Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Freischwimmen by Caleb Azumah Nelson

49 reviews

mpeach's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Car accident and Alcohol

fengxin's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-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

5.0

i went into this book knowing absolutely nothing and i was very surprised, but delighted, to find out it's in second person pov. what a beautiful story, i never wanted it to end. the prose kept taking my breath away, i was highlighting one sentence in nearly every paragraph, or even whole paragraphs really. the immediate and yet organic chemistry between our two mains? beyond stunning. the romance was so tender, i adored every moment. the way the author wrote about race, prejudice, and all that comes with being black was just stunning and still very real. the repetition of certain phrases made the book even more beautiful in my opinion, the whole thing felt like a poem. the ending devastated me, this story made me feel every emotion under the book and i'm so grateful it exists and i was able to experience it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Police brutality, and Grief

blueberrywgin's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

i will be thinking about this for a very long time. great writing, great music. a story that needed to be told.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Racism, and Police brutality

autismandniamh's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content

ilovebooks1967's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

5.0

Probably one of my favourite books of all time!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, and Police brutality

peggy_racham's review against another edition

5.0

"Ask: if flexing is being able to say the most in the least amount of words, is there a greater flex than love?"

Second person perspective, my beloved. Never have I read a love story quite so profound and beautifly written and also tragic.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol

vanesst's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Police brutality, and Grief

Minor: Animal death, Blood, and Alcohol

maria_k2000's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, and Racism

alisonfaith426's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

pkc's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective slow-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

4.0

If I was asked to review this story around the mid way point, it probably wouldn’t have been massively favourable. In fact, I came reasonably close to DNFing but in the last 70 pages, something happened. The core of the story unveiled itself, made itself known in a really profound way that I hadn’t expected. At just over 140 pages I hadn’t expected as much depth as I got from this book. It’s a touching and haunting look at the safety (or lack thereof) of black people  amidst the persistent thrumming drumbeat of a system that is built to oppress and violate in equal turns. The second person narrative is so well considered and any reader can become engaged in the unease and feel everything that “you” are supposed to feel. I loved the protagonist and the rich storytelling was poetic, languid and sumptuous at points.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail