Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

17 reviews

inkamaar's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? No

3.0

Mielenkiintoinen kurkistus eri kulttuuriin ja maahanmuuttoon. Pidin kirjan alkupuoliskosta enemmän, lapsen näkökulma elämästä poliittisesti epävakaassa maassa oli viattomuudessaan koskettava.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

chrisiant's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death and War

Minor: Child abuse

toniamarieparker's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Animal death

Moderate: Suicide and War

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 adventures Darling and her friends went on. Maybe I would have preferred one or two characters less, because not all of them were portrayed really memorably.

The author did a good job in letting the place and the experiences the protagonists had 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.

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Content Warnings

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

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

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

Minor: Alcoholism and Mass/school shootings

hotkoolaidpotato's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, and War

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Abortion, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Eating disorder, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

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

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

Minor: Abortion and Abandonment

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

Moderate: Terminal illness and Abortion

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

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

This is quite a provocative book.  It is narrated by Darling, who, throughout most of the book, is a tween living in a Zimbabwe slum in the 2000s, having been displaced from her modest home by paramilitary violence.  She and her friends process their reality through play and antics, which include the game “Find bin Laden,” a reenactment of a community member’s murder, and a near-attempt at a coat hanger abortion.  When Darling moves in with her aunt in America, she discovers that many cultural differences cannot be translated and yearns for her beloved homeland, to which she cannot return, lest she be trapped.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Alcoholism, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Colonisation

Minor: Bullying, Child death, Suicide, Transphobia, Death of parent, and Abandonment

feebles640's review against another edition

challenging dark funny sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Sexual content, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Incest, Racism, Dementia, Abortion, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Deportation

Minor: Mass/school shootings