Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

16 reviews

joanna_banana's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative 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? Yes

4.5

There There was one of my favorite books of the last decade. This picked up where There There left off but was prequel and sequel all in one. Tommy Orange’s writing is so enjoyable - piercing descriptions, social commentary, and love oozing through tough material about addiction and death by imperialists or capitalists or both. I liked the multiple voices again though in the second half got lost a little bit. Lony was my favorite and I’m glad it ended with his voice. I wondered how much was autobiographical or people in Orange’s family. Would strongly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

marisacross's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Genocide, Blood, and Death of parent

kayarosee's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I loved the beginning and the end. The middle had a very teen sounding voice which wasn’t my favorite, but I understood why it was done. It was nessacary to portray the emotions of the adolescent characters at that moment. But the beginning with the history and the letters, and the end with the grown revelations really took me and made me feel so many emotions. It all felt so close to home and so beautiful. The only reason I am giving it a 4 and not a 5 is just because I had a difficult time getting through the part filled with high-school angst. Maybe that is just because I do not really want to re-live those days or those feelings. All-in-all a beautiful book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Gun violence

Moderate: Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Colonisation, and War

arrr's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

Powerful intergenerational story of colonization and its effects on an Oakland Indigenous family up to and after the modern day shooting in the first book. Some parts are understandably dark, but the message is hopeful and reflective. Worth getting to the end, even if you have to put it down a few times to have a break and a cry. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Absolutely worth the read if you're in a good safe headspace to cope with the many triggers.

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

3.5

I liked it better than There, There, but it was emotionally draining to read. There were too many characters and storylines to get invested as deeply as I would’ve liked. Felt like the author was trying to cover way more ground than made sense for one book, or that it would’ve been a more successful effort if the book had been longer and taken more time to unravel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

nerp's review

emotional reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

WOW. I really enjoyed There There but Wandering Stars was INCREDIBLE. Prose, themes, structure, tone—truly incredible. I love Orange’s prose and how he structures his books. It so deeply impacts your experience with it. 

This isn’t a plot heavy book, particularly in part one, but the telling of the ancestors was vital to the telling and the whole point. It’s about intergenerational trauma and the lineage of addiction as a coping mechanism for experiencing unbelievable violence. Each story reinforces those. You can read it without There There, although it’s technically a sequel. 

Also, the audio is a delight!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Genocide, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Gun violence, Medical content, and Dysphoria

january_one's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

Gave me a lot of anxiety but well written

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Self harm, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

lvleggett's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective 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

4.0

Wandering Stars picks up where There, There left off - in terms of characters and themes. But you can enjoy as a standalone book.

First, Orange takes us back a few generations to when things initially shifted for the family. A massacre of a Shawnee village sends Jude Star on the run. He and the generations that follow are wandering through the world, separated from who they once were and unsure how or if they can get back to it. 

As with There, There, the narrative takes on the POVs of the different characters. Wandering Stars is a more reflective book. Plenty of plot, centered on the newest generation of Stars in modern-day America, but with a strong internal dialogue that brings us deep into the experiences of these characters. This book explores how you figure out who you are in a world that has sought to eradicate your family, history and culture across hundreds of years. Yet you exist. We meet characters across the generations who are striving to hold onto what's been lost, to reclaim & rediscover, and to define the future for themselves. 

Orange writes young men especially with such precision and care. I can see many generations of readers connecting with their struggles and joys.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer and Death of parent

jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

ecn's review

4.5

So so good, excellent mesh of prequel and sequel, and an absolute KNOCK out ending

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail