Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Independence by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

16 reviews

nehaanna's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Classism

jenpurlteach's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring tense 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? Yes

4.5

I loved this sister story! There were so many ways it could have ended, and I didn’t predict the final outcome. Loved learning about this period of history in India. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

cassielaj's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

4.5

Wow, this one was tough. Beautiful writing about some heart-wrenching subject matter. Through the death and destruction around them, the three central sisters shine, each with her own unique story, personality, and perspective. Their families and friends are wonderful characters as well, and each approaches the challenges that arise with goodness and perseverance. It was super interesting to learn about a period of Indian history I was unfamiliar with, especially as told through the lens of these stories. For a short book, it has a lot of moving parts, but the important themes and threads are carried throughout and resolved nicely.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism and Suicidal thoughts

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

Set during India's Independence (1946-1948), this tale of three sisters had me hooked from the beginning.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

bookrecsondeck's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry and Death of parent

someryarns's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Classism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

carmenvillaman's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Islamophobia and Death of parent

bookshelf_al's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Rape, Violence, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

mroth's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

I really liked this one. Some Little Women-esque vibes where the sisters start out as almost caricatures but become well-rounded—I could empathize with all of them by the end. I think Divakaruni did a nice job navigating the complexity without villainizing anyone

except Mamoon

but also without resorting to platitudes. A very propulsive read, while still having a lot of substance.

I didn’t love how sad the end was but can understand it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and War

heatherjchin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Child death, Stalking, and Colonisation