Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

6 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

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

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Medical content, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Transphobia, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Dementia, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ktdakotareads's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Gun violence and Mass/school shootings