Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson

5 reviews

mirandalikesbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative sad

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

3.75

I really liked this book! Trey, the POV character, is loveable in his flaws. You definitely end up rooting for him. I learned a lot about gay history and black history through the footnotes. I liked the footnotes and definitely missed them when I switched to the audiobook format!

My issue with the book is it feels as if some of the plot threads weren't fully fleshed out. I also think the ending was ABRUPT. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Violence, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Police brutality, and Alcohol

iseefirede's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective tense fast-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

5.0

A wonderful and informative read. I loved the footnotes with the history interwoven into the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jayisreading's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

3.75

I have mixed feelings about this one. Newson did a wonderful job giving the reader a very personal look into the world of a young gay Black man in 1980s New York City during the AIDS epidemic. Woven into the story were footnotes explaining who certain individuals, organizations, etc. were to enrich your understanding of this time and situation. I really appreciated the distinctly Black perspective and learned a fair bit.

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

challenging funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

Halfway through this book, I wondered how I’ve made it this far without reading a protagonist like Trey before. I want more! Through the story, I felt like I was right with him and it was where I wanted to be. 

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Content Warnings

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

drraytay's review

challenging emotional informative 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, and Rape