Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

27 reviews

richy_qu33r_readzz's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

4.5

Akwaeke (A-quake-ay they/them) is a beautiful writer with so many turns of phrase that made me pause and chew on, that made me feel seen. They have a brilliant way of describing a situation and linking it to a more general philosophy or way of being “My mother, who felt like a hammer instead of a person” will haunt me for a while as many other passages are still churning inside me. I learned a lot about immigrant life in Nigeria, saw more Igbo reincarnation, and witnessed how life changes a person and how a person changed pushes people away with religion, with secrets, with holding on too tight.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Incest, Sexism, Transphobia, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Bullying, Violence, and Vomit

Favourite quotes:

“If nobody sees you, are you still there?”P.38 “some people can’t see softness without wanting to hurt it.” P.113 “I would say it was too late, but time has stopped meaning what it used to. I don’t mind anymore. I see how things work now, from this side. I was born and I died. I will come back. Somewhere, you see, in the river of time, I am already alive.” P.245

jmiles758's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Outing, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

mirandyli's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

A beautiful story about transness and queerness in Nigeria. Very sad and will probably make you cry.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

vajaakirjahylly's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Death

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

this book made me so incredibly angry. this book was gorgeous. the writing was phenomenal, and the trans representation was so beautiful and emotional. and then it was all ruined by incest. there is so much discourse about the lgbtqia+ community and trans rights, this story was truly beautiful and could make such an impact on people. it is all completely discounted and tarnished by the incest. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Hate crime, Incest, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

emotional sad 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Deadnaming, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Islamophobia, and Pregnancy

30something_reads's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

You win again, Emezi.

3 for 3 on the ugly crying. This one probably tops all the others. I'm literally crying right now as I write this. Everything was so beautiful and devastating all at once. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Transphobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Rape, and Blood

mschmidt's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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

This short novel is filled with power, connects the moments of these lives in one flowing river. The imperfections within each character are put on display with unrivaled compassion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

emotional sad 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

This book ripped me open. I can’t even put into words the effect it had on me. I read it in one sitting and completely lost track of time, it was that captivating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, and Transphobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Rape, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Bullying

morganperks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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

5.0

did not appreciate the emotions this book made me feel. I was crying by the end (when am I not tho?)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Drug use and Blood