Reviews tagging 'Deportation'

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

10 reviews

mangonana's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Deportation

kaitlyncookies's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

4.0

A beautiful book with Kingsolver’s signature humour, loveable characters, and amazing writing. Although the plot was not very dramatic, I kept reading because I was invested in the characters. I liked Demon Copperhead more, but this does still have Kingsolver’s highly endearing writing style. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Deportation

cleogray's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Child abuse and Deportation

asienerbrown's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Death of parent and Deportation

jeggert10's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, and Abandonment

Minor: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Deportation

oatmilkie's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Deportation

zarlynsnook's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring reflective fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Deportation

carriepond's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I have long considered Barbara Kingsolver among my favorite authors, and became further entrenched in that belief after reading Demon Copperhead earlier this year, which is one of the best books I've read in 2023. I realized, though, that it has been a long time since reading some of her earliest books-- ones that I remember loving, but don't remember in actuality. I read The Bean Trees in my senior AP English class, and what I remember resonating with me the most at the time was Taylor's character: this smart, engaged teenager who feels too big for the small town around her, so she sets out on her own to make a life somewhere new. The connection that I felt to that part of the story, at the precipice of setting out on my own, feels inevitable. There is always a danger of reading something that you loved at a specific time in your life: without the same context, will it still hold meaning?

I am happy to report that I still love The Bean Trees. It was such a lovely and wonderful experience to re-read this story, which grew with me. Watching Taylor muddle through the experience of becoming a mother resonated with me, in the thick of a similar experience. I enjoyed the novel's exploration of found family, interconnectedness, and the importance of community much more deeply as an adult in my late thirties, as the reality of humanity's interdependence was not something I really gave much thought to as a 17-year-old. And, there were so many other themes in this novel that I could appreciate more deeply now-- undocumented immigration, the importance of women being in community with one another, and the need for connection with nature and the world around us.

There are, too, some aspects of this novel, written 35 years ago, that haven't aged amazingly read through a modern-day lens: there's some casual fatphobia, ableism, and racism (some of which feels intentional for character and plot development purposes, some of which is more just a byproduct of the casual fatphobia, ableism, and racism that was pretty par for the course then and a *little* less normalized now.) However, overall, I thought the empathy and humanity in this, Kingsolver's first novel, far outweighed the effect of the parts that made me think, "She'd probably have written this a little differently now."

So happy I re-read The Bean Trees, and so happy to feel the joy of rediscovering old favorites.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Racism, Violence, and Kidnapping

Minor: Suicide attempt and Deportation

icewing15's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Deportation

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Death of parent

mnatale100's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Abandonment

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Deportation

Minor: Child abuse, Incest, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol