024
I received a complimentary eARC HarperCollins Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad
T H R E E • W O R D S
Complex • Thoughtful • Engaging
📖 S Y N O P S I S
When 24-year-old Kareela discovers she's pregnant with a child she isn't sure she wants, it amplifies her struggle to understand her place in the world as a woman who is half-Black and half-white, yet feels neither.
Her mother, Evelyn, fled to Canada with her husband and their first-born child, Antony, during the politically charged Jamaican Exodus of the 1980s, only to realize they'd come to a place where Black men are viewed with suspicion—a constant and pernicious reality Evelyn watches her husband and son navigate daily.
Years later, in the aftermath of Antony's murder by the police, Evelyn's mother-in-law, Violet, moves in, offering young Kareela a link to the Jamaican heritage she has never fully known. Despite Violet's efforts to help them through their grief, the traumas they carry grow into a web of secrets that threatens the very family they all hold so dear.
Back in the present, Kareela, prompted by fear and uncertainty about the new life she carries, must come to terms with the mysteries surrounding her family's past and the need to make sense of both her identity and her future.
💠T H O U G H T S
Charlene Carr's Hold My Girl was my most surprising reads of 2023, so it was easy to select We Rip the World Apart as my most anticipated book of the month project for January. My expectations were definitely high, and Carr delivered once again, yet this time in an entirely different way.
Written from multiple POVs across multiple timelines, this compelling novel explores the search for identity and belonging as a biracial person; systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter social justice movement; motherhood; and generational trauma. I struggled to situate myself in time and place through the first 50 pages, but managed to settle in thereafter. Each of the characters was so real, although not always likeable. It was interesting to get different internal thoughts on the various topics covered. The story unfolds rather slowly, and there is a bit of a lull through the middle, yet I think it all has its purpose within the story.
Charlene Carr does a phenomenal job detailing the ripple effect of events that happened in the past and how they continue to affect people years later. Carr manages to show the both sides of the activism coin, as well as, the cost of keeping quiet through three generation of women. There is a lot of pain, yet there is also growth, especially when it comes to the main character. As a reader I was aware fairly early on of some of what was to come, yet there was continually an undercurrent of mystery.
We Rip the World Apart didn't have the same urgent pacing as Hold My Girl, yet it tackles so many themes that are sure to spark so much thought and discussion. It made me sit in reflection with my own thoughts and feelings. It's also a blatant reminder to anyone who thinks racism isn't the same in Canada. With this book, Charlene Carr has established herself as a powerhouse in the Canadian literature world, and I cannot wait to continue to support this talented author.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for more #CanLit
• Jodi Picoult fans
• bookclubs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"But I know enough to know that sometimes the thing you're afraid of, that you step away from, is exactly the thing you should step toward."
"She turned to the window, though it didn't matter where she looked. Her son was everywhere and nowhere."
"Sometimes bad things happen, and something there's no clear reason why, nothing we could have done to prevent it and nothing we can do afterward to make it right. So all we can do is move forward, as best we can, try to believe there is still good in the world. Because there is."
"That's not my job. It's not my job to make white people comfortable."
"That's just life. Things get stolen. People get stolen. Along with parts of us that never should."
"'If there be one thing me got right,' she says now, 'it be to carry on. Because life, no matter what form it in, no matter de pains tacked onto it, means something.'"
Author: Charlene Carr
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.25
Pub Date: January 30, 2024
I received a complimentary eARC HarperCollins Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad
T H R E E • W O R D S
Complex • Thoughtful • Engaging
📖 S Y N O P S I S
When 24-year-old Kareela discovers she's pregnant with a child she isn't sure she wants, it amplifies her struggle to understand her place in the world as a woman who is half-Black and half-white, yet feels neither.
Her mother, Evelyn, fled to Canada with her husband and their first-born child, Antony, during the politically charged Jamaican Exodus of the 1980s, only to realize they'd come to a place where Black men are viewed with suspicion—a constant and pernicious reality Evelyn watches her husband and son navigate daily.
Years later, in the aftermath of Antony's murder by the police, Evelyn's mother-in-law, Violet, moves in, offering young Kareela a link to the Jamaican heritage she has never fully known. Despite Violet's efforts to help them through their grief, the traumas they carry grow into a web of secrets that threatens the very family they all hold so dear.
Back in the present, Kareela, prompted by fear and uncertainty about the new life she carries, must come to terms with the mysteries surrounding her family's past and the need to make sense of both her identity and her future.
💠T H O U G H T S
Charlene Carr's Hold My Girl was my most surprising reads of 2023, so it was easy to select We Rip the World Apart as my most anticipated book of the month project for January. My expectations were definitely high, and Carr delivered once again, yet this time in an entirely different way.
Written from multiple POVs across multiple timelines, this compelling novel explores the search for identity and belonging as a biracial person; systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter social justice movement; motherhood; and generational trauma. I struggled to situate myself in time and place through the first 50 pages, but managed to settle in thereafter. Each of the characters was so real, although not always likeable. It was interesting to get different internal thoughts on the various topics covered. The story unfolds rather slowly, and there is a bit of a lull through the middle, yet I think it all has its purpose within the story.
Charlene Carr does a phenomenal job detailing the ripple effect of events that happened in the past and how they continue to affect people years later. Carr manages to show the both sides of the activism coin, as well as, the cost of keeping quiet through three generation of women. There is a lot of pain, yet there is also growth, especially when it comes to the main character. As a reader I was aware fairly early on of some of what was to come, yet there was continually an undercurrent of mystery.
We Rip the World Apart didn't have the same urgent pacing as Hold My Girl, yet it tackles so many themes that are sure to spark so much thought and discussion. It made me sit in reflection with my own thoughts and feelings. It's also a blatant reminder to anyone who thinks racism isn't the same in Canada. With this book, Charlene Carr has established herself as a powerhouse in the Canadian literature world, and I cannot wait to continue to support this talented author.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for more #CanLit
• Jodi Picoult fans
• bookclubs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"But I know enough to know that sometimes the thing you're afraid of, that you step away from, is exactly the thing you should step toward."
"She turned to the window, though it didn't matter where she looked. Her son was everywhere and nowhere."
"Sometimes bad things happen, and something there's no clear reason why, nothing we could have done to prevent it and nothing we can do afterward to make it right. So all we can do is move forward, as best we can, try to believe there is still good in the world. Because there is."
"That's not my job. It's not my job to make white people comfortable."
"That's just life. Things get stolen. People get stolen. Along with parts of us that never should."
"'If there be one thing me got right,' she says now, 'it be to carry on. Because life, no matter what form it in, no matter de pains tacked onto it, means something.'"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Mental illness, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy
Minor: Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Pandemic/Epidemic
sibling death