Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

Mis Últimos 10 Minutos y 38 Segundos en este Extraño Mundo by Elif Shafak

63 reviews

arayo's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Incest, Transphobia, Trafficking, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Self harm, and Pregnancy

deanna_c's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.75

A really poignant and moving story about the importance of friendship and finding your own way in life in spite of your beginnings. I really felt for Tequila Leila and I wanted so badly for a twist of fate where

she doesn’t in fact end up dead in the bottom of a trash bin, but of course this isn’t possible given that she’s already dead when the novel begins.

I really love Shafak’s style - which has only gotten better with each novel shes written in my opinion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Trafficking, and Murder

Minor: Pregnancy

eva_lesemaus's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Trafficking, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexism, Grief, and Mass/school shootings

katrinarose's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

Shafak does such an a wonderful job of setting the scene in Istanbul and the other various settings in Turkey. Her way of bringing a character to life in just a chapter is amazing, and I felt so much for Leila that I became sadder each chapter knowing that she had died. The character study and friendship development is definitely the most important and impactful part of this book, not the plot. It’s a beautiful and tragic story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

daniellekat's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.75

I loved part one (Mind) and thought this was on its way to 5 stars, but parts 2 (Body) and 3 (Soul) lost me. Shafak is a masterful writer and her descriptive style perfectly suits the novel's time and setting. My main criticism with this is the same for my last Shafak read (The Island of Missing Trees) - too much information is given to the reader. Especially in Part 2, there were too many perspectives and explicit details that I thought would have been more powerful left untold. I loved the found family aspect of this book and the way their grief manifested among them. I wish we were given more time with each of the friends but overall this was another well balanced blend of history and fiction. I highly recommend checking the content warnings on this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Self harm, Transphobia, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

an_finsceal's review against another edition

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape and Murder

Minor: Transphobia and Trafficking

ljpaatan's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Trafficking

sweeettea's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

carolinebl's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

I love how Elif Shafak writes of Istanbul, honestly and brutally whilst also lovingly. This is another complex, dark, funny and deeply human novel. The story of Tequila Leila deserves to be told, though in many ways this was the story of the people that formed her life. Some aspects of characterisation were too much for me, such as the names (Sabotage, Zaynab122 etc.) but it was overall a beautifully written story of friendship and struggle.

I still have questions about D/Ali. And did Leila know that Sabotage was in love with her? I’m glad he didn’t die with her body, but was forced to confront his divided life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Grief

Moderate: Self harm, Transphobia, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Addiction, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Panic attacks/disorders

annanas's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense fast-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

3.75

This was a book chosen for the book club I'm in. I wanted to quit reading many times since it was very triggering and made me cry several times. I sincerely reccomand checking the trigger warnings, and maybe skip this book if graphic descriptions of sexual assult is too much for you.

Other than that I'm glad I finished the book. I fell in love with many of the characters who in a world where they are left out and marginlized, they found each other and created their own chosen family. I felt very isnpired by the main character who against all odds were the most genuine and caring person towards her friends, and it was very beautiful how they wanted to honor her memory. There is something very healing about stories about people who don't fit into the norm, but they form genuine connections with each other, without judgement, and instead they just enjoy each others company.

What I also enjoyed about the book was that it discusses cultural differences and attitudes when it comes to family, relationships and death. And it was also interesting to learn about Turkey, and Istanbul when it comes to their food, their clothes and other cultural expressions. I met up with my book club at a Turkish restaurant where we tried food inspired from the book. We had many interesting discussions as well as many different opnions, so overall I'm very grateful for being able to have that experience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Trafficking

Moderate: Ableism, Transphobia, and Abandonment