Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Becoming by Michelle Obama

24 reviews

merrynthomas's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, and War

marlee_grace's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Really enjoyed this! Was great to hear about Michelle and Barack's stories before being in the public eye, the struggles they endured and the changes they made :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War

bashsbooks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.5

This is an exquisitely written and narrated memoir. I do think it's funny that she doesn't think of herself as a politician when she's the most politically active First Lady I've seen in my lifetime, and I find her brand of respectability politics not relatable, but I understand where both of these things are coming from.  Also, I deeply respect that she didn't want her husband to become a politician for personal reasons, I would also not be pleased if my partner wanted to do that. Overall, I found her very down-to-Earth and her story extremely interesting. Would recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Medical content

Minor: Gun violence, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and War

eib_21's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Murder, and War

anomadicnarrative's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Exceptional!! Please just read it

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, and Racism

leonormsousa's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

TRIGGER WARNINGS 

racism, sexism, death, death of a parent, child death, mass/school shootings, police brutality, gun violence, hate crime, chronic illness, cancer, miscarriage, grief 

REVIEW 

Michelle Obama is the GOAT and that is a fact. So obviously her memoir had been on my wishlist since… well, since I knew it existed. It was recommended to me by a multitude of people who give great recommendations and I feel kind of stupid that I didn’t get around to reading it sooner (although I do think that I read it at the perfect time of my life so I might have been consciously stupid but unconsciously smart :p). 

First of all, Michelle (yes, I will call her by her first name because in my mind we’re friends <3) has a hell of a life story so it’s hard not to feel grasped by it. We follow her from childhood to the end of Obama’s presidency, while she grows up through hardness but also happiness and lots of love. 

The book is very well written, including historical contextualization as we move through time, something that is especially relevant for someone who is not super familiar with US history/geography (like me). I read the book in audiobook (which I think is definitely a plus) and so it felt like she was right in front of me, just telling me her story, with emotion showing every once in a while and her strength always present. 

There is a part of the book in particular where Michelle shares her struggles with finding a purpose. After accomplishing everything she had planned (becoming a good layer with a good job), she feels like maybe being a layer is not what she wants. At 27 she shifts her career and once again finds her path but before that, she goes through a period of insecurity and confusion. This in itself is already something interesting to read about but the thing is: I was/am going through something similar in my own life. So you can imagine how reading how the GOAT dealt with and overcame this was so important to me. 

There is also some romance in this memoir and it’s so cute that you almost forget you’re not reading fiction. But it’s also very real and I love how Michelle is not afraid to expose how their relationship wasn’t perfect but it was something they both worked for. It makes me believe that maybe real love does still exist. 

The only little thing I can point at this book is that there are some parts that are a bit repetitive, namely when she’s talking about her work as a first lady. It’s nothing too much and it really is such a small thing compared to the greatness of the book but I always like to give some constructive criticism :p (like she’s actually gonna read this :p) 

Last but definitely not least, this is a book written by a Black woman so expect (great) notes on feminism and racism marking every step of Michelle’s life. It’s of course, one of the best parts of this memoir, especially because it is non-fiction so it can’t get more real than this… 

No decent conclusion: just go read this! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent

molly_rose's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Bullying, Child death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, and Sexual harassment

mirajuliee's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Grief, and Death of parent

angstyevie's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Racism, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

rbacon's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

As you get into the third part of the book, the sequence of events seems to get looser and chapter placements become somewhat arbitrary, which I think made it slow in parts to get through. The beginning of the book and particularly Michelle Obama's upbringing is really interesting and a great reminder that anyone could make a difference with perseverance and the right opportunities. Raises some interesting questions too.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Sexism, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent