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agavemonster'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
5.0
A sober, cynical, heartbreaking work written in the long dark shadow cast by true history. As in the great American novels, each character serves to symbolize a social role or system, but is starkly and truthfully etched in the details of their own specific existence as well. Elwood and Turner could be perceived as ciphers of the two survival strategies of Black Americans pre-civil rights—standing up straight in a shirt and tie to demand your dignity like Elwood's hero MLK, and doing what needs to be done to run the "obstacle course" in which Turner has lived his whole life—but they're also two young boys who are caught in the crosshairs of this Jim Crow-era torture house, and you can't forget it. The daily degradations are inescapable, and the horrors you don't see are sketched in light pencil contour, just enough to wrench your gut as you fill in the rest of the picture. This happens again and again. The intimately depicted evil of the white superintendents and staff runs the gamut from complicity to sadism. "The sons held the old ways close." Griff and Chet's boxing match really killed me. Finally, I should have seen the well-foreshadowed turn near the end, but it still blew me apart: brilliance and tragedy. One of my best books of the year.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Forced institutionalization, and Murder
princess_marie'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
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Murder, and Abandonment
ragoreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Torture
Moderate: Death
knitterscasket'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
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Racial slurs and Sexual violence
maria_49'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
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Torture
Minor: Sexual violence
blissfullyhannah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
gotnoculture's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Abandonment
kooky_kayla's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, and Violence
abwilcox'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
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Hate crime and Pedophilia
bamlady's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Forced institutionalization