Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Removed by Brandon Hobson

44 reviews

nahae's review

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Slow beginning but it creeps in & I couldn’t stop reading after the first half. It’s a book that hurts your heart, but I am grateful for the Indigenous perspective & weaving of Cherokee folklore.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death, and Police brutality

emmakchapman's review

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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: Addiction, Gun violence, Violence, and Racism

lwarburton's review

dark reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Racism

voxelbee's review

challenging dark 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Police brutality, Child death, Violence, Racism, and Murder

Minor: Animal death, Alcohol, Hate crime, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Dementia, Dysphoria, Cancer, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Torture, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gun violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship

betsygrace's review

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Child death, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Racism

kimveach's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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

3.75

This is a very different sort of book but I ended up liking it. Parts of it are a straightforward plot about a family is trying to heal from a tragedy. Another part includes an ancestor talking about The Trail of Tears' removal of the Cherokees from their land. And the last part is about the living son's struggles with drug addiction but is told as a visit to a "darkening land".

I didn't understand all of it while I was reading it. I wish I had read this article from NPR first:  
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/02/963361391/author-brandon-hobson-on-his-new-novel-the-removed

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Medical content, Murder, Vomit, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Grief, Gun violence, Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Dementia, Drug abuse, Genocide, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Violence, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

emilyeehaw's review

emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

i feel like this is a book that will grow on me the more i think about it and the more time passes. even now having just finished it, it seems like i’m only just connecting some of the dots and realizing why certain elements were included/were important to the story.

this book does a great job of discussing grief and how it manifests differently in different people. the entire family is still struggling with the death of ray-ray, 15 years after the fact, but we see the effects of this event in vastly different ways. i liked how native american, specifically Cherokee, stories were woven into the book and provided parallels to the situations the echota family members were facing. 

my favorite storyline involved wyatt bc i find the concept of reincarnation so interesting !!! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, and Drug use

caitlynes91's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Hate crime, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Drug abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Addiction, Dementia, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, Colonisation, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Animal death and Blood

colettesjourney's review

challenging dark emotional informative 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Toxic relationship

stevie's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Xenophobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Racism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Hate crime, Gun violence, Grief, and Genocide