caughtbetweenpages's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
A beautiful anthology collecting the lives of the Black women living in an under-served neighborhood from the neighborhood's inception to the moment it's torn down. I was especially delighted that the stories didn't exclusively focus on doom and gloom and difficulties, but that there was specifically room made for the beautiful moments of camaraderie between friends and families, specifically the way these generations of women do their best to build one another up even when the rest of the world fails them. There is a lot of sorrow (check the TW list), but the perseverance underlying it all was what kept me reading.
I was a little thrown off by the variety in length for some of the stories (eg. the opening story, Mattie, was about 1/5 of the whole book, whereas others were only a few pages long), because it seemed to grant more weight to some of these women compared to the others, and set me up to expect more of them, but it didn't make it less enjoyable to read overall. It did make it a little hard to pick up on the fact that the collection was moving through time, but again that wasn't a detracting factor to my enjoyment.
I was a little thrown off by the variety in length for some of the stories (eg. the opening story, Mattie, was about 1/5 of the whole book, whereas others were only a few pages long), because it seemed to grant more weight to some of these women compared to the others, and set me up to expect more of them, but it didn't make it less enjoyable to read overall. It did make it a little hard to pick up on the fact that the collection was moving through time, but again that wasn't a detracting factor to my enjoyment.
Graphic: Homophobia, Alcoholism, Racism, Rape, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Lesbophobia
fschulenberg's review against another edition
challenging
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
3.5
Enjoyed reading some of the stories more than others. Overall themes I enjoyed reading about were change, community, and loss. I would recommend reading content warnings for this book.
Graphic: Racism, Homophobia, and Sexual assault
isaarusilor's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, and Racism
Moderate: Sexism, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
darkanddreary's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? No
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Sexism, Physical abuse, and Racism
northernzephyr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
Graphic: Rape, Homophobia, Child death, and Racism
isobelvaisanen'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Rape and Racism
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