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Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'
My Government Means to Kill Me: A Novel by Rasheed Newson
27 reviews
cheyrohm's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Terminal illness
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, and Violence
shainaseideneck's review against another edition
- 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
In "My Government Means to Kill Me" by Rasheed Newson we follow Trey who has just moved to New York City for a new start in life. As a young, gay, black man he is on a journey to discover himself and his place in the world all while facing the impacts of the AIDS crisis during the 1980's.Trey's journey is one of strength and resilience. After experiencing a childhood tragedy for which he blames himself he branches out at 18 to start a new life in The Big Apple. Trey begins to explore his sexuality in one of the last remaining gay bath-houses where he meets a prominent civil rights activist and with his help discovers his passion for activism and trying to reconcile his guilt by contributing to ACT UP and other gay rights movements as well as managing his identity as a black man.
This story was a rollercoaster. From the start I felt as though I was reading a non-fiction memoir. This author's research into the time period and events that shaped it was impeccable and I learned a lot while reading this story without it feeling cumbersome. The footnotes included were helpful at piecing together the people, places and events that I was unfamiliar with.
From the start I felt drawn in by Trey's character. He is an 18 year old at the beginning of this story and just trying to make it through life. As a 30-year old I can still relate. He makes mistakes and learns to atone from them. Unlike myself, however, Trey has a whole lot of gumption. He does what he feels is right sometimes without thinking about the consequences. For example, lying about his connections to begin a successful rent strike. I could never. Its hard to put into words but the reason I loved this book is because I was brought along on Trey's journey every step of the way and felt every emotion. I am not a gay, black man but I could empathize with much of what Trey was going through. The journey to finding yourself is messy and along with shedding light on the politics of the time period and the injustices that are still faced by marginalized groups today my that is my biggest takeaway from this book. No matter how much we have to sacrifice or feel that we are struggling we need to continue to stand up for what we believe in and continue to learn and grow each day.
There is so much in this story that I am struggling to put into words and with that all I can say is please read this book. It is educational and emotional and even sordid at times but it will leave you thinking and impacted. A very important read so that we can remember how far we have come and how far we still need to go when it comes to righting injustices and fighting for equality in America.
**Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review**
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Pandemic/Epidemic
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Grief, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abortion, and Outing
jkamler's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Pandemic/Epidemic
lenaschrn's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
chellemerrill's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic
notcharlottete's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, and Toxic friendship
jayisreading's review against another edition
3.75
On that note, the book often read more as an opportunity for Newson to teach the reader than to experience a story, making things feel a bit labored at times. There were also some plot points that kind of floated around, most notably the story with Trey’s brother. I wasn’t entirely sure what Newson wanted to get out of this.
This novel is a great dive into queer history, and it’s clear that Newson took great care to do as much research as possible. However, as a fictional work, I felt that there was a lot left to be desired.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Police brutality, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Lesbophobia
jdianm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death
dustghosts's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism