caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Death of parent, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Drug use, Child death, Cursing, Death, Pregnancy, and Suicide
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Narrated by Joniece Abbott-Pratt
Unabridged
I think I would have loved this more if I physically read it, because I've been enjoying generational stories following a matriarchal set up recently, however I couldn't follow along strongly to the threads of who connected to who and place the character I knew as a child to the adult in the second half.
Despite this, I could easily tell that this was a powerful novel. There was so many interesting and strong characters and I enjoyed seeing the two sides of why Melancons sold pieces of their caul in comparison to those they wouldn't sell to or who didn't agree with it. It got even more deep when Hallow was brought into the mixture.
The content surrounding caul babies was unique to me as I hadn't known much about these births before, and recognised it under the term "mermaid births", so it was cool to explore the mythos around this.
The conclusion was fantastic and I felt really satisfied with it.
This was a dark, deep generational story, that felt a little magical, but with a heavy hand of corruption, that was executed beautifully and I think I would benefit from going over a physical copy at a later stage to piece together some of the connections I lost track of via audio.
Graphic: Infertility, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Abandonment
morybaby's review against another edition
2.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
musicalpopcorn's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
This book was well-written and interesting. I don’t know if the metaphors were heavy handed or they just really spoke to me, but either way I was ok with it. I love some magical realism, and this book did it quite well. I appreciated the way that the author managed to convey the abuse and almost Stockholm syndrome way the women in the Melancon family made decisions. I was drawn in by the characters and quite enjoyed the story overall.
The one thing I will say is that I understand that Harlem is a character in the story, but I found it a little much to always be given exact street locations of places. For people in Harlem, that’s probably cool, but for me, it just felt tiring to constantly be given exact streets.
Graphic: Police brutality and Miscarriage
Moderate: Child abuse
brianareads's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, Self harm, Child death, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
sammish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Infertility, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Child abuse
peachani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Blood, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality
Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, and Racism
Minor: Child death, Terminal illness, Vomit, Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Genocide
rebeccameyrink's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Miscarriage and Child abuse
Minor: Police brutality
jesserhart's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Miscarriage
leah_alexandra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Police brutality