Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

123 reviews

katetiffin's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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

I finished this book in public so I couldn’t cry but had I been alone I likely would have. Such a beautiful and heartbreaking moments that still managed to steal a few laughs from me due to Gyasis incredible writing and wit. I loved this book! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, and Death

wisewise's review against another edition

emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

indranna's review

reflective slow-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: Addiction, Child death, Death, Mental illness, and Suicide

lauriej'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Medical content, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Abandonment

geraldineleyendo's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

The writing of Yaa is just so special. So many of her lines in this book made my heart completely stop with how beautiful or poignant or true they felt.

This is an intense and intimate exploration of girlhood and her faith (Christian-centric) weaved so beautifully with her science, race, and family history. A fictional story about addiction that feels so true it blew my mind and made me literally cry - not because of its sadness but because of its honesty. The author made me feel the characters' losses so deeply and yet I ended the book with an enormous satisfaction of being alive.

If you are debating whether you should read it: yes yes yes yes 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Abandonment

na_no's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Racism and Suicide attempt

beetsbydwight's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racial slurs, Grief, and Abandonment

leonormsousa's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.5

I really liked this one. It is beautifully written, and the constant time jumps were done perfectly, which is something quite rare. It hooked me from the start, and I found myself wanting more at the end, even though I know this was the perfect size for this story.

Small note that I was pleasantly surprised by the queer representation in this one (MC is queer). 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

violerwolf's review against another edition

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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Realistic fiction, especially as slow paced as the “plot” is in this book, isn’t typically my cup of tea. But Gyasi, through masterful prose and a constantly shifting timeline of events, makes this such an engaging story about addiction, depression, family, and religion. The way she interweaves themes through various points of the main character’s life and places them throughout the narrative is beautifully done. My one critique is that the main character’s internal reflection can be a bit heavy handed at times, but don’t let that stop you from checking this book out.

I picked up this book because Homegoing had such a long waitlist at my library, and I’m so glad I did. I can’t wait to read Gyasi’s other works.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

mrlsdevos's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Dementia and Death of parent