Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

23 reviews

leahegood's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Summary
Osla, Mab, and Beth ... three girls with wildly different backgrounds and socioeconomic standing, all pulled together by WWII and thrust into the secretive, chaotic, exhilarating work of code breaking.

Told in dual timeline between war time and post-war, this book shows the three protagonists learning to break codes, learning who they are as people, learning their way into friendship, finding love, and losing themselves down the rabbit hole of bombings and the high-stakes wonderland of Bletchly Park.

My Thoughts
This was the most unique WWII novel I've come across in a while. Unsurprising since it's a more niche war time experience (code breaking) and based largely on real-life people. I'm definitely curious to read some of the autobiographies and non-fiction books mentioned in the authors note!

While I give the book all the points for interest and readability, it did toe the line of spice level I'm willing to read. Though not explicit, the narrative nudged a bit past fade-to-black in the bedroom and also blurred ethical lines regarding extra marital (both pre-marriage and within-marriage) sex. The one element that makes me excuse this, ever so slightly, is that some of this content followed the real life narrative of the characters involved in the story.

Content
Sexuality: As mentioned above, the narrative is not explicit but does nudge past the fade-to-black point. This includes making out and intercourse in contexts of marriage, pre-marriage, consensual outside-of-marriage, and sexual assault. Contraceptives are discussed. Homosexuality is mentioned in passing.

Violence: Infrequent. Two instances of bombing aftermaths include stark, but not gratuitous, imagery of destroyed bodies. Nightmares regarding bombing violence and sexual assault are experienced.

Language: Characters swear throughout the book.

Religion: An abusive parent uses Bible passages to enforce her control. Characters mention attending (and enjoying) chapel, but do not live according to Biblical standards 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Islamophobia, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

rockshaw22's review against another edition

adventurous informative inspiring 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

Moderate: Child death, Death, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and War

Minor: Racial slurs and Racism

kenny_2288's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

val_theburrowofstories's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The way I made so many notes on this book and I barely remember what happened, can't remember the character's names and I finished this in one day even though I found it kind of boring?? I think I found the audiobook kind of addictive because of the narrator or maybe it was the writing idk 

Osla, Beth and Mab.
 

What I found interesting is how there's mention of Prince Phillip of Greece and that he was dating one of the main characters. 

I felt so sorry for Beth because she grew up with this abuser mother but at the same time she made me so mad!! I can't stand people like her. 

By 20% I knew this was kind of boring lmao but I just kept going. 

I don't like it when the story is going back and forwards and it was annoying here. 

I feel like Osla could've been the one with a more interesting storyline because she was dating the Prince, but suddenly Mab took the focus with her husband and then Beth was supposed to be a bigger main character in the end with her finding a traitor, but I just didn't care about any of the girls to be honest. 

Omg Beth is actually such a f*cking terrible friend I had forgotten about this!! After all the girls did for her!! Because

she knew where the freaking bomb was going to hit and  she knew both her friends, including the husband and daughter of one of them, were going to THAT place and she said nothing about it?? 

This book is called The Rose Code, and that freaking code just mattered in the very last chapters lol 

By half of this book this was a 3 star, but now I think this might be a 2 stars which for me means it was just okay. And honestly I felt bad because I saw that half of the ratings are 5 star for this book lmao HOW and WHY. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, and Sexual content

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual assault

Sexual assault: One of the main characters had to fight off some guys.

Sexual content: This woman at 17 had sex. This other woman gave an oral to some man. The girls have a conversation about sex. This woman has sex with her husband.

Racism: This man has dark skin (can’t remember where he’s from) and his father in law asks if he has N blood.

Death, child death, grief: This woman looses her husband and daughter in a bombing.

Cursing: There’s A LOT of this when they fight.

emka12's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Rape, Sexism, and Xenophobia

megritchey's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative sad slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, and War

Moderate: Cancer, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Genocide, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Antisemitism, Abortion, and Pregnancy

jencolumb0's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

A sweeping historical war-time novel; almost a math geek's League of Their Own. I enjoyed learning about an aspect of WWII history that I had not previously heard about. I also thoroughly enjoyed coming along for the ride of the (fictionalized) rise, fall, and rise again of a trio of war-time friends. As one would expect with a novel set in England during WWII, there is a fair amount of discussion around loss and violence. As the book is centered on a trio of women, the loss and violence they experience is, to a certain degree, reflective of their gender and the patriarchal constructs of the time, though I do appreciate the author's challenge to these experiences. There was just enough romance blended into the book and a solid HEA/HFN for each of the primary characters to keep it from being a complete, war-time downer, though please do read through the content warnings if you have any sensitivity to specific issues because, in more than 600 pages, pretty much every type of loss/traumatic experience is explored to some degree. I did not love that the character coded as autistic ends up spending

three and half years in a mental institution

, even if it was completely irrelevant to their neurodiversity. It just felt kind of ick. Though I, overall, enjoyed the character development, after about 500 pages, had to chuckle at the neat twists that had to snap into place to get to the HEA/HFN. While improbable on balance, those twists make for a satisfying (if not slightly madcap) outcome to an interesting corner of well-fictionalized history. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Moderate: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Abortion, and Pregnancy

The racism and islamophobia are challenged to a degree. There is also a favorable depiction of an open marriage where criticism thereof is challenged.

basil_plant's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

maybe the best book i’ve read so far this year!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and War

sh543's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, and Terminal illness

03140786's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Xenophobia, and War

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Racism is experienced by a supporting character and his son, and other characters use racial slurs to refer to them as well. There is also a description of a sexual assault attempt that happened to a main character in her past. Finally a

character is forcefully put into a mental institution against her will by other characters

. Otherwise period appropriate sexism and ableism appear.