Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

23 reviews

nataliecoyne's review

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? It's complicated

3.25

I honestly feel a little bad about only giving this 3.25 stars, because the final few chapters were very interesting

(with everything about how multiple characters were helping runaway slaves).

Unfortunately, though, I found most of this book to be boring. I did push myself through it quite fast, but it was largely so that I could move on to something else. Admittedly, though, I've never actually read The Scarlet Letter so maybe, if I had, this would've been more interesting to me and I could've picked up on some "easter eggs" of sorts that I didn't know were meant to be easter eggs/references until much later in the book when they're directly addressed (for example, the visit to the graveyard). I probably even missed more because there were probably ones that weren't directly addressed.

Probably reading the original source material should be prioritized when picking up a retelling, but I recently enjoyed a different retelling (James) without ever having read the original source material (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) so I thought I'd be fine. Plus, from how I read the book description, this wasn't fully a retelling, but more of a behind-the-scenes of the inspiration of the book type thing.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling. Essentially I just don't think this book was for me. I wouldn't necessarily dissuade others from reading it, though, especially if you've read and enjoyed The Scarlet Letter.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Abortion, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Colonisation

cdnpittsburgher's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

3.75

I liked the narrator in the audio version of this book. When narrating as Isobel, she was incredible and truly embodied the character. 

I disliked the men in Isobel's tale as much as I detested the men in the OG Scarlet Letter that was required reading in Gr 11 American Lit. Selfish humans disguised as upstanding citizens certainly is a relatable experience, and women pay the price. 

There was a lot of information about "The Salem Deception" that killed 19 people.  As well, the rudiments of the North American Atlantic slave trade is presented and an introduction to the the Underground Railroad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Classism

coastal_moonlit_garden's review

adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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

3.5

This was good! It definitely gives witchy vibes and it was nice to wander New England with the main characters. While it’s not fully historically accurate by any means (and isn’t supposed to be), it does give a nice historical “what if” romantasy feel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Pregnancy

cpardub's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

I listened to Hester as an audiobook and HIGHLY RECOMMEND. It was such a fun listen. I really enjoyed this book and have been recommending it to others all week since finishing it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content and Forced institutionalization

thalia16's review

dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

kelisabeth's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

gracescanlon's review

adventurous emotional inspiring tense medium-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? Yes

4.75

As a woman with multiple forms of synesthesia and with family members who also have it, a historical fiction story told from the perspective of a woman with synesthesia is so up my alley, it may as well have been written for me. 

I found Isobel’s descriptions of her experiences with her own synesthesia quite believable. I haven’t had such vibrant experiences myself since I was a girl, but I remember them, and still have smaller, less dramatic ones. Whether Ms. Albanese has synesthesia or not, I found her portrayals of it, especially how it touches every part of life, to ring true. Well done!

This would have been a five-star read, but I felt that the story was rushed in some places. That rush led to a lack of development and depth in characters and their relationships with one another. I think if more time had been devoted to building and expanding upon these, it would've enriched the novel - and earned five stars from me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Addiction, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, and Colonisation

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

blewballoon's review

This is a well written story that explores mostly the struggles of women and immigrants in the 1600s and 1800s. It also touches on how mental health was often misunderstood and demonized in those times. While those themes are being explored in lovely prose, I know the story of the Scarlet Letter and I'm dreading reading this and watching the main character suffer. She's trying her best to make friends and support herself, it's been a struggle from the start and I can see it all crashing down. I would like to pretend she catches a break instead and things work out better. I may revisit this. I do recommend if you aren't as much of a softy as me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Blood

laurenlee2158's review

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

spineofthesaurus's review

adventurous dark emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Incest, Excrement, Vomit, and Medical content