Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala

5 reviews

cheesepuppy's review against another edition

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Death, Homophobia, Child death, Physical abuse, and Child abuse

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

2.5

A painfully sad and tense novel, but beautifully written. The characters are richly written and will leave you asking for more because the well feels quite deep...but ultimately, the depths go unexplored.

I had to read it for school, and the triggering content made it difficult to finish and process. The complete lack of quotation marks and rarely used paragraph breaks was too tricky to get used to. At least the book led to lively class discussions, so that's something in its favor.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Domestic abuse, Grief, Outing, Vomit, Ableism, Child death, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Gaslighting, Racism, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Sexism, Torture, and Violence

edgyveggie's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.75

This novel throws a wrench in the typical narrative of a coming out novel in an artful and beautiful way,  reminding us that identities never exist in a vacuum. It asks it's readers to consider homophobia, religion, culture, and race in new ways and reminds us that nothing is as simple at it may seem. And it captures the complicated reality of navigating these forces as a teenager, when everyone is tragically stuck in the drama of their own lives. This book made me cry and scream while I was reading, and keeps pulling me back in my thoughts even weeks later. Beautiful writing which builds dynamic characters, plays with dialogue, and uses its setting of Washington DC perfectly. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

Damn, Uzodinma Iweala sure knows how to write sad stuff. As with <i>Beasts of No Nation</i>, it's hard for me to say that I "liked" the book or that I would recommend it because the content is so upsetting. I will say that it was beautifully written, though. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Gun violence, Blood, Death, Child death, Toxic friendship, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Bullying, Grief, Misogyny, and Cursing

Minor: War, Rape, and Drug use

Spoiler

death of a sibling

, conversion therapy,

Spoiler

bury your gays

jojo_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional sad 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Grief, Misogyny, and Outing

Minor: Blood, Death, Child death, and Sexual harassment