Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Me (Moth) by Amber McBride

5 reviews

prynne31's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

Not giving this a star rating since it is a middle grade book.
I liked elements of it, and the theming was well-written.

However, I did not like the twist.

While Moth being a ghost was lightly telegraphed throughout the book, I felt like the revelation short-cut the resolution to the problems Sani and Moth faced. She didn't end up having to deal with her guilt/grief. He didn't have to heal from his family's abuse.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Genocide, Racism, Slavery, and Colonisation

tangleroot_eli's review

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

Knocked me for all the loops in the best possible ways.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Blood, and Alcohol

readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

Written by a hoodoo practitioner with notes at the end thanking her Navajo friend helping edit/being consulted for the Navajo character, the poetic novella follows Moth, a teenage African American girl,  and Sani a Navajo teenage boy as they try to deal through their interpersonal traumas and tragedies as well as generational traumas and tragedies they inherit and live with from the harm the United States has done to both their peoples respectively. The teenagers find comfort in each other and their respective traditions (moth’s grandfather being a hoodoo man and sani’s father being  medicine man) similarities and differences as they travel the south of both the Great Migration of African American to the Navajo Nation in their last summer to find some reconciliation with and for each other. 

More sad then scary but it is a haunting story, I loved reading it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Colonisation

dahlia_boo's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Slavery

rtaire's review

challenging emotional reflective sad 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? No

5.0

I struggled with the YA aspects of this novel, but that's a me problem since I'm not a huge fan of YA teenage/high school drama. Otherwise, this is beautifully written and the haunting language and imagery made me reconsider how I view the world. The ending blew me away and will linger with me for days -- if not years -- to come. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Death of parent, and Colonisation

Minor: Bullying, Drug use, Genocide, and Hate crime