Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

37 reviews

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

Essentially this book, aside from the really upsetting atrocities committed against the children, is about a rich, well-connected white woman who can't fathom that people could be treated like objects to be bought and sold, as if she didn't grow up in a formerly Confederate state. The main present-day character and the author's note really show these women's privilege when they talk about how unbelievable the buying and selling of humans was during Georgia Tann's years of human trafficking, even though the institution of slavery was supported by law in the United States for hundreds of years.  Also, there was really no reason to use the g-slur repeatedly (and almost as an endearment?) for river-dwelling folk. The story was solid, but the writing wasn't for me. A whole lot of over-telling instead of showing and a simile in every third sentence. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Racial slurs

ericadansereau's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• 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

5.0

This book hurt to read, as it is inspired by true events surrounding the abominable Tennessee Children’s Home Society and the wicked Georgia Tann. It gutted me emotionally, but was so well written and ended so beautifully. Alternating between past and present timelines, this book was phenomenal. The author’s note and interview at the end are a must read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Grief

spaghettireads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.5

I know that people don’t read full captions, so I feel like I want to say off the top that I don’t think that I recommend this! It was a book club selection, and while it did provide a good discussion, I don’t think that any of us really loved this.

The sub-genre of historical fiction that generally features women looking away on the cover is not one that I usually reach for. While I did find the writing in this relatively engaging, and I did want to keep reading it to find out what the twist was at the end, I thought that the book had a lot of issues. Perhaps the fact that a real life historical tragedy has been written with the vibe of a mystery is the problem. As one of my friends pointed out, it felt as though just everything bad possible was happening to the characters.

And while I said that I was waiting for the final details to be revealed at the end, a lot of the book felt very predictable. My book club also talked about how the portrayal of people of colour, and mostly Black people in this story was pretty terrible.

So, as I said I wouldn’t recommend this. Thanks as always to my book club friends for a great discussion 😊

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent

jskell911's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Dementia, Kidnapping, and Grief

ashleycmms's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Violence, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Excrement, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder

morganperks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

• 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: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Grief

ifersinklings's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

This is a heartbreaking fictionalized account of what happened during the terrorizing reign of Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children's home in the 1920s-1950. I wasn't aware of this situation and now I must go read all the things about this subject. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Dementia, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Torture and Trafficking