Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson

12 reviews

scarroll178's review against another edition

adventurous sad medium-paced

• 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

4.5

It’s a good plot, but I sort of wish the main character had done more. The book builds her up to be so clever, but the most “clever” thing she does is convince this entity that wants to kill her… to kill her slowly so she has more time to get away. Which works, sure, but I wouldn’t say it’s all that clever.

Otherwise, I liked it a lot! The storyline was really interesting, especially the domino effect Uttley caused with her whole “harm no living creature” political stance that resulted in a lot of people people being harmed lol. I loved the way the author resolved certain things that happened, like

Spoiler

Mami’s heart basically taking over Uttley.

 

The book also has interesting themes on forgiveness and atonement that I wish the writer would’ve delved into more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Violence, and Child abuse

Minor: Transphobia

kbhenrickson's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

I loved this book. I loved the incorporation of Caribbean beliefs (which were mostly new to me), the dystopian Toronto setting, and the main female characters (who irritated me with their choices at times, but those choices still felt realistic). The dialect took me a bit to get used to, but it didn't detract from the story for me. (I normally choose audiobooks for stories with a lot of dialect or names I'm unfamiliar with, but I didn't this time.) There were some horrible parts that were really horrible, but I thought they fit with the story and weren't gratuitous. I'm glad to have finally read this one after having it on my to-read list for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture

Moderate: Violence

sadie_g's review against another edition

adventurous challenging fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse, Death, and Drug use

Minor: Child death and Domestic abuse

solenodon's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Murder, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Body horror, Blood, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Grief, Confinement, and Child death

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Death of parent, Sexism, Racism, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse

unboxedjack's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Addiction, Blood, Animal death, Child death, Drug abuse, Gore, Drug use, and Violence

laurensilva's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Body horror

hairymclary28's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Murder, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Medical content and Grief

Minor: Ableism

sionnac's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Torture, Violence, Physical abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Medical content, and Medical trauma

mfiegel's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, and Drug use

Moderate: Domestic abuse

mahela's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• 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

4.5

Brown Girl in the Ring is set in a futuristic, run-down version of Toronto and centers on Ti-Jeanne, a young woman and mother, and her grandmother Gros-Jeanne. Gros-Jeanne is what some would call an "obeah woman" who conjures and talks to spirits. But she's also a healer who tries to pass on her knowledge to a reluctant granddaughter. The two are forced to confront violent pasts and presents, ultimately leading Ti-Jeanne to follow in her grandmother's footsteps.

I read Hopkinson's Midnight Robber and loved it, so I wanted to read Brown Girl in the Ring as well. Of the two, I definitely preferred Midnight Robber - to me its fantastic setting was even more compelling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Body horror, and Blood