Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

21 reviews

karyan1's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Racism, Grief, Death, Homophobia, Bullying, Alcohol, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Addiction

midnightverde's review

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

5.0

I was hooked from the very beginning! What an amazing read about family, love, trauma, grief, culture, and more. I was so invested in the story and it did not disappoint. I love everything about it!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Rape, Abandonment, Death, Sexual assault, Grief, Murder, Biphobia, Racism, Addiction, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, and Slavery

Minor: War

torturedreadersdept's review

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Biphobia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual assault

kyrstin_p1989's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

A story of loss and unwavering love. A story that asks, what are you willing to do? This book is a slow burn but well worth it. The story of this family and what one woman endured is touching and brilliant. This novel explores the complexities of family, race, immigration, and womanhood while using linguistic mastery to make descriptions richer and more beautiful. The sea is quite possibly the shining character in this novel and it made me long for a trip to see the power of the ocean. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Slavery, Violence, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Biphobia, Cancer, Classism, Colonisation, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Bullying, Death of parent, Rape, Sexism, and Domestic abuse

jess_sabal's review

challenging emotional inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Rape, and Racism

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Bullying, Grief, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Hate crime

lynneliu's review

reflective medium-paced

• 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Grief, Racism, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Biphobia, Death of parent, and Rape

Minor: Colonisation, Murder, Police brutality, and Suicide attempt

sdunn13's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Grief

Moderate: Rape, Racism, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Biphobia, and Bullying

davidrb's review

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

This was the first book I was able to finish this year, and it was devastating. It's just as much a mystery as a family drama, and engaged me like nothing else. It got to the point where just the title of a chapter/the return of a character's POV made me gasp. Highly, highly, highly recommend. Don't be daunted by the length: it flies by. (That said, it's extremely heavy!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Colonisation, Abandonment, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Biphobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

With regards to "police brutality": antiblack systemic racism by the police is a recurring theme. No violence is shown directly, but the possibility is discussed in detail.

leahrosiee's review against another edition

slow-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

This book was so beautifully written. 
Family dynamic can be difficult to read but the author beautifully displayed the duality of each family member. Disagreements and misunderstandings abound as these siblings find out their parents dark and mysterious past, as well as their true identities. 

Read for Bad Bitch Book Club

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Murder, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, and Violence

Moderate: Trafficking and Addiction

Minor: Colonisation, Stalking, and Medical content

erleabee's review

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Rape

Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, and Murder