Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser

11 reviews

wednesdayq's review against another edition

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emotional 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? Yes

5.0

 I'm gonna tell my kids that this was Sex and The City.

As a black woman, it's always refreshing to see more representation, and this book is also just stellar. I hope that there are more volumes and we get to read more stories from the lives of these awesome characters. Also, I really need this book to become a TV show like yesterday.

The art is absolutely gorgeous. I found myself just staring at all of the pages even after I'd finished reading the dialogue. All of the little details in the drawings are just wonderful. Also, the way the author and illustrator gave each character a theme color was such a cool artistic choice. There's a particular panel near the end where three of the characters look like they could be the Powerpuff Girls or the OG Sailor Scouts, and it's so awesome!

It's so nice to see strong female friendships portrayed so beautifully in a story. When I started the book I was bracing myself for drama, because that always seems to be a component of female friendship stories (and, to be fair, friends also do argue sometimes in real life). So, I was pleasantly surprised when the authors focused on the beauty and support that comes from female friendship rather than cattiness and drama.

Reading this book just felt like a warm hug for my soul. The familiar black haircare rituals woven throughout the story really connected to my heart. I just wanted to dive into the world of the story and be friends with these girls!

So, yeah, I highly recommend this read. It's excellent! 

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azariamckay's review against another edition

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dark funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Adored the art and the story was so cute! Would’ve loved more expansion on mental health, feel like a book 2 should be in the works. Felt the ending left something to be desired.

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lifeisaeisha's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective slow-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? No

5.0

This book is like sweet tea on a summer day. Like walking into your grandmother's house and smelling dinner. I appreciated the familiarity and honestly the entire vibe of the book. I wasn't reading, I was just chilling with my girls. Flawless.

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sea_tea_books's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective

4.5

I loved this. Admittedly, I haven't read many (any?) slice of life from this voice, so it feels refreshing, like an intimate peek into unique experiences. 

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shutupiamreading's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-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? No

4.5

I loooooved this! The concept of exploring four women's lives anchored on their hair wash day was so original and worked really well. Also loved that all the women have different illustration styles because their stories are illustrated by different people.

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favers5's review against another edition

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

4.0


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luciameetsbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

I LOVE THIS FRIENDSHIP SO MUCH 

this tiny graphic novel made me feel so much and i'm so glad i picked it up.

all of these girls are so unique and so true to themselves. i really feel like i know them even though i only read less than 200 pages of their story.

there is one of them that is actually dealing with depression and it was so well depicted in her thoughts, her speech with her friends, even on the drawing. i had to take a second and breath because it was really moving.
and then i actually cried when her friends included her when she started to feel uncomfortable, it was such a simple thing but it was so thoughtful


the only thing that i didn't like is that one of the friends has a stalking ex and that theme wasn't dealt with enough seriousness. i got the sense there was even more toxicity around that ex so the way it was handled didn't sit well with me. but again, it wasn't really said so i may be reading too much into things.

besides that this graphic novel is incredible and i would 100% recommend it to everyone.

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theonewheresamreads's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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rosaelise's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted slow-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? It's complicated

4.0


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howlinglibraries's review against another edition

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

3.5

 A sweet, quick read about the tightly-knit friendships between four Black girls, supporting one another as they each go through their own personal life struggles (whether it's an ailing grandparent, a love triangle, an abusive ex, or depression).

I wouldn't have minded seeing a little more support in certain avenues, specifically when one character is very obviously struggling with severe depression and confides in another character, only to have her experiences totally erased with "you look fine!" and "you don't need medications!" The treatment of that character in general felt clunky to me, but I enjoyed the rest of the book overall. The art was cute and I enjoyed it for the chill, slice-of-life read that it was.

Representation: all four characters are Black, with one of them being Afro-Latinx; one character is bi/pan; brief depiction of an f/f relationship 

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