Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Stay with Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

120 reviews

chikamma's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Medical trauma

bookishkellyn's review against another edition

sad tense

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

5.0

I thought this was just going to be a dual POV novel about an infertile couple (Akin & Yejide) and the second wife (Funmi) forced upon them in the tradition of polygamy. But the book’s synopsis barely touches on the real drama that unfolds in the rest of the story–lies, deception, infidelity, murder, death. Akin was THE most duplicitous character in the book. He reminds me of a quote: “Imagine the messiest person you know. It’s a man, isn’t it?” The plot twists were an A+.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Infertility, Child death, Abandonment, and Grief

Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Mental illness

Minor: Gun violence, Excrement, and Murder

cirrenamarie's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death

deereadstoo's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death

emily_koopmann's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Infertility, and Sexual content

Minor: Infidelity

kellyofcali's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

A very tough story - not for those who cannot deal with a series of crushing blows - but well written and I did feel it paints a picture of a certain place and experience. I don't know if I can say I enjoyed it, per se, given the heaviness, but I am glad I read it. I will say it is "pitched" mush differently than it reads - it's more about being in a marriage, relationships, and being a parent than about a second wife. I also found it ended a bit suddenly for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Grief, Child death, Dysphoria, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Infertility, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Abandonment, and Physical abuse

Minor: War

floralfox's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

This book was stunning. I was intrigued by the premise, and made some assumptions about obvious things that I thought would happen based on it, and those things DID happen, but never quite how I expected. I loved how the plot unfurled—shocking reveals with motivations peeled back slowly. You think you have the whole story, but you never do. Every scene is always getting recontextualized by later information. Time bends and loops and moves forward in equal measures. And the ending! Bittersweet in a way that I'll be thinking about for a long time.

I especially loved the characters. They were so desperate and so flawed. Above all, Akin wanted Yejedi, and the lengths he went to keep her were the very ones that drove her away. And Yejedi wanted a child, and the lengths she went to be a mother and the wringer that life put her through as a mother was absolutely brutal. 

Yejedi is a product of her history as an illegitimate daughter of a mother who died, thought to be cursed at birth and ostracized by her father's other wives, treated like an orphan. The created a deep loneliness in her. Her desperation for a child was so visceral that I was half-tempted to believe her even when there was more compelling reasons to doubt her. Akin's betrayal cut so deep that I understood every awful thing she did in response to it. 

And Akin was a coward in so many ways—his decisions ruled by his fragile sense of masculinity. And yet that fragility underscores that there was sacrifice in the act of deepest betrayal, too. He could appear cruel and indifferent, but also incredibly gentle and romantic. 

They were complicated, and I didn't them, but I understood them, and for that I loved them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Sexism and Child death

keenreader's review against another edition

reflective medium-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? No

4.25

Found the characters interesting, however what was most interesting was the revelation to the reader that the woman who went to University seemed to be confused by her husband impotence in the sense of not realising it. 

How do you understand biology, but don't realise your husband is soft, accepting you are the reason for not being able to get pregnant 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death

prairiek's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Gaslighting, Violence, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Infidelity

Minor: Sexual content, Bullying, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Death

plantedjess's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility, Child death, Grief, and Pregnancy