Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Removed by Brandon Hobson

12 reviews

trailmixraisins's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.0


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readingwithkaitlyn's review

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reflective fast-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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blackcatkai's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

3.0

CW: racism, casual ableism, police brutality  gun violence, murder, child death, drug/alcohol use, addiction, violence, animal death, grief, physical/sexual assault, mental illness

not my usual genre, so it took a bit for me to get into, but thats absolutely not the books fault. its a heartbreaking and great novel about a family navigating their grief after the death of their son/brother at the hands of a cop. it handles a lot of rough topics so tread carefully. if you're in any way interested, absolutely read it.

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cantfindmybookmark's review

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

3.75


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amandalorianxo's review

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emotional reflective sad 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

3.0

This a short read and another fictional viewpoint of indigenous people and how they survive after trauma. Our story takes place partially in Oklahoma and New Mexico. A Cherokee family lost their fifteen year old son due to a cop shooting him. The fifteenth year anniversary of his death is approaching and unfortunately, the remaining four members are somewhat scattered. Sonja, the oldest sibling, is close by but is struggling to figure out what being an adult means to her, embarking in a situation ship with a man that isn’t the best suited for her. Edgar, the baby of the family, is in Albuquerque, using drugs to cope with his depression. Mom and Dad are still alive but Alzheimer’s is clouding Dad more and more everyday. I did enjoy the Native American voice and background into their lives (we need more stories that showcase this) but I also wish (simile ish to other BIPOC centered stories) we focused on Indigenous joy instead of constant sadness and trauma. 

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betsygrace's review

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

I really enjoyed this. I love reading Indigenous authors and think the author did a really great job of depicting generational trauma. This gave me the same feelings I got when I read There, There by Tommy Orange. 

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stevie's review

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0


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hannahgeorgiae's review

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

3.0

i wish this centered more on ray ray’s life, rather than life after his passing

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leekaufman's review

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

3.0


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erins_library's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

(Gifted from Ecco)

The Removed by Brandon Hobson (Cherokee) follows a family as they live with the grief of losing their brother/son in a police shooting. The book takes place over a one week period, many years after the murder, as each family member moves through the world and carries the weight of that loss. I found it to be a heartbreaking, reflective storytelling experience. It’s told in multiple perspectives, including a historical perspective from a character who lived right before the Trail of Tears. I really enjoyed how the historical character connected and wove into the larger story, I was curious how it would fit in and I loved how it played into the narrative. I also liked how the book used metaphor and symbolism. I’m not always super tuned into what is and isn’t a metaphor, so I’m sure I’m just scratching the surface of it... but I like what I was able to catch. 

It’s a shorter book, at less than 300 pages, which I appreciated in many ways. It made it really impactful and because it took place over one week it very much felt like a slice of life story. We glimpsed a singular moment in time in the characters’ lives and although it didn’t wrap up their stories by the end it was ok. It gave the sense that their lives keep going, they still have problems they’re working through and resolving for themselves. It left me with a lot to think about.

CW: drug use, addiction, grief, police shooting, Alzheimer’s, foster care, physical abuse, alcohol, racism, slurs, trail of tears

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