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naddl0r'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? Yes
5.0
I loved this book and can see myself re-reading it at some point. Well done, Rasheed Newson!
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
mattyvreads'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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault, and Slavery
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
danaslitlist'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? It's complicated
4.75
"A childhood spent attending church services, and the first time I ever felt the Word touch me was during a sermon from Dorothy Cotton delivered in Larry Kramer's bedroom. I felt like I'd finally reached a long sought destination and tasted the purest water (....) Until Dorothy removed the scales from my eyes, I'd had one hundred ways of asking one thing: Why did I feel hunted in my homeland? Because my government means to kill me. Amen! Amen and glory hallelujah! At last, I could explain the force shaping my existence."
I commend Rasheed Newson for such an impactful, creative and bold debut that is My Government Means to Kill Me. The decision to make this historical fiction read as an autobiography was a choice that could've not worked, but not only did it enhance the reading experience, I fully believe that it was one of the only ways to properly tell Trey's story effectively. When the queer community talks about the Pride, when we talk about queer history and activism, we are talking about the people like the ones in this book. The focus on intersectionality between race, gender, and sexuality, the conversations about activism and how it changes with time, and the sheer emotional impact of the topic of the AIDs epidemic make for a powerful history lesson of how much we owe to the older queer generation and the allies who fought for us.
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Classism, 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
lvosler21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Outing, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
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
thepermageek'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
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Police brutality, and Medical content
Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug use, and Abandonment
jiaozi'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? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
brownreads'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
1.0
The reason why I decided to rate it a one is because of a sentence in the book where the main character (Trey) says that their first interactions with another person is “Purely Asexual”.
Please read page 67 of My Government means to Kill me. The sentence in question is “The guy in question was Harrison Coleman and I would classify our first encounter as purely Asexual”
Although there is a disclaimer near the beginning of the book that states that the use of the derogatory language [please refer to the quote on page 13 of My government means to kill me] is used to show Trey and his peers worldviews during 80s, the examples stated are queer slang not a sexuality. The reason why I think that the word Asexual is misused is because some Ace people are indifferent to sex & them being part of the Ace community is valid. It is extremely harmful to misuse a sexuality that barely gets any representation in Pop culture and Queer culture. This can lead to people that don't know enough about Asexuality to misuse it even more. From Black Queer person to Black Queer person, I expected more from this author because this was one of my most anticipated books of 2022 and I was excited to read about a young black queer person like me on their journey through self discovery. I do not know the author personally but I think that he had the right intentions with the wrong execution. Despite this I think it's important to hold him accountable for this. I understand that the disclaimer should be enough of a reason to excuse this misuse of Asexuality & I want to say that you are entitled to your own opinion. I was debating on whether to post my review or not because I really do wish the best for this author because it's nice to see a black queer author get the hype they deserve, but I knew that it is important to tell people especially my fellow Asexuals about this.
Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Acephobia/Arophobia
The reason why I started that there is acephobia is because someone can easily be acephobic with out them realizing it & it is important for readers to know about this before reading this book.