Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

22 reviews

jenniferbowman's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

Minor: Cancer and Cursing

lmkennedy's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

2.0

I picked this book up because it was immediately available on Libby and had such a high star rating. However, this book is receiving only 2 stars from me, not because I didn’t enjoy it but because by the end I knew something was amiss and in doing so looked into the author. I find it alarming when people choose to try and represent a community they are not a part of, even if it is done in earnest; simply because it leads to stereotypes and misinformation. Cummins writes an extremely dramatic telling of migration out of Mexico to escape cartel violence, and yet is not Mexican, nor a migrant. While I have no doubt doing the proper work to write a story that isn’t your own, credit and compensation are due to those that provide that insight. While it sounds as though Cummins gives minimal credit to those she interviewed, it does not go beyond that. Migration stories ARE dangerous for a number of reasons and taking people’s stories to retell them in a fake, overblown manner doesn’t help with the problem, nor does it help those who provided you the insight you needed to craft the story. 

This book had me often recalling the plot line of yellow face. There may be some people out there thankful for the representation regardless of who it comes from, but when it ultimately comes down to it, someone with real life experiences, even if it just having lived in Mexico (Cummins has not) can write a better, more truthful, narrative about migrants; one that likely deserves the money and press this one did. 

I am not going to list book suggestions in place of this book, because many latinx authors and reviewers already have but I highly suggest going that direction if you are interested in this material. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, and Deportation

Moderate: Body horror

mollykfinn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Xenophobia

strawberrypinch's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Deportation

Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Trafficking, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Abandonment, and Alcohol

bheller77's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad fast-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Rape and Stalking

Minor: Xenophobia

reagananidobu's review against another edition

emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Deportation

gillzzzo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring fast-paced

• 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

Excellent book. Couldn’t put it down. I think everyone should have to read this to feel more empathetic to people who’ve had to flee their country illegally 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Minor: Racism, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia

snackykennedy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, and Mass/school shootings

moniipeters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

macocm's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I listened to an audio book.- narrator Yareli Arizmendi.. I actually felt I was walking beside them on their journey. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

Illegal immigration and the journey to get to and cross the auS border