Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

11 reviews

ameliasbooks's review against another edition

emotional funny sad fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

Usually I'm having difficulties with child characters in stories. Very often I find their thoughts and dialogues unbelievable, but this wasn't the case here. I really enjoyed reading about the daily life and the little adventures  of Darling and her friends. Maybe I would have preferred one or two characters less, because not all of them were portrayed really memorable enough.

The author did a good job in letting the place and the experiences the protagonists made coming alive on the page.

Can't really say which part I enjoyed more, the one that takes place in Zimbabwe or the one in the US. Both are similar important to the story, so I had no preference. 

The only criticism I have is that Bulawayo tries too hard to cover numerous themes and therefore can't really go into depth with most of them. This is a short book, so most of the covered topics stay quite on the surface and aren't explored enough. Which I would have been really interested in, because the story in general made me so.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Dementia, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Body shaming, and Racism

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Animal death, War, and Death

koirasaurus's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

4.0

Took a long time from me to finish the book, because sometimes it felt like nothing new happened. Text could have been edited a bit more so that the changes in time and place would’ve made more sense.

Even though it wasn’t so easy and light to read, it was a lovely and great book. I would recommend.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Racism, Abortion, Animal death, and Death

Minor: Alcoholism and Mass/school shootings

elenaysuslibros's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

Leí este libro gracias a mi club de lectura y me encanta haber tenido la oportunidad de toparme con este libro. 

Siento que constantemente estaba sintiendo ternura por la inocencia de los juegos y la manera de ver la vida de Darling y sus amigos, y también tristeza por las condiciones que vivían. Me encanta la sutileza con la que se cuentan temáticas bastante fuertes, como están narradas desde el punto de vista de una niña no están contadas de una manera tan explícita, pero queda claro la gravedad y el dolor de lo que estaba ocurriendo. 

El libro se divide en dos partes: cuando Darling está viviendo en Zimbabwe con sus amigos, y cuando viaja con su tía a Estados Unidos. En la primera parte se muestra más que nada su niñez y sus sueños, que a pesar de que ella y sus amigos tienen vidas difíciles logran pasar lindos momentos juntos. Ya en Estados Unidos, Darling comienza a buscarse a sí misma y descubrirse como persona, con el choque de haber dejado su vida atrás en su país y que ahora debe adaptarse a una cultura que no entiende por completo. Da una sensación agridulce ver cómo va creciendo, cómo recuerda con mucho cariño su infancia en Zimbabwe a pesar de lo dura que fue su vida, pero que con el tiempo va perdiendo lo poco que le va quedando de su lugar de origen, hasta que ya es solo un recuerdo al que se aferra con cariño.

La escritura de la autora es maravillosa, tiene una manera muy poética y clara de describir los sentimientos de Darling. Toda la experiencia de leer este libro es muy emotiva y dolorosa a veces.
Me encantaría ver este libro siendo más popular. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse

franzischi's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Blood, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Racism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Death

Moderate: Abortion and Terminal illness

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Vomit, Gun violence, and Suicide attempt

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

This is quite a provocative book.  It is narrated by Darling, who, throughout most of the book, is a tween living in a Zimbabwe slum in the 2000s, having been displaced from her modest home by paramilitary violence.  She and her friends process their reality through play and antics, which include the game “Find bin Laden,” a reenactment of a community member’s murder, and a near-attempt at a coat hanger abortion.  When Darling moves in with her aunt in America, she discovers that many cultural differences cannot be translated and yearns for her beloved homeland, to which she cannot return, lest she be trapped.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Racism, Animal death, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Medical trauma, Incest, Grief, Xenophobia, Murder, Infidelity, Colonisation, Abortion, Rape, Police brutality, Violence, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, and Alcoholism

Minor: Transphobia, Abandonment, Suicide, Child death, Bullying, and Death of parent

ollie_again's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Violence, Racism, Death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Child abuse, Vomit, Rape, Police brutality, Animal cruelty, and Pregnancy

Minor: Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, and Eating disorder

amanda_marie's review

emotional funny informative reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

The premise may seem sad, may indeed be a little sad, but it is also about joy. Witty, unfiltered, joy. It is not about pity, but perspective. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Pregnancy, War, Violence, Religious bigotry, Rape, and Racism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, and Police brutality

lace_daisies_and_mary_oliver's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Animal death

Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Blood, War, Xenophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Death, Hate crime, and Racism

Minor: Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, and Rape

darby15's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Excrement, Fatphobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Gore, Sexism, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, and Eating disorder

Moderate: War, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Genocide, Incest, Rape, Suicide, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide attempt

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, and Mass/school shootings

literaryliaisons's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Colonisation, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Excrement, Fatphobia, Grief, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, Animal death, Death, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Rape, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Abortion, Addiction, Body shaming, and Gun violence

Minor: Mass/school shootings