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corriejn's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Trafficking, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent and Vomit
bambicat234'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
Graphic: Child abuse, Excrement, Grief, Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Blood, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, Pregnancy, Torture, and Trafficking
melissa_h'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
4.0
Graphic: Torture, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexism, Slavery, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Murder, Trafficking, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Body horror, Blood, Classism, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, and Child death
lcg527'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? No
4.25
Graphic: Violence, Trafficking, Rape, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Slavery, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Blood, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, and Grief
foxowl2005'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Blood, Child death, Miscarriage, Death, Slavery, Torture, Sexual violence, Violence, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
amandalorianxo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Slavery, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
butle2em'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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Physical abuse, Gore, Violence, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Death, Murder, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Vomit
nrogers_1030'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Trafficking, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Confinement, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Alcohol, Excrement, Infidelity, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy
bandysbooks'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
This book is a masterwork in historical fiction. It is inspired by a true story, but is a fictionalized account. Johnson does such a phenomenal job of making her characters real and creating a story that will haunt readers well after they put the book down. Some of that is due to the horrific scenes she creates to instill in the reader the unflinching truth about the inhumanity of slavery and some of that is due to the main character, Pheby, who makes impossible choice after impossible choice.
One thing in particular that takes a lot of skill in writing about brutality like slavery is finding the balance between creating horrific scenes that show the experiences of the victims and not making it so brutal that your readers stop reading. While this story definitely has some extraordinarily difficult scenes and Johnson is very detailed in her writing, I did feel that the brutal scenes she wrote about had a specific purpose both within the story and in the larger picture of remembering the atrocity that was slavery. It was brutal, but not gratuitous.
And I found myself so relentlessly rooting for Pheby. Every time you wonder how she could ever possibly keep going, she finds ways to endure. She is such a tough, strong, and eventually selfless character who struggles with the morality of what she has to do daily to survive. In the bleakest parts of this book, I kept reading because I just had to know what happened to Pheby in the end.
All in all, this is a well-written historical fiction about some of the unknown bits of slavery. It's about how women specifically were victimized and the ways that they overcame and continued to survive. I would definitely recommend reading the trigger warnings on this book before reading, but I unequivocally would recommend reading this too.
Trigger Warnings: Rape, Sexual Assault, Forced Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Torture, Whipping, Mutilation, Starvation, Sexual Slavery, Sex Trafficking, Severe Injury, Illness, Death, Infanticide, Slavery, Public Humiliation
Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Sexual assault, Classism, Confinement, Blood, Death, Toxic relationship, Gore, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Trafficking
seph268'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? No
3.5
Graphic: Torture, Racism, Gore, Excrement, Blood, Slavery, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Death, Trafficking, Murder, Grief, Rape, and Child abuse