Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

34 reviews

orchidlilly's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.0

So... This was not nearly as great of a classic as I was led to expect. First of all, it succumbs to the common pitfall of all books of whatever genre this is; it's so unbearably pessimistic. Most of the book is pg torture porn wherein we watch the protagonist suffer while also getting blasted with the fact that she isn't suffering nearly as much as other people. The commentary on racism is cliche and not very well addressed. Every single black woman is the mammy stereotype, I didn't know it was even possible to have every character be the same stereotype. They all have practically no depth and no arcs of their own besides 'we exist to further the character arc of Lily'. The take on racism at the time is extremely one-sided and, pardon the wording, entirely black and white. And my biggest issue; I get that it's a coming of age novel, but the romance is, quite frankly, gross. Lily is 14, middle school age, and Zach is, from my recollection, gearing up to head into college, already weird. Then you have to factor in that completely out of the blue segment in the book where the love interest sucks honey off the main character's fingers. This scene is described in detail, about how it makes her slightly hot and bothered, and how she's also semi disgusted with herself because loving a black man is wrong. This scene is so entirely jarring and completely unnecessary that it pretty well ruined the entire book for me. The romance isn't even a main part of the book, but it's just so uncomfortable that I couldn't focus on anything else.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Sexual content, Blood, and Religious bigotry

thelovelylibrarylady's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse and Police brutality

cement_tree's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Police brutality, Grief, and Abandonment

Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

lulu2121's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, Suicide, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Police brutality, and Death of parent

savannah_c_dipasquale's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Cursing, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Bullying, Religious bigotry, and Classism

rsk668's review

sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Police brutality, and Death of parent

regalreads's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

lindseyhall44's review

emotional 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

3.5

The Secret Life of Bees is a critically acclaimed intersectional feminist story set in South Carolina 1964, amidst a time of racial turmoil. Readers follow Lily, a white 14 year old girl and her African American “stand in mother” as they flee discrimination, emotional/physical abuse, and jail on a journey to learn more about the protagonist’s deceased mother. While the premise of this novel was strong, I found that Kidd relied heavily on problematic stereotypes when developing the African American characters, for example, the angry, uneducated, and emotional black woman. As a biracial person myself, this was difficult to read, especially since I the characters were described as “eccentric.”Kidd also used the n slur as a white author, and the r slur as an abled author something I heavily disagree with. Overall, these factors and the writing were what knocked the novel down to three stars, but it is a compelling and fast paced read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

booksandboba's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racism, and Suicide

Moderate: Racial slurs, Slavery, Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent

isabellarob73's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-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

1.5

I feel that this story is very well written and I see how it is beloved by so many. At the same time I never need to read a story that focuses on black women written by a white woman. This book makes all black women mammy caricatures to the protagonist. It also seems to rely on learning that black people are as beautiful and cultured as white people as a way to stop racism. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment