ravenclawomanistcyborgwitch's review against another edition
5.0
Between 4 and 5. Leaning more toward 4.75 lol but rounding off to 5. Beautiful story. Maybe could have done without ghosts.
chirson's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A profoundly sad and moving novel that broke my heart a little. It endows its characters with humanity even while showing them at their worst and has both tremendous compassion and for their flaws and weaknesses as well as their pettiness and malice, shown without sentimental or cheap solutions. It never flinches from what it shows, and it does so using beautiful language, images with great staying power and thematic resonance.
(But what a terrible world it is that needs stories this sad to tell its truth. I know that it has hope and light in it, but I found it difficult to focus on under the weight of all the darkness; perhaps I connected with it a little too much, since it had not one but two subjects I find quite traumatic.)
A profoundly sad and moving novel that broke my heart a little. It endows its characters with humanity even while showing them at their worst and has both tremendous compassion and for their flaws and weaknesses as well as their pettiness and malice, shown without sentimental or cheap solutions. It never flinches from what it shows, and it does so using beautiful language, images with great staying power and thematic resonance.
(But what a terrible world it is that needs stories this sad to tell its truth. I know that it has hope and light in it, but I found it difficult to focus on under the weight of all the darkness; perhaps I connected with it a little too much, since it had not one but two subjects I find quite traumatic.)
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
4.0
This is a road trip novel sprinkled with magical realism set in rural Mississippi. Now that I read back over it, that description makes it sound slapstick and whimsical, but I can assure you it’s much, much darker than that. In fact, it’s so heavy it took me quite a while to read and even longer to process all my thoughts and feelings afterwards.
Leonie will certainly be a polarizing figure. I’m sure a lot of readers will hate her for the way she continually fails her children, and wow does she fail them awfully, but I thought Ward did an amazing job of illustrating her inner turmoil. After all, addicts are narcissists. Not only was she always selfishly pursuing her next high, but every time she even thought about breaking her pattern and doing the right thing for her children, she would look at Jojo’s face and see his disappointment and anger and melt back into herself. It was easier to numb herself from the pain of knowing that her thirteen-year-old son was a more stable adult than she was than to try to swim against the tide and be someone better. Jojo broke my heart, of course. I’m not sure what else to say about him.
I thought the magical realism elements were very well done, especially the ghost of Richie. When we finally find out the ending to his story, it adds such weight to the family’s history. I also loved how this was a book that was about Parchman prison without ever really looking at it head-on. The present-day characters are there for only the briefest of scenes, and then it’s back on the road.
There’s so much to process with this book. Ultimately I’m glad I read it. (Although I will say, if I had known how many viscerally disgusting scenes there would be, I might have chickened out on it. I skipped the opening animal slaughter scene entirely, and couldn’t get over how much barfing there was! My squeamish sensibilities were stretched to the limit!)
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
Leonie will certainly be a polarizing figure. I’m sure a lot of readers will hate her for the way she continually fails her children, and wow does she fail them awfully, but I thought Ward did an amazing job of illustrating her inner turmoil. After all, addicts are narcissists. Not only was she always selfishly pursuing her next high, but every time she even thought about breaking her pattern and doing the right thing for her children, she would look at Jojo’s face and see his disappointment and anger and melt back into herself. It was easier to numb herself from the pain of knowing that her thirteen-year-old son was a more stable adult than she was than to try to swim against the tide and be someone better. Jojo broke my heart, of course. I’m not sure what else to say about him.
I thought the magical realism elements were very well done, especially the ghost of Richie. When we finally find out the ending to his story, it adds such weight to the family’s history. I also loved how this was a book that was about Parchman prison without ever really looking at it head-on. The present-day characters are there for only the briefest of scenes, and then it’s back on the road.
There’s so much to process with this book. Ultimately I’m glad I read it. (Although I will say, if I had known how many viscerally disgusting scenes there would be, I might have chickened out on it. I skipped the opening animal slaughter scene entirely, and couldn’t get over how much barfing there was! My squeamish sensibilities were stretched to the limit!)
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
eseodora's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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? Yes
4.0
mkburnell's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
abbeyp's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.0
kbratten's review against another edition
3.0
Really beautiful writing. A heart-rending story. I had a hard time staying invested in the story/characters
hanngigi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Drug abuse, Death, Racism, Drug use, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
hcaliri's review against another edition
5.0
Honestly I found this gorgeous book a hard read. It is SAD. It is a book that looks at pain with deep compassion, meaning you can’t write any character off. By the end though, I was glad I had set with its mourning, because I needed to see and acknowledge the ghosts of our country’s past, hiding in the trees.