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katewhite77's review against another edition
- 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 tells the story of a tragedy. The clues in the name, but how did we get here?
Set in Nigeria, it tells the of a family through the eyes of two generations. The story has an interesting structure, and one I can't remember reading before in that we hear from 3 points of view, but one of these is an omniscient narrator which allows us to zoom in and zoom out all the time.
Themes here include how changing social attitudes can manifest within families even in an oppressive society Gender identity and what children can teach their parents
Graphic: Physical abuse, Homophobia, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Violence, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Infidelity, Outing, and Transphobia
Minor: Islamophobia
angiepoggi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Vivek's death is not only about the act of not ever being able to breath anymore, it's about the death of who his family thought he was, and, as well as his birth that was accompanied by grief, about her rebirth.
It's such a carefully woven story that never let's go of the nuances of every decision and thought of It's characters, who, if you told me were real, I would've believed without sparing a doubt.
Even thought there were some relationships that I have conflicted feelings about and believe could've been brought here in a different way, I'll still cary this story for life and think about it.
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Drug use, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Animal death, Grief, Mental illness, Infidelity, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Minor: Rape
lolaida's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Violence and Sexual content
Minor: Xenophobia
directorpurry's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal death, Biphobia, Blood, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexism, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Xenophobia and Fire/Fire injury
blackcatkai's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
this is such a heartbreaking & difficult story about grief as well as sexual & gender identity. Emezi's writing is outstanding.
Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, Transphobia, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Hate crime, Murder, Religious bigotry, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault, Ableism, and Toxic relationship
morganperks's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Outing, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Medical content, Self harm, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Suicide, Torture, Alcoholism, Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Lesbophobia, War, Death of parent, Transphobia, Incest, Mental illness, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Child abuse, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Deadnaming, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Sexism
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Blood and Drug use
ktkeps's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Sexual content, Grief, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Moderate: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Bullying, Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Death, Deadnaming, Incest, and Infidelity
cyrinw98's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
1. I could've done without the incest plotline.
2. I wish it was longer
3. I felt the ending was anticlimactic.
4. I didn't understand the purpose of Ebinizer’s chapter.
Vivek Oji has to be one of my favorite literary characters. They were so vibrant and immediately jumped off of the pages. Emezi did an amazing job depicting the dangers of homophobia, societal pressures. They really illustrated the prominent impact that Vivek had on the people around them in life and in death. I could feel the love and tension throughput this book. This is one of the only books that made me cry. Hats off to voice narrators as well.
Graphic: Incest, Miscarriage, Transphobia, War, Blood, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, and Xenophobia
agustdefault's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Incest, Death, Transphobia, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Infidelity, Animal death, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Deadnaming, and Religious bigotry
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
This story mainly follows the point-of-view of Vivek's mother, Kavita. We follow her questions and her grief as she tries to find the truth about her sons death. I found her to be a very real character, and she is the backbone of this book. I do wish we had seen more from Vivek's PoV though. We see his world through the eyes of others, but rarely from his own. Even just one or two more chapters from his PoV would have been perfect.
Reading a book about a culture that detests anything that differs from the norm was heartbreaking. I found myself getting so angry with some of the characters, which is exactly the point. It felt so raw, and knowing that this is what people's lives are in reality is rough.
Unfortunately, I found the "reveal" to be lacking. You see it coming from the very beginning, and it doesn't quite feel like the period at the end of a sentence that I was looking for. However, the last chapter is just perfect, and is a fantastic way to end the story of Vivek Oji. Overall, this is a gorgeous, tragic story, but it just isn't quite for me.
Graphic: Death, Incest, Sexual assault, Rape, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Homophobia, and Infidelity
Moderate: Animal death, War, Violence, Blood, and Child abuse
Minor: Abandonment and Infertility