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morenowagain'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexism, Homophobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Police brutality, and Child death
celery'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Dementia, Sexual violence, Gore, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual harassment, Classism, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Hate crime, Medical content, Addiction, Cannibalism, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Kidnapping, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Murder, Body shaming, Cancer, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Vomit, War, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Infidelity, Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Child death, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Infertility, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
cwg's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
Read this Summer of 2022 when I was feeling dour. Cheered me up a bit.
Light-hearted reading. Easy to read, easy to love characters.
Interesting narrative structure (past and present, narrative embedded within narrative).
Product of its era, not just in the sense of it being set in 1920s and 1990s South (approximation) — do mind the TW’s if you’re wary — but if you can get past that, it’s a lovely story about community.
It’s also got elements of “found family,” which, while I won’t give details, was easily my favorite segment within the book (of course it’s the relationship
Moderate: Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Body shaming, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cannibalism, Eating disorder, and Pregnancy
artstitute'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Cancer, Racism, Rape, Body shaming, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Moderate: Cannibalism, Infidelity, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, and Mental illness
Minor: Pregnancy, Bullying, and Vomit
itsmackie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, Cancer, Murder, Terminal illness, and Hate crime
Minor: Body shaming, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
laurataylor'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
4.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Addiction, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racism, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Cancer, Child death, Grief, Rape, and Sexual assault
lily1304's review against another edition
3.25
It's flagged as "LGBTQ+" because it prominently features a committed relationship between two women, and no one in the novel is ever weird about it. Racism and sexism are strong themes, but there is apparently zero homophobia in Whistle Stop, Alabama. It's honestly kind of refreshing, but also confusing. Everyone treats this couple like they're married, but they're described in really vague terms, almost like a "Boston marriage" romantic friendship. It's like the opposite of The Price of Salt.
The way racism is depicted is particularly interesting - the novel features the Ku Klux Klan and an old white lady with a mild discomfort around black men and everything in between. It's difficult to tell which mildly racist opinions are the author's and which are just the characters'. The N-word and the word "colored" are used with abandon. The novel also makes a big deal out of colorism among the black characters.
One of the characters, Evelyn, an older lady in 1986, goes on a whole journey about how sexism has affected her life - and her story concludes triumphantly with her at weight-loss camp, and losing a significant amount of weight is one of her victories. Unironically. Evelyn's relationship with Ninny makes it seem like the story is about to take a strong body-positive stance, but it's a total bait and switch.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Cannibalism, Dementia, Fatphobia, Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and War
Minor: Kidnapping and Pregnancy
mfieldshalva'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Mental illness
Moderate: Cancer, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual violence