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rebeccaz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Slavery, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Colonisation, and Racism
angorarabbit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Rape, Slavery, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Abandonment, Confinement, Torture, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Violence, Genocide, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Cursing
Forced sterilisation, eugenics, blackface performances, n word, medical experiments without consent. Body snatching, lynchingparenthesis_enjoyer's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Slavery, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Murder, Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Infertility, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Violence, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Torture, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Grief, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Excrement, and Death of parent
Minor: Abortion, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Child abuse, Ableism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Animal death, Medical content, Colonisation, Classism, and Child death
bigolscrewup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Sometimes a useful delusion is better than a useless truth.
Truth was a changing display in a shop window, manipulated by hands when you weren't looking, alluring and ever out of reach.
4/5 ✨
This book's been sitting on my shelves for years and I always knew I would enjoy reading this book, but I never thought it would leave me shaken by it's searing portrayal of suffering of the enslaved people and resilience. As someone who wasn't aware of the term "Underground Railroad" before, I was captivated by the author's reimagining of it as a literal railroad that lies underground that transports runaway people from place to place under the safety of darkness. It was uncomfortable at times to read about the experiences of enslaved people and the punishments they endured under plantation owners. And also there were certain parts of book, where I struggled to understand the prose, due to the writing style, which I felt wasn't constant throughout the book. I don't know if it's just me, but the main characters were little flat to my liking
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Slavery, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Rape, and Colonisation
rachdruck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Colonisation, Violence, Slavery, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
sarahbiegelsen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Confinement, Racism, Sexual assault, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Abandonment, Death, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Slavery
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Rape, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Blood
Minor: Misogyny, Body horror, and Medical content
emikateb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Trafficking, Physical abuse, Murder, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Colonisation, Death, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Grief, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Blood, Confinement, Gun violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Stalking
cassielaj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Gore, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Blood, Death, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Torture, Hate crime, Colonisation, Murder, and Kidnapping
sakisreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Wow. Far out. This was (obviously) going to be a heavy book, but I was unprepared for it 😳 The content warnings as usual will be included below.
Initially I found it difficult to get into, in the way that it was written, but once we delved into Cora’s life I found it difficult to put down. Usually multi-generational stories are challenging for me to read for some reason, but this one I was able to find the links between Ajarry, Mabel and Cora.
Cora and Royal also made me go 🥹
OBVIOUSLY we hated Ridgeway - he was fucked up. I found Mingo interesting; as someone who’d bought their freedom looking down on others felt bizarre and complicated and difficult to contend with.
4 out of 5 stars for me, thank you so much ✨
Graphic: Racial slurs, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Racism, Genocide, Death of parent, Rape, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, and Gaslighting
01ivia's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Body horror, Colonisation, Rape, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Slavery, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent