Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

46 reviews

keatonslowlyreads's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

I

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Racism, Drug use, Vomit, Slavery, Hate crime, and Child abuse

Moderate: Abandonment, Terminal illness, Rape, Police brutality, Physical abuse, and Cancer

rubybooks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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

3.5

 Sing, Unburied, Sing is a novel mainly focusing on one family in the American South. One of the points of view is from Jojo, a boy who lives with his grandparents and younger sister in Mississippi. We also hear from Jojo's mother, Leonie, who is not always present. She struggles to be a mother, especially as she sees visions of her dead brother from drug use. When Jojo and Kayla's white father, Michael, is released from prison, they travel with their mother to go and get him. There is so much more to the story, and at heart, it is a deep character study of the members of this family.

I found this book while browsing the available audiobooks from my library. I'd definitely recommend listening to it - there are multiple narrators that fit the flow of the story really well, and the narration really brought the writing to life. It is written in a very emotional way and it really made the characters stand out - I loved hearing the characters' inner thoughts. I especially felt like we got to know Jojo very well through the course of this book, and I loved seeing his relationship with his sister. I felt so much sympathy for him and I really just wanted him to be happy!

I was also surprised by the Southern Gothic element, but I enjoyed it and it fit well in the story overall. The way it was done did confuse me quite a bit at the beginning and I felt a little lost, but that got better the further I got in. I wish there was just a bit more of something - maybe plot? I'm not really sure, I think I need to think about my feelings a bit more. I also didn't quite connect to most of the characters (except Jojo) so that did make it harder to be fully invested, but I still did want to learn more about their backstories. Some of the scenes were very hard to read and made me uncomfortable, which did fit the story well, it just personally made it harder for me to fall in love with the book.

This is definitely a heavy read - I'd give content warnings for descriptions of racism, murder, prison, child neglect, drug use, death, cancer, animal death, violence and rape. My favourite books are ones when I am so invested in the characters, and so I didn't quite love this book, but I did really enjoy it and I would recommend it if you keep the heavy content in mind. I might come back to this review at some point because I'm having a hard time sorting out my thoughts. 3.5/5 stars 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Murder, Drug use, Death, Animal death, Cancer, Violence, and Rape

sionnac's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-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

Writing so beautiful made my bones ache. Narrated by Kelvin Harrison Jr., Chris Chalk, and Rutina Wesley, all brilliant. The horror of the ghosts' stories is balanced by the courage of the living.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Cancer, and Racism

Moderate: Addiction

emma103's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit and Racism

Moderate: Drug use and Police brutality

Minor: Rape

mikeebeth's review against another edition

dark sad slow-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Racial slurs, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Murder

solenodon's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, and Death

Moderate: Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Death of parent

Minor: Pedophilia and Slavery

Incarceration

mscalls's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

constantlybooked7's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racism, Racial slurs, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Rape

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

Brutal. Devastating. Beautiful. A coming of age story. A ghost story. A love story.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Police brutality, Terminal illness, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Vomit, Rape, and Cancer

kelly_e's review against another edition

Title: Sing, Unburied, Sing
Author: Jesmyn Ward
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: DNF
Pub Date: September 5, 2017

💭 T H O U G H T S

After several attempts, I ended up having to DNF this one. I know this book has wondrous reviews, but the writing style wasn't for me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Racial slurs, and Rape

Moderate: Death and Cancer