Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

55 reviews

bedtimesnack's review

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dark reflective medium-paced
  • 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

4.75


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waybeyondblue's review

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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chandler_lane's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • 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

4.25

Freshwater was a truly amazing and tense book from the first beat.

Taking the form a an ogbanje narrator in the body of a girl named Ada the story starts off explaining how Ada is not really of herself but belongs to a god named Ala.

The ogbanje living inside of her could represent dissociative identity disorder from past traumas. We see the "birth" of her three ogbanje in the book called We, but only later learn of how they appeared from her traumas.

As we read more of the story we see the birth of Asughara, the "beastself" that protects Ada from the pain of her sexual assaults and sexual encounters.

We see Ada struggle with cutting, depression, body dysmorphia and more as she struggles to reconcile the multiple selves that exist inside her and her place in this realm.

Pulling from Ogbo spirituality the story does represent the other selves as true ogbanje and not as a representation or imaginative creation of Ada's

The story ends with Ada reconciling the importance of all the parts of her brain that live inside her, finally in control, and setting her place in the world.

Beautifully written and incredibly tense! I was surprised at how much chaos and strife was packed into such a short book from the get-go. It was also a really touching view of how these fractured selves protect people who have been through trauma and while maybe not healthy, that they do serve a purpose

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henriettaenam's review

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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undersea's review

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adventurous challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced
  • 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

3.5


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zitalilla's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • 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? Yes

5.0


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kmgard's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0


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unboxedjack's review against another edition

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

4.25


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kanadrallegria's review

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

3.75

A very unique approach to mental health and spiritualism. Dark yet hopeful. 

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zoracious's review

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challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • 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


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