dianakamau's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
tense
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? No
3.75
Graphic: Suicide, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Chronic illness, Excrement, and Colonisation
Moderate: Animal death, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Death, Grief, Rape, and Child abuse
Minor: Abandonment and Abortion
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.
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
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