Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis

7 reviews

rachelcg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

quietturnover's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Heartbreaking story told from multiple different perspectives. The perspectives are woven together in an engaging manner. Not an easy read, there are aspects I would have liked the author to explore further and the narrative felt disjointed at times, leaving me with unanswered questions. But overall remarkable job with excellent prose. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Police brutality, Medical content, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal death, Gore, Excrement, and Religious bigotry

thissagreads's review

challenging dark sad tense 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? It's complicated

1.0

This book is broken into 3 POV’s. A grandmother, her daughter, and her grandson. The grandmother is trying to keep her house, land and the black neighbors beside her, while she constantly chases off real estate crooks. Meanwhile, her daughter leaves an abusive husband, stays in a shelter with her son, thinks she’s better than the people staying and working there when she  falls back in love with her son’s father who’s the leader of a Black Panther type of group. Finally, there a little storyline for the son/grandson watches as his father, and consequently his mother being to take advantage of the people in this group…

In my opinion, this novel left me feeling hollow. The only person I semi-liked was the grandmother but she wasn’t a great parent, and unfortunately her daughter wasn’t a great parent, and instead  of changing for the better, everyone was really selfish. 

Gave this book 1 star because the black panther adjacent group was a cool concept. But there was such a slow heaviness that gave off feelings of hopelessness, lots of reminders about the racial and poverty disparities and disadvantages, poverty, and a constant reflection of the black plight… really depressing read with no closure. Would not recommend.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Abandonment

Minor: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, and Violence

clairebartholomew549's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I'm not sure how to feel about this one. It was written really well, and explored an organization that I wasn't aware of (MOVE Philadelphia). At points it was incredibly affecting, and at other points I struggled to follow what was going on. The Bonaparte chapters, although informative, felt slow and tacked on, and Ava as a character didn't quite gel for me. I feel like this book had a lot of potential, but ultimately I found it kind of disappointing.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, and Medical content

burnourhistory's review

emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

martinjen98's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Racial slurs

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.0

 The Unsettled is the story of Ava, her son Touissant, and her mother Dutchess. It’s set during the 1980s in Philadelphia and Alabama. Ava and Touissant end up in a homeless shelter after her abusive husband kicks her out. Ava reconnects with Cass, Touissant’s father, and they move to a community he leads focussed on Black liberation. It’s safe to say this is not the utopia they might wish it to be. Meanwhile Dutchess is struggling since Bonaparte, the Black owned town where she lives, is on the verge of extinction. The first section of the book set in the family shelter was probably my favourite. I found the conditions in the shelter, the attitudes of the staff and the bureaucracy surrounding it to be both infuriating and eye-opening. This book had a lot to say about race and the many ways it affects the lives of Black Americans, and about intergenerational trauma, how one event can affect those not even born when it occurred. By and large it is a depressing read, although there is a glimmer of hope for the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Police brutality