Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez

3 reviews

reshusky's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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: Sexual assault and Sexual content

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Racism

Minor: Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

uranaishi's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Medical content, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Slavery, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Dementia, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation

auteaandtales's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-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

This was such a powerful story! I really enjoyed it, for the most part. It was very raw and emotional, yet somehow still quite funny in parts. As a white person myself, it was insightful in the life of a gay black man who grew up in a highly religious and abusive family, and what it was like to be a sex worker in the 2000’s. I believe this is Paul’s true story, told through Jesse, and I always find true (even semi-true) books hard to review, like reviewing someone’s personal life, but it was well written. 

My negatives though that I feel need to be said is that I found it odd how someone who is clearly intelligent, well read and educated and heavily left wing could still be fatphobic. It wasn’t frequent but it was frequent enough, and I expected it to be addressed or something at some point but it never was. He mentioned when someone was thin once as a positive, but all the occasions he mentioned someone was fat it was done negatively. 

I also didn’t like that it kept bouncing between timelines, by the end of the book it wasn’t as hard to follow but especially to begin with it was hard to know where we were in Jesse’s life and when. 

Definitely one to read for those interested! A solid four star read for me, I think.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol

Moderate: Fatphobia and Abandonment

Minor: Cancer, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Dementia, and Pregnancy