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Reviews tagging 'Racism'
Great or Nothing by Jessica Spotswood, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, Joy McCullough
7 reviews
morpmeep's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Honestly was really looking forward to this book - i deeply love little women, i enjoy the 1940s as a setting, was intrigued by the poetry of Beth and i was delighted at the possibility of a book that really delved into the queerness of Jo.
however, this book didn't really do it for me. one of the biggest parts of little women is the relationships the girls have with each other, but the girls spend the entire book apart, driven away from each other by grief. they don't interact with each other, just spend pages pining for one another while existing in their biege plotlines.
each chapter is from a different girls perspective, and each is written by a different author. Which could be a big appeal if the girls stories ever crossed over - it would be fascinating to see different perspectives and internal dialogues on the same moments. but instead each girls story stands on its own, linked only by unimpressive poetry from Beth's perspective in the afterlife. I found myself skimming over the poems because they lacked any real poetic form. I described them to a friend as 'what a fiction writer thinks poems are' which is accurate. The words aren't *bad*, they're just not poetry. they're flowery prose broken up into stanzas. there's no lyricism or imagery, no rhyming or any sort of play with beats. Theres no pleasure in reading them.
The queer story line of Jo's is hollow and really only appears in the last ten pages of her story.
I'm sorry, y'all, i wanted to like this book but this was not it.
however, this book didn't really do it for me. one of the biggest parts of little women is the relationships the girls have with each other, but the girls spend the entire book apart, driven away from each other by grief. they don't interact with each other, just spend pages pining for one another while existing in their biege plotlines.
each chapter is from a different girls perspective, and each is written by a different author. Which could be a big appeal if the girls stories ever crossed over - it would be fascinating to see different perspectives and internal dialogues on the same moments. but instead each girls story stands on its own, linked only by unimpressive poetry from Beth's perspective in the afterlife. I found myself skimming over the poems because they lacked any real poetic form. I described them to a friend as 'what a fiction writer thinks poems are' which is accurate. The words aren't *bad*, they're just not poetry. they're flowery prose broken up into stanzas. there's no lyricism or imagery, no rhyming or any sort of play with beats. Theres no pleasure in reading them.
The queer story line of Jo's is hollow and really only appears in the last ten pages of her story.
I'm sorry, y'all, i wanted to like this book but this was not it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
daryn's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, and War
Moderate: Racism
bakinglizbet's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
vaniavela's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and War
Moderate: Misogyny and Racism
Minor: Medical trauma and Medical content
booknerdxo88's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
I read the classic Little Women for the first time last year, and when I saw a couple of my booksta friends loving Great or Nothing I knew I had to check it out.
There were quite a few things that I loved, so let's start with that. Reimagining the classic novel set during the civil war and moving it during WW2 is such a great idea. I thought it was interesting that each author took over the writing for an individual character. The poems were an interesting touch, which are Beth's pov from beyond the grave.
I felt like a huge portion of the book focused on Amy and her "adventures" with the Red Cross. While the other storylines, don't get as much attention. In the classic, the focus is on the tight knit relationship between the sisters, but in this book they are torn apart by the death of a sister. I'm not sure how I feel about this particular change.
Overall, I really enjoyed this reimagining if the classic Little Women.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
catladyreads's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Xenophobia, and Racism
Moderate: War and Misogyny
Minor: Medical content
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