Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Wahala by Nikki May

6 reviews

jtpgdavey's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Classism, Fatphobia, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Murder, and Death of parent

Minor: Police brutality, Pregnancy, Car accident, Blood, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, and Stalking

bookishkellyn'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

3.0

Simi daftly reconnects with her former childhood best friend–her alobam–and brings her into the fold. It was obvious from the beginning that Isobel was a weirdo and that a friend group established from being mixed race was already a shaky foundation, so the chaos she cooked up was light work. The way Boo & Simi downrated Ronke was infuriating, because she was truly the most likeable character. She was the only one satisfied with her life but suffered the most. I liked the first half of the book, but the plot got more unbelievable as it went on. I didn’t like the ending at all.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Racism, and Body shaming

Minor: Pregnancy, Abandonment, Abortion, Bullying, Violence, Stalking, Domestic abuse, and Infertility

sarahholliday's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

The first thing I'll say is that Wahala is incredibly readable and fun—I got about halfway through on audio (mostly doing chores and driving to work) then switched to an e-book version because I just wanted to keep reading!

The Sex and the City-meets-murder-mystery billing is spot on, and is a large part of why the story is so enjoyable. Three incredibly different women navigating modern life together? Sign me up. 

But where SATC forces its characters to grow as a result of being friends with people who have different priorities and values, Wahala leans a bit too far into the women's foibles. Instead of relying on, listening to, and learning from one another, Ronke, Boo, and Simi judge each other with a viciousness that makes their years-long friendship hard to believe. 

As far as the murder mystery goes, the opening vignette offers a completely different tone and understanding of events than what actually, eventually transpires, leaving readers feeling either confused or tricked.

Overall, I don't regret reading Wahala and look forward to reading May's future work. Like the friendship at the center of the story, Wahala is a compelling and enjoyable—as long as you don't look too closely. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Racism, Infidelity, Murder, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, and Stalking

Moderate: Body shaming, Xenophobia, Blood, and Abortion

meganmsmart's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.0

The characters are mostly terrible to each other, and there's so much racism, colorism, fatphobia, and general meanness of the main voices that it was hard to sympathize when their lives fell apart from their own choices. Only really liked Ronke, who deserves better than this book.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Xenophobia, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Racism, Classism, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Stalking, and Toxic friendship

kirstenlikestoread's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Toxic friendship

Minor: Racism, Abortion, Xenophobia, Stalking, and Fatphobia

spillingthebooktee's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-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

A beautifully done debut novel from Nikki May!

We follow 3 women (Ronke, Simi, and Boo) as they navigate their friendship and their relationships with their spouses/partners until in comes a new member of the group— Isobel. Isobel wants to be a part of the friend group but then tries to get to know all 3 women individually and that’s when the real drama begins. 

I think Nikki navigated these friendships so well and showed the complexities of real life in a believable way through multiple perspectives. I loved seeing the cultures represented in this book! Nigerian, British, French, American… you have it all! It was a fast paced and jam packed novel with twists and turns at every corner. Nikki gave us crumbs in each chapter that helped you form the entire picture by the end of the book when she brought everything together (and completely blew my mind lol). I have to say, I did not expect the ending we got in any way!!! I was so thrown off!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book & cannot wait to continue to discuss it with my book club!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Murder, Infidelity, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Fatphobia, Death of parent, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Death

Minor: Police brutality