Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi

3 reviews

katie_helf96's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

I give Zoboi credit for writing such a profoundly jackass of a dad that I was crying rage tears. He was just such a bulldozer over all the women in his life. As for race/racism, I understood where Nigeria is coming from, with her hate/mistrust of white people, especially with how she grew up in the movement and just knowing white people in general. I do think that the vast majority of white people are at least a little bit racist but there’s a sliding scale. Some white people are more racist than others, but a large amount of white people (especially younger ones) are trying to recognize and dismantle the inherent racism they were brought up with. Those people give me hope for the future. 

What I couldn’t stand was the misogyny/sexism from the dad. Friggin’ Keith. I did enjoy the ending though. It gave me some hope for Nigeria and her future/independence. This book needs more than just a couple paragraphs for a review. You could write a dissertation on the complexity of it. I didn’t even talk about Che/Chris. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, Sexism, Misogyny, and Abandonment

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Grief, and Sexism

Moderate: Racism, Abandonment, Death of parent, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Medical content, Sexual content, Abortion, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Blood, Classism, and Colonisation

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

In a lot of ways, I feel like this book was written for me. I notice a lot of similarities between myself and the protagonist. I thought the narrative had a lot of heart and the author did a good job of communicating Nigeria's internal struggle. 

One thing I didn't love was

the twist at the end with the protagonist's mother being dead the whole time

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Blood, Grief, Sexism, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Death

Moderate: Medical trauma, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Sexual content, Slavery, Abandonment, Classism, Medical content, Colonisation, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Miscarriage, Vomit, Cultural appropriation, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Bullying