Reviews tagging 'Death'

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

14 reviews

ameliasbooks's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

4.0

Usually I'm having difficulties with child characters in stories. Very often I find their thoughts and dialogues unbelievable, but this wasn't the case here. I really enjoyed reading about the daily life and the little adventures  of Darling and her friends. Maybe I would have preferred one or two characters less, because not all of them were portrayed really memorable enough.

The author did a good job in letting the place and the experiences the protagonists made coming alive on the page.

Can't really say which part I enjoyed more, the one that takes place in Zimbabwe or the one in the US. Both are similar important to the story, so I had no preference. 

The only criticism I have is that Bulawayo tries too hard to cover numerous themes and therefore can't really go into depth with most of them. This is a short book, so most of the covered topics stay quite on the surface and aren't explored enough. Which I would have been really interested in, because the story in general made me so.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Dementia, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Body shaming, and Racism

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Animal death, War, and Death

koirasaurus's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

4.0

Took a long time from me to finish the book, because sometimes it felt like nothing new happened. Text could have been edited a bit more so that the changes in time and place would’ve made more sense.

Even though it wasn’t so easy and light to read, it was a lovely and great book. I would recommend.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Racism, Abortion, Animal death, and Death

Minor: Alcoholism and Mass/school shootings

dianakamau's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Chronic illness, Excrement, and Colonisation

Moderate: Animal death, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Death, Grief, Rape, and Child abuse

Minor: Abandonment and Abortion

franzischi's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Blood, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Racism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Death

Moderate: Abortion and Terminal illness

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Vomit, Gun violence, and Suicide attempt

goatsrsexy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book had a lot going on. It was about Zimbabwean children playing games and trying to understand situations way too complex for children, and it was also about immigrants in America and the feeling of not quite belonging anywhere. It was a really beautiful and at times heartaching read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Child abuse and Death

ollie_again's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Violence, Racism, Death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Child abuse, Vomit, Rape, Police brutality, Animal cruelty, and Pregnancy

Minor: Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, and Eating disorder

jana_f's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Incest, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Vomit, Excrement, Body shaming, and Eating disorder

lace_daisies_and_mary_oliver's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Animal death

Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Blood, War, Xenophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Death, Hate crime, and Racism

Minor: Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, and Rape

darby15's review against another edition

emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Excrement, Fatphobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Gore, Sexism, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, and Eating disorder

Moderate: War, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Genocide, Incest, Rape, Suicide, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide attempt

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, and Mass/school shootings

tagrace's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad

• 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? It's complicated

3.5

Definitely an interesting read. I liked the lyrical descriptions and the really distributive voice of the writing. And at its best, the book grappled with complex ideas about home, immigration and living in a place best known for its problems. It was refreshing to see a more nuanced but not sanitized depiction of Zimbabwe. That being said, I also struggled sometimes with the book because it's not really plot driven and there's not really a definitive or clear character arc, so it lacked some traditional hooks for me as a reader. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexual assault, Abortion, Violence, Death, and Child death