Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

83 reviews

rochellem's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual violence, and Suicide

parkyparkpark's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

alicialoebl's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-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

The twists made the book go so fast, such a tough topic but really informative and emotional 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Rape, Racial slurs, Murder, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Gore, and Genocide

painausten314's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Rape, Racism, and Racial slurs

ehmannky's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

This book is excellent, but it's not a particularly easy or pleasant read. It's an unrelenting look at the myriad and downright creative ways that white Americans caused violent trauma towards Black people. Turning the Underground Railroad into a literal railroad was a creative masterstroke, though I wish more had been done with the setting in the actual story). I also feel like it's important that this book is set decades before the Civil War, because it emphasizes that yes freedom came eventually, but for many people like Cora's mother and so many of the Black people she meets along her journey, that freedom never comes and they die at the hands of white people and their system of pain and suffering. Although

Cora does makes it out to freedom in the fabled North

, this isn't a particularly hopeful novel and the ending is about as downer as I can imagine. I feel like this book is going to get embedded in the literature as a Classic, and rightly so.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Trafficking, Rape, Racial slurs, Medical trauma, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Grief, Genocide, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Blood

Minor: Suicide and Child death

rivaina's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

hannahkt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

Read for my Introduction to American Literature class. 

A compelling work of speculative fiction that feels all to real and current in the moment we live in, both in 2016 and in 2021. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence

elinordashwood's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

4.0

I wish the concept of the actual railroad had been better explored, but it was overall a well-written book that did not shy away from the horrors of slavery.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence

lena_and_her_books's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, and Religious bigotry

emmaslibrary's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, and Slavery

Moderate: Suicide