Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander

8 reviews

jazzmarie22's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Colonisation

gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition

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

4.5

I had to hold back tears by the end.

What a heartbreaking story that, despite in my heart of hearts  knowing something like this would befall Kofi and his loved ones, from an unassuming, slice-of-life first half it still shocked me!

This was full of laughter, friendships and childhood rivalries between cousins, a glimpse of life in upper Kwanta and suddenly a series of tragic events pertaining to accidental death, a sick sense of justice and slavery. My heart kept skipping over the anguish I felt.

This story was beautifully and perfectly captured within the art of prose and the layout of the words on the page helped to emphasise certain scenes through the power of the words used to describe them and how they were fashioned.

A sorrowful tale, but not withot hope. One that is important to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

lawbooks600's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

Representation: Black characters
Score: Nine out of ten.

The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander circled my recommendations for months until the library finally purchased it and I soon picked it up. I glanced at the blurb, making it seem heavy, yet intriguing, and the ratings were high. I don't see poetry novels every day, and it was another hit when I closed the final page.

It starts with Kofi Offin living in the Asante Kingdom in 1860. Well that was a breath of fresh air. I wanted to read a piece of historical fiction that isn't white history or entirely set in a Western country for once. The opening pages look typical until I read 150 pages, and that's when the central storyline darkens the tone from there. It was heavy enough when Kofi's teacher forced him to speak English and not his first language, Twi, but now his future looks uncertain after he accidentally killed his opponent from the other part of the kingdom.

But wait! It gets worse. Kofi's life worsens when he is captured and is now a slave. It's a simplistic plot that's easy to follow, but it's a fascinating look into what slavery was like through Kofi's POV. The pacing is slow, almost lasting 400 pages, but it didn't feel tedious or repetitive as there was always something happening. The Door of No Return isn't a coming of age story like a quote on the front cover told me, it's more like a piece of historical fiction in verse. Alexander executed the writing style well, meeting my expectations, since he wrote compositions I enjoyed before this one. The final pages were heartbreaking as Kofi's fate is up in the air. Other than that one miss I still regard him as an excellent writer. The Door of No Return is the first instalment of a planned trilogy, which explains the abrupt conclusion, so I'm excited to see what happens next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Slavery, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Full trigger warnings: Death and murder of a brother and another person by suicide in a body of water, near-death experiences, shipwreck, blood, grief and loss depiction, caning, physical assault and injury, slavery, colonisation

styxx's review

challenging reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

atamano's review against another edition

dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Colonisation

Minor: Rape, Vomit, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War

cocoanut7's review

challenging dark emotional 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? No

4.0

Wow that was a tough read. I only finished it because I felt it was my duty to honor the stories that havent been  told and about the people who were mistreated for centuries. But it was not enjoyable for me. I had to take breaks. Devastating to know and have to acknowledge this is part of human history. Brilliantly compares the barbaric behaviour of African tribes to the barbaric behaviour of white slavers. Seeing them like this one after the other makes it hard to say that white people were more “advanced.”

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Blood, and Colonisation

mattyb's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, and Murder

Minor: Alcohol

purplepenning's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Minor: Vomit and Death of parent