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readingwithtrey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Now to my review, in my humble opinion, this book is a work 👏🏽 of 👏🏽art👏🏽. While I didn’t have any personal shared experiences with each woman, I could appreciate the nods to the culture that I could completely relate to. They include: being in church every Sunday with our moms & grannies and often times aunts, uncles, and cousins. (I was related to almost everyone in the small, country church I attended growing up.) Our grannies always telling us that they’re praying for us (and knowing for certain they actually were) and usually having a feast ready for us whenever we visited. Spending summers outside all day almost every day with our cousins without a care in the world. Getting a new beautiful frilly dress from my grandma each Easter. This book made me nostalgic for that time and made that ache that I still have to see both of my grandmas one more time feel as new as the days that they left us.
There is so much to this book than what’s on the surface level. & I highly recommend it for readers with open hearts and minds. Know that there are a lot of touchy/sensitive subjects. It was funny, incredibly sad, and totally different from anything I’ve read.
My only complaint is that I need updates on all of these women, especially Jael. Her chapter had me weak.
Favorite quotes:
“We miss their bare brown arms reaching to hang clothes on the line with wooden pins. We miss their Sun tea brewed all day in big jars on the picnic table in the backyard.”
“We miss how they made our Easter dresses and pound cakes and a way out of no way.”
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abortion, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Toxic friendship
shieldbearer's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Dementia, Grief, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Cancer, Child death, and Car accident
prose_reveries's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Body shaming, Drug use, and Grief
davidbythebay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
kayschwe's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Abortion
libraryghost's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Misogyny, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Abortion
dalmavatai's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
All of the stories in here deal with desire, pain, grief, love, family, and Christianity, and all of them do it brilliantly and beautifully. All of the characters are vivid and relatable - they are not without their flaws, in fact these flaws are often prominent in the stories, but they are portrayed with such compassion and humanity that you can't help but feel for them. Every story is unique but what unites them all is their exploration of how Black women navigate desire and pain, love and grief, often simultaneously.
Such a beautiful collection full of humanity, exploring the universally human desire to be loved.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Racism, and Abortion
rockyroadbutch's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Dementia, Grief, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Alcohol
jesseybean's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Sexual content, Dementia, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
hollyd19's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
I was surprised (perhaps I shouldn’t have been, given the word ‘secrets’ in the title) by how heavily sex factored in nearly all the stories. It was never gratuitous or explicit, but it did play a much larger role than I had expected. Additionally, I had the impression that the collection would be more... fun? Honestly, for the most part I found it fairly bleak. That’s not to say it wasn’t tender and at times funny, but most stories left me feeling rather melancholy. Each woman featured faces some significant strain — emotionally, relationally, etc — and I would have loved at least one story to be robustly joyful (the closest is How To Make Love to a Physicist). Finally, there is ample mention of church life & culture, but I wouldn’t define any of the protagonists as “church ladies.” They are all church-lady-adjacent, but perhaps that was Philyaw’s chosen device: a window into the lives of church ladies from those who are in some way outside the fold.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Dementia, and Grief
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Murder