Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah

13 reviews

ciaobellareads's review

dark reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

I did not enjoy this book as much as I did when I read it while younger. Rereading it as an adult has given me a different perspective. I did not enjoy the main character at all. There were no redeemable qualities about Winter at all. She was super selfish and continued to make bad decisions based off her immaturity. I was also annoyed that the author included herself as a character in the book. I've always lived Midnight, hut I've also realized that I didn't care too much for him either. He wasn't as great as he thought himself to be. I am glad I read the book, but I don't think I'm interested in ever reading it again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

gislaaugustin1016's review

reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

dcooper99's review

emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Abortion, and Alcohol

doomluz's review

dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

Winter is one of the most infuriating protagonists I’ve read, but she’s also not the worst. She’s selfish, but she knows what she wants. Though she's willing to use other people to get it. A raw story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Infidelity and Sexual harassment

Minor: Death of parent

uglypopcorn's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, and Abortion

professorbadger's review

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

A truly fantastic read, held back from 5 stars by a (purposely) unlikeable narrator, bouts of homophobia, and some questionable views on masculinity and femininity. I recommend reading, or at least skimming, the extra materials at the end of the book — lots of insight into the characters and their world and thoughts from Sister Souljah on the book and on readers’ reactions to it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Homophobia

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Body shaming, Drug use, Infidelity, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Sexism

briasmith's review

adventurous emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Fatphobia and Homophobia

chloemia's review

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Abortion

miak2's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

2.5

 

“Now I realized that me and him were just alike. We were both born to win. And, when we were not winning, it was OK 'cause we were busy planning to win.”

There's a lot to like about this book. As other reviewers have shared, it was raw and authentic, with a quick pace and lots of highs and lows.

Unfortunately, the things that frustrated me about this book greatly overshadowed the things that I appreciated. Winter was an incredibly fun character to follow, but many of her choices were so mind-boggling and selfish that it was hard for me to root for her at all. While I appreciated her sharp wit and strategic thinking, she'd contradict her own plans the page later with some irrational action. Certainly realistic, given that she was a teenager fighting to make it during such a tumultuous time, but frustrating to read nonetheless. And, I think, that's where my biggest issue with the book lies. After everything Winter endured, it doesn't appear that she'd learned anything at all. Sure we as readers could walk away having learned from Winter's actions, but it's less than satisfying that Winter herself had very little growth.

Actually, scratch that. My biggest issue with the book was it's constant depictions of sex. I completely understand that sex is a major part of Winter's life, and sharing all of those details is part of what makes this book so authentic. But I both couldn't relate and also had no interest in reading about a teenager's explicit sexual activities. (Especially when so many of them were non-consensual and the book just brushes that off. Yikes).

I'm glad that I read this book, it certainly has a lot of value. But it just didn't resonate with me for a multitude of reasons.
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Sexual assault, and Sexual content