Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Acquadolce by Akwaeke Emezi

15 reviews

madlads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Suicide attempt

candycain's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Car accident

Minor: Addiction and Abortion

tina94's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Body horror, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Drug use and Acephobia/Arophobia

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry

vanguardens's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“I have lived many lives inside this body. I lived many lives before they put me in this body. I will live many lives when they take me out of it.”

Wow. This book was a powerful read. This is the story of both Ada and Emezi themself. Ada is afflicted with the obangje, spirits that live inside her body but do not necessarily belong. Their birth was careless and harm 'the Ada' throughout the book while also giving her protection. Whether you read this book through the lens of mental illness or a pure focus of spirituality, there is a lot to be gleaned by seeing.

This is not a book for people who cannot delve into the matters of the self and dealing with and healing from trauma. It is written in a lyrical and raw way that you'll need to take breaks from. It is unmistakably heavy, especially given the amount of trauma Ada suffers over her lifetime. But if you have the stomach for it, the journey is worth it.

I loved the writing of this book. It mirrors how I think about both myself and the world at times. Emezi writes things with a pointed tongue, never letting up on subject matter that is important. This book is deeply important to me, as a non-binary person. They write to us so well, they see us so well. We were able to see each character as deeply as Ada and the other-selves could. Ada struggles deeply with humans because she is first and foremost and in-betweener yet she still struggles with seeing and being seen in a deeply human way.

“The worst part of embodiment is being unseen.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Transphobia

emfass's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It is hard to capture my feelings about this book - maybe I will come back and share more thoughts when I've processed a bit. 

I am close to someone who experiences dissociative identity disorder, and while I don't want to compare their experience to a culture/ontology/spirituality I know nothing about and the parallels and contrasts therein, I will also say that this book was both incredibly profound and challenging to read, due to how closely it seems to reflect some of my friend's experiences.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Medical content

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, and Homophobia