Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks

4 reviews

brmills's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Police brutality, Grief, and Murder

qqjj's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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: Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

katarinabee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective 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

4.25

This was fantastic to read as an audiobook - I loved hearing patois spoken aloud by Leonie Elliot, and the excerpts of music that sometimes played in the background created so much atmosphere and context. I loved how embodied and powerful music was in this book - almost to the point that Yamaye's descriptions of music at times felt like magic realism. I also really liked the concept of how history isn't in the past - it's always embedded in the present, and continuing to reverberate alongside our lives. Occasionally the plot lost a bit of steam and felt a little disjointed - but overall I  thought this book was great, and can't wait to see what Jacqueline Crooks writes next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, and Colonisation

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

emilyrowanstudio's review against another edition

I thought I would really enjoy this book - a character liberated and driven by music and dance, a story of rising up against racism and police brutality, of self-discovery, homeland and tracing our roots. It was written partially in Jamaican patois, particularly in the dialogue, and i've enjoyed books written in English-based creole languages in the past as I find them so immersive. The characterisation is great, there is some really beautiful imagery, the prose is often soulful and poetic. 
But despite all these things, I found it hard to connect with the story and the main character. I didn't love the writing style which was probably the downfall for me. The pacing felt off, some parts of the story were told too quickly and some were slow to get through. With music woven through so much of the book, I hoped this would be echoed in the prose but I found the story-telling very stop/start at times. It lacked a rhythm that flowed. 

A great story, but a book that was too over-described and over-written for me to want to finish.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Murder