Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

7 reviews

ameliasbooks's review against another edition

emotional funny sad fast-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

4.0

Usually I'm having difficulties with child characters in stories. Very often I find their thoughts and dialogues unbelievable, but this wasn't the case here. I really enjoyed reading about the daily life and the little adventures  of Darling and her friends. Maybe I would have preferred one or two characters less, because not all of them were portrayed really memorable enough.

The author did a good job in letting the place and the experiences the protagonists made coming alive on the page.

Can't really say which part I enjoyed more, the one that takes place in Zimbabwe or the one in the US. Both are similar important to the story, so I had no preference. 

The only criticism I have is that Bulawayo tries too hard to cover numerous themes and therefore can't really go into depth with most of them. This is a short book, so most of the covered topics stay quite on the surface and aren't explored enough. Which I would have been really interested in, because the story in general made me so.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Dementia, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Body shaming, and Racism

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Animal death, War, and Death

hotkoolaidpotato's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Colonisation, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Abortion, Body shaming, Child abuse, and Classism

Minor: Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Incest, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Violence, Mass/school shootings, and Infidelity

dianakamau's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Chronic illness, Excrement, and Colonisation

Moderate: Animal death, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Death, Grief, Rape, and Child abuse

Minor: Abandonment and Abortion

jana_f's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Incest, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Vomit, Excrement, Body shaming, and Eating disorder

darby15's review against another edition

emotional funny 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: Body shaming, Cursing, Excrement, Fatphobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Gore, Sexism, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, and Eating disorder

Moderate: War, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Genocide, Incest, Rape, Suicide, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide attempt

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, and Mass/school shootings

tagrace's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad

• 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

Definitely an interesting read. I liked the lyrical descriptions and the really distributive voice of the writing. And at its best, the book grappled with complex ideas about home, immigration and living in a place best known for its problems. It was refreshing to see a more nuanced but not sanitized depiction of Zimbabwe. That being said, I also struggled sometimes with the book because it's not really plot driven and there's not really a definitive or clear character arc, so it lacked some traditional hooks for me as a reader. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexual assault, Abortion, Violence, Death, and Child death

literaryliaisons's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Colonisation, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Excrement, Fatphobia, Grief, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, Animal death, Death, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Rape, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Abortion, Addiction, Body shaming, and Gun violence

Minor: Mass/school shootings