Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

285 reviews

laura_cat's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.5

I wouldn’t have read this book if I had known about the evangelical Christianity and testing on animals themes. It simply was not enjoyable to read.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Racism, and Grief

themirrorball's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

4.5

a fascinating and moving exploration of grief, mental illness, addiction, and spirituality. i found the progression of gifty’s thoughts and emotions throughout her life captivating and beautiful. each character was very real and raw, and by the end of book i felt as though i knew them as gifty did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, and Grief

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Suicide attempt

pkc's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-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

4.5

This was a gorgeous exploration of dueling identities. I absolutely tore through this book. I found Gifty to be the most fascinating and loveable protagonist and I rooted for her throughout. I felt emotional for her family and their various plights and I just really wanted good things for them all, but sadly good things weren’t destined throughout. Overall really loved this story. It was searingly singular but multiple all at once. By which I mean

Gifty tries to make sense of the world through both a scientific lens and a religious context all at once to answer questions about her brothers addiction and ultimate death, as well as her mothers depression. Her longing for answers is so relatable and it’s a great example of grief finding its way into the cracks in the pavement wherever you walk.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

amazing book. fantastic representations of grief 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Violence, and Grief

jasmine_peacock's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent

mxpringle's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? Yes

5.0

This book talked about really hard topics, but it was beautiful enough to where that was completely okay and warranted. It had such a unique reflection on both the value and harms of religion to a person's life that I found so inspiring. All of the hard topics that were brought up were like experiencing them the way real people experience them, not merely for a plot point, but intentionally crafting those as background to a person's character. This is the best book I have read in a long time. It was so stunningly beautiful that I'm honestly left a little bit unmoored after finishing it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

pandact's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.5

   This book nailed my feelings with scientific precision, and Gyasi simultaneously leaves room for different kinds of faith. This reflective fine-tuning happened to be exactly what I was looking for, plus the slightly lonely and queer first-generation bildungsroman. I'd read a whole book where they dive into ethical and religious questions!

   I hope it's also impactful for others who read it, and it shares similar themes with Freshwater, Liturgists, Semler, and the X-files.

   Spoilers in tags

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, Medical content, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal cruelty and Child abuse

Also I thought the ending made sense, almost like when a documentary flashes forward before the credits. The mother still wrapped up the emotional arc better than I expected from getting it spoiled in reviews!

ksuazo94's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity

tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

A beautiful and painful book that demands the reader's full attention. Gyasi doesn't lay things out A then B then C; instead, she gives us a puzzle of C then A then Q and trusts that we as readers are clever enough and paying enough attention to put the pieces together.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racism, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Minor: Sexual content, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

m_maria's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Mental illness

Minor: Racism