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alyssaakdefusco's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
I could barely put this book down, but not because I needed to know what happened to Vivek. The portrait of a young, queer Nigerian man and his family was so vivid, generous, and devastating. Walking through their lived experiences and their grief was so raw and beautiful. The timeline jumps and narrator shifts were absolutely seamless. This book flowed in such a poignant way and it will stay with me for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Incest, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Violence
avidreadr's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. This book was so bizarre and broached some uncomfortable subjects. But it's impossible absolutely impossible to not fall in love with Vivek.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest
nightfell's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
3.0
I know the ending was probably intended to be shocking but it ended up being anticlimactic for me. I wish we had gotten to see more of what was going on for Vivek, even though I know the book was intentionally written through outside perspectives, I wanted to hear more about his journey finding himself, even through the perspectives of the girls, I would have had more of a connection to his struggles and thus his families' struggles.
But I feel like the author didn't and framed his gender identity as a reveal at the end, which I personally didn't like, but I understand why it was written in that way.
Also, why was there incest. What was the reason? "My cousin. My brother. The love of my sinful life" or something like that, like whyyy did they not only write incest but kept on reminding us that they are related, and like brothers?? It kind of ruined the book for me, I couldn't look past it.
But I feel like the author didn't and framed his gender identity as a reveal at the end, which I personally didn't like, but I understand why it was written in that way.
Also, why was there incest. What was the reason? "My cousin. My brother. The love of my sinful life" or something like that, like whyyy did they not only write incest but kept on reminding us that they are related, and like brothers?? It kind of ruined the book for me, I couldn't look past it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Incest, and Transphobia
room334's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
Akweake Emezi continues to be one of the most breathtaking and talented writers I’ve read. There certainly was a big aspect of this that made me uncomfortable, but I think only Emezi could write a book about such a taboo subject matter and make it hauntingly beautiful. I do think there was a lot of buildup to a reveal that felt very obvious, but even knowing that, it still had such a heart wrenching ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Incest, and Transphobia
sjksjksjk's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
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? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Incest, and Transphobia
rhall19'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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Transphobia, and Blood
alaynacyan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
catsteaandabook's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Incest, and Transphobia
margztgz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.25
the death of vivek oji is vivid, devastating, lustful and full of both desire and grief. this novel is a beautiful character study that deepened continually with each plot point revealed. the language is absolutely stunning in this, spellbinding. really great book that examines gender, the dimensions and acceptance of love and the multiplicity of grief's effects, i definitely was tearing up near the end.
quick tw/note about plot: one thing that's quite polarizing in this book for me is its presence of incest between two cousins. i found it disturbing at times but also interesting to see how the book treated that relationship, but i think it's over-normalized. feel free to skip this book if that would bother you.
quick tw/note about plot: one thing that's quite polarizing in this book for me is its presence of incest between two cousins. i found it disturbing at times but also interesting to see how the book treated that relationship, but i think it's over-normalized. feel free to skip this book if that would bother you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
juliabegeman's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
Minor: Death