Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

31 reviews

passionatereader78's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Medical trauma

Moderate: Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Infertility, Abortion, and Classism

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring 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

5.0

this broke my heart but the story also made me feel so much love for the characters. the history behind the book will leave you speechless. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

bittersweetcritiques's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

"Our bodies belonged to us. Poor, disabled, it didn't matter. These were our bodies, and we had the right to decide what to do with them." - Civil Townsend (Take My Hand pg.294)

Sometimes I feel drawn toward a book and this was one of those times. This story hit me hard; as a woman, as a mother, and as a mother to a daughter. Some of these chapters hurt in ways that I'll be reflecting on for years to come. With the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, this story feels extremely poignant and raw. 

Take My Hand is an emotionally profound book that explores grief, regret, redemption, trust, & love of all kinds and I highly recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Abortion

noladawnreads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma

jen_thetelltalebookclub's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

Take My Hand was my book club's read for February 2023 and we had the honor of hosting Dolen and hearing her talk about her amazing book. While reading the book, I read a NYT article about the Relf sisters, which the novel is loosely based on. Prior to reading the article and the book I had not heard of the Relf sisters and what happened to them and other girls/women.  I had heard of it in the context of mental asylums, but not within a community/race. Having the opportunity to talk with Dolen about her research and how the book came together just added another special layer to the reading experience. From my research, the audiobook, narrated by Lauren J. Daggett, appears to be her first narration, was very well done, and I look forward to more narrations by her. I've added Dolen's backlist to my TBR and I look forward to her future works.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Abortion

lilac12's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Death of parent

Moderate: Mental illness and Racism

Minor: Cancer, Slavery, Murder, and Pregnancy

thrillofthepage's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer and Abortion

Minor: Genocide, Mental illness, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

ksuazo94's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Grief, and Abortion

heatherjchin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Car accident, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Minor: Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

katierobertsonshaddix's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Infertility, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail