Reviews tagging Sexual assault

The Water Dancer, by Ta-Nehisi Coates

14 reviews

clorbor07's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault

vedpears's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Police brutality, Murder, Death, Racism, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Injury/injury detail, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Trafficking

Moderate: Sexual assault, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Death of parent, Cursing, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Gun violence

Minor: Gore

cerilouisereads's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring tense slow-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: Forced institutionalization, Violence, Slavery, Death, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Abandonment, Kidnapping, Grief, Racism, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual assault

renjamin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Slavery

Moderate: Death, Grief, and Racial slurs

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

gm_vak's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence

apollonium's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Moderate: Slavery, Racism, and Racial slurs

Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Trafficking

kennethwade's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

Coates has a strong writing style and lots of good ideas. I also appreciate his portrayal of slavery, which is sensitive and emotional but feels honest. The characters and plot are where this book falls very flat. I couldn’t make a list of personality traits for any of the characters, not even the first-person narrator Hiram. They feel very one-dimension and lifeless, which significantly reduces the connection of readers to them. The plot does little to make up for the lacking characters because it meanders and drags until it ultimately fizzles out, with no sense of climax or resolution. The Water Dancer feels like a really well-written outline of a story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Slavery

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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

What if the Underground Railroad had some help from incredible magic powers? Hiram Walker, a man born into slavery, finds his life unexpectedly entangled with the Underground when strange happenings in his own life catch their attention. 

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting, and the book really took a hard look at the lives of enslaved black people in US history. I also liked that the story worked magic into the amazing work of the Underground Railroad without being reductive.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Physical abuse, Racism, and Slavery

Minor: Racial slurs, Sexism, and Sexual assault

seanml'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? No

3.5

The Baker was the best, and it took me way too long to figure out that Harriet was Harriet. 7/10. 

Highlights: The Ghostly magical realism, the shifting and incredibly gray moralities. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Sexual assault

samanthaleereads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Kidnapping, and Confinement

Moderate: Sexual assault