Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

66 reviews

one_womanarmy's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.25

Heartbreaking sorry of gay, lesbian, queer and trans identities growing up in a mixed class and mixed-ethnicity set of family systems in Nigeria. I cried through nearly half the book, swept up in the loneliness of performing ourselves for family alongside moments of the stunning beauty of tender, inescapable young love.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Incest, Eating disorder, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Homophobia, and Self harm

workingdaley'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

5.0

This book made me feel, deeply. It really makes me think of all of the moments of joy that we try to find, even when we are surrounded by tragedy. I am deeply fascinated by the characters and their motivations. Their moments of discovery, their moments of betrayal, their moments of joy, their moments of grief. Each of these characters carry a significant weight on their shoulder, and you can feel it in the way that they move through the world. But you can also feel how deeply they care for one another, and the lengths that they would go to protect one another. This is a deeply emotional story, but I feel like it's so relevant to the times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia, Death, Blood, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Lesbophobia

Minor: Sexual harassment and Drug use

tea_kettle's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-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? Yes

4.25

amazing story, beautifully written, and one i would read again despite the heartbreak. However, the mildly (and later very graphically) incestuous themes were pretty uncomfortable to get through, and i don’t think they necessarily needed to be that way. Still, it was a great story, and i’m glad it was told, especially by a writer so skilled. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death, Grief, Child death, Incest, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Sexual content

Moderate: Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Hate crime, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: Child abuse, Deportation, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Vomit, Infertility, and Rape

thisthat100's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious

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

4.0

Highlights

• Vivek Oji: When referencing a death or tragedy of a trans/queer individual, very few instances do the media execute their ideas in a way that respects the individual and the community they represent. Thankfully, this book is an exception. Nnemdi is such a complex character and I loved that when a chapter focuses on her perspective it is short yet written in a way that meaningfully shapes the direction of the narrative.
• Osita: Also a complex character in the sense that he is written in a way that suggests moral ambiguity. He and Oji's perspective are the necessary anchors to the mystery that continues to flesh out as the plot unravels itself.

Aspects that did not connect with me 

• I loved the final chapter where Nnemedi reflects on her death and Osita (probably my favourite part of the book). But I personally felt how the plot twist of her death did not live up to the potential of the smart writing on Emezi's part. I felt that it redeemed Osita too much as a character and would have garnered a greater impact if it was open-ended to maintain Ostia's moral ambiguity.

  • I suspected early on in the novel that Osita's perspective was unreliable. Rather than completely reveal the event of Nnemedi's death, I would have loved if it concealed certain details that allude whether her death was accidental or intentional yet revealed Osita's involvement (Osita having the necklace, their guilt disguised as grief).
  • The harsh reality is that for many deaths involving trans/queer people, there is a lack of resolution as to the nature of their death and would remain unsolved.
  • This would make the Vivek's (Nnemedi) perspective in the final chapter more provoking. They are able to find the resolution within themselves despite their death being made unresolved. 

Overall, I loved Emezi's writing style in this book and how they tackle nuanced characters and themes while also painting a complex portrait of Nigeria.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Religious bigotry

Minor: Hate crime

Vivek Oji's death has been speculated as a likely hate crime

however the ending confirms that it was accidental

sha's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Violence, Physical abuse, Gore, Blood, Eating disorder, Death, Incest, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

mausi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated

4.0

This book was such a surprise, it took me on a journey I did not expect! And what an emotional journey that was. The story genuinely took me by surprise and got me thinking a lot about it. This is the second book by Akwaeke Emezi and I love how challenging and daring their books are. It certainly challenged my thinking about love in many ways. Additionally, having read about the author themselves, I imagine this story is highly personal to them as they also grew in Nigeria as a queer person. I certainly learnt a lot about what it must be like for a queer person to grow up in and oppressive environment, certainly a book to recommend, especially to those who might not understand queer love and struggle. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Mental illness, Grief, Death, and Homophobia

quinnjuliac's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

5.0

This book was a wonderfully absorbing read, although it was very heavy. It is about children growing up in Nigeria, and one of them just doesn’t seem to fit in. Later in life he finds some safety and community in his childhood friends, but the world at large is dangerous for him. It is a story about grief and parenting a child who is different, and the joys of found family. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Transphobia, Sexual content, Outing, Grief, Mental illness, Incest, Death, and Deadnaming

Minor: Violence, Hate crime, and Domestic abuse

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

this book made me so incredibly angry. this book was gorgeous. the writing was phenomenal, and the trans representation was so beautiful and emotional. and then it was all ruined by incest. there is so much discourse about the lgbtqia+ community and trans rights, this story was truly beautiful and could make such an impact on people. it is all completely discounted and tarnished by the incest. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Transphobia, Death, Hate crime, Outing, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Sexual content, Bullying, Deadnaming, and Injury/Injury detail

angievansprang's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow. I absolutely loved this. A gut-wrenching ode to queerness and love, this book and these characters will be with me for a long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Incest, Transphobia, Sexual content, and Death

Moderate: Mental illness, Eating disorder, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, and Hate crime

Minor: Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, and Infertility

kasarin's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Transphobia, Death, Homophobia, and Grief

Moderate: Rape, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexism, and Sexual content

Minor: Sexual harassment, Lesbophobia, Infertility, Hate crime, Miscarriage, and Animal death