Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Jutro, jutro i znów jutro by Gabrielle Zevin

386 reviews

anderson27paige's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

I refuse to rate this book because it is simultaneously one of the best and one of the worst books I've ever read. Zevin's writing is one of the most unique I've ever experienced. It's one of the only modern day fiction novels that I truly believed would be receiving a 5 stars for the incredible plot and dynamic character building; HOWEVER, the liberal ideologies plasted throughout this book were incredibly jaring and, at times, disgusting. About halfway through the book, it started getting slightly political, but I decided to ignore it as the story was so masterful. Though, the longer the book went on, the worse it became until it was all I could focus on and it ruined the last half of the book for me. I am open to reading more of this author' work in the future, but she is on a very thin line with me. I am a firm believer that things becoming political ruins them, and that is exactly what happened in this book. It's a tragedy. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

katiebannasch's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

kat_in_a_tree's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I wish I had read the content warnings before reading, as some parts of the book were quite intense. I liked the structure of the book, particularly at the beginning when the reader gets glimpses into the future of the characters. I also liked getting a look into the creative process of the video games and how the characters careers developed. However, I found the book depressing as many bad things happen to the characters over the course of the book, many of these I felt lacked closure or enough discussion for it to be meaningful or hopeful, it was just too harsh. The characters are chronically mean to each other and although there are moments of positive interactions, these are overshadowed by the many negative things that happen.

I found the progression of Sadie's career especially depressing, while it may be common for a women's work to be attributed to male collaborators, this gave a bleak perspective on what it is like to be a woman in a male-dominated field. I also didn't like that her love life was so tied to her career, this made her character seem flat and played into the idea that men can't see women as equal colleagues and there will always be romantic undercurrents in the workplace. 

Marx seems to be one of the most virtuous characters in the book, and he is punished for this by being killed off, adding to the depressing feel of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Stalking, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

gillzzzo's review against another edition

inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

3.75

I have mixed feelings about this book. It had such raving reviews which simultaneously made me expect a bit more, as well as expect to be disappointed (as they never can live up to the hype)

I thought this book had some really sweet moments, in particular when depicting Sam and Sadie as children. I thought there was also some really good commentary on what it means to be a woman in business in a male dominated field.  

On the other hand I didn’t find Sadie and Sam’s “deep connection” as adults all that convincing. I also was expecting some complex and emotionally conflicting betrayal based on the blurb which never came. I did think it did a decent job at illustrating the feelings of mild annoyance-but acceptance, that a lot of adult relationships have. 

I thought the climax/twist in the NPC chapter felt forced and clique and not really in keeping with the rest of the book.

Overall, I enjoyed the book but not sure i can relate to the hype. Worth a read but don’t expect your life to be changed

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexism, Suicide, and Grief

Minor: Racism and Terminal illness

sueshi's review against another edition

dark hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Disappointing.. the beginning was so good though 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

whiskeywoman79's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Fiction / Contemporary / Romance / Historical Fiction 

TW:  Suicide, Grief, SA if not rape as BDSM needs to be consensual even if the victim tries to make themselves indifferent, cheating, homophobia, drug use, car accident, toxic relationships, gun violence. There are so many...

This was one of those books. It was a hard read. I am happy I read it, but I am not sure I liked it. I will definitely think about it for a while. I am not sure it was meant to be enjoyed? Or thought-provoking? Or just to relive the past? I failed in the 400 pages to ever find a purpose or moral of the story, aside from '2 selfish people should continue to forgive each other over and over and over...' 

I also found it difficult to like many of the characters. Yet the nostalgia of it all allowed me to fit myself into the story and see the world through their eyes. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Abortion, Death of parent, and Classism

isbahusman's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Medical trauma

Minor: Xenophobia, Vomit, and Abortion

danpolta's review against another edition

emotional medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Blood, Vomit, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Stalking, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

lulialof's review against another edition

reflective 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

3.0

It had a good pace and nice focus on a special, deep friendship. It is not the most realistic story out there, but it does not have to be. Felt influenced by Normal People (Sally Rooney) and A little life (Hanya Yanagihara), but still keeping love and overcoming challenges at the heart of the story, rather than digging a deep hole of misery. Easy to read, not earthshatteringly unique or fascinating in terms of story and language, but still captivating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation

bestturnip's review against another edition

hopeful sad medium-paced

• 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

3.0

Chose this as it was a mega bestseller in 2023 but it fell a bit flat for me.  Spoiler warning:

The constant switch up in writing perspectives and styles

like cutting to a page of game reviews or an interview in the future with Sadie / Sam

was an interesting choice but once or twice I felt it detracted from the story. 

Marx and his chapters hit home the most for me - despite making him the obvious "likeable" character while Sadie and Sam's flaws were obviously meant to be a main focus. 

Some of the word choices in the prose (not only character dialogue) felt a bit over the top and like the author wanted to remind you how smart, not only the characters, but she was.

I absolutely hated

the choice to have Sadie remain in contact with Dov after her experiences. Even if it is realistic, there wasn't enough emphasis for me on WHY Sadie made that choice other than 'she still looked up to him'

The passages from Marx's POV

with both the Macbeth and Strawberry Thief references were my favourite part and I honestly struggle to understand why his focus was as more of an NPC? If it was meant to be a big reference to how Sadie and Sam treated him, it was a bit flat.

Overall there were some really emotional and resonant scenes, and the references to theatre, art, and games were typically well thought out and had a place in the story. I wish that this book had a better idea of exactly what it was about, so our throughlines didn't get so muddled.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Medical trauma

Minor: Racial slurs, Sexism, Terminal illness, Violence, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail