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ashleycmms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Infidelity
Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Murder
anspringel'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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Death of parent
Minor: Murder
whimsylindsey's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Murder
catherineclark'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
4.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Dementia, Murder, and Alcohol
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
michmoo'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
4.5
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Murder
riverofpages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The writing in phenomenal. I only rated .5 less than 5 because I think the order of the short stories could have been different.
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Murder
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
francestea's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder
mamademics's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Graphic: Homophobia and Religious bigotry
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Murder