Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

20 reviews

kayschwe's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Abortion

megj23's review against another edition

reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Death

Minor: Addiction and Homophobia

dalmavatai's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-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

5.0

Ahh this short story collection was so impactful and gripping, I loved every single second of it!

All of the stories in here deal with desire, pain, grief, love, family, and Christianity, and all of them do it brilliantly and beautifully. All of the characters are vivid and relatable - they are not without their flaws, in fact these flaws are often prominent in the stories, but they are portrayed with such compassion and humanity that you can't help but feel for them. Every story is unique but what unites them all is their exploration of how Black women navigate desire and pain, love and grief, often simultaneously. 

Such a beautiful collection full of humanity, exploring the universally human desire to be loved. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Racism, and Abortion

rockyroadbutch's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Dementia, Grief, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Alcohol

meggiekate03's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad fast-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

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Racism, Dementia, and Lesbophobia

justacowboy's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-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

What a powerful book this is. These stories are so real and powerful. It felt like when you sit in a beauty salon, listening to older woman gossip and tell tales of their childhood. I strongly recomend everyone give this book a read. As this book does an amazing job at creating characters who are shamelessly strong women of color. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Abandonment

plumdrop6's review against another edition

reflective slow-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Abortion

sarahaf712's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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 and Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Racism, Dementia, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Grief, Abortion, and Death of parent

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-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

5.0

📚 Can a review just be entirely the 🤯 emoji? Asking for a friend.
📚 So many voices with so many conflicting feelings and dreams and obligations and small freedoms. There's not a dud in the group.
📚 This book prodded at all the ways the Christian church in America can push someone down, trying to force them into molds they don't fit. Some stories were all about that, and in some the church was just a shadow in the background, which I loved.
📚 Each story was in some way about boundaries - how much church to let in, who you have relationships with, when you allow someone in to see the messiness. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Dementia, Grief, and Religious bigotry

gabriellejane's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow!!! There's usually one or two stories in a collection that just doesn't do it for me and I would still consider it a great collection. But The Secret Lives of Church Ladies??? Every single story just hits all the notes. Peach Cobbler, Snowfall, and Jael were probably my favorites. Going to have to buy myself a copy to revisit this collection. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Cursing

Minor: Addiction, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Dementia, and Abortion