Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

19 reviews

daniellestarredpages's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

beate251's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

This is a book about secrets and forgiveness.

I have first encountered this story as an eight part Disney+ series. Now that I finally got round to reading the book it's based on I can see why some people have problems with the narrative. It feels a lot more disjointed than the series, with a constant back and forth and introduction of seemingly random characters who turn out to be someone we didn't expect. You'll just have to accept that there's a big cast, and we're following them all.

The book deals with a lot of difficult topics (my content warnings are probably longer than my review!) and it sometimes feels like it's too many, even though some, like the rape, are barely mentioned. The TV show fleshes the time in Edinburgh out a lot more.

The writing is beautiful but I would really recommend the Disney+ series - it makes the book a lot easier to read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Biphobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Rape, Terminal illness, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

kyriannaj's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Hate crime, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cancer

reddeddy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Stalking, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Slavery, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition

emotional reflective

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

4.5

This was a sweeping family saga full of twists. There were heavy meditations on personal identity, memory, legacy, and so much more. While the cast of characters was kind of big, it wasn't confusing or overwhelming. While there were parts I'd wanted more from, most of it was really great. It was also interesting to hear about her research process in the author's notes. I listened to this on audiobook and I quite enjoyed it. Sometimes multi-POV can be difficult for me on audio, but this one didn't give me any trouble! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Cancer, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Colonisation

Gambling addiction, being forced to give a child up for adoption, and discussion of impending climate disaster are also CWs I would add.

ivi_reads_books's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

The book was very calming even though it depicted terrible things at times. I liked how the book offers a glimpse into life in the Caribbean and of Caribbeans emigrating to the UK in the 1970s and 80s. 
A family of people who all have secrets discover through flashbacks what had happened in their mothers life.
The end of the book felt a little rushed. Every character got their ending quite quickly. I would have preferred a more open ending

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Suicide attempt

tetrootz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Blood, Stalking, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

Minor: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

valleysoshady's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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

I should have known from the jacket that it would be tough to read after experiencing the loss of a parent. And it was. So many themes.  Emigration, community, belonging, racism, feminism, family dynamics, secrets, being different, and so much more.

It made me love my family more, consider my priviledge, reflect on my parents as immigrants alone in a new country, my heritage. 

I loved all of the characters, their flaws, their strength, their damage and their triumphs. I loved the vein of politics and social justice, ever present and gracefully intertwined with the plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abandonment, and Alcohol

schausjk's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Biphobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Colonisation

Minor: Misogyny, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

deannab415's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

This book made me feel every emotion under the sun. The writing was outstanding. Characters were human. Plot moved at a good pace.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Colonisation