Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara

10 reviews

clonedgoodness's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

This is a difficult book to rate, or even profile. It's told from the point of view of multiple children, presenting their perspectives and priorities in an engrossing, eminently believable way. But the lack of tonal armor is jarring; when your narrators are children everything feels effectively harmless, right until the point it stops being that way. There's a nihilism, or perhaps stark realism, underlying the story, where things don't build to a larger meaning or present satisfying conclusions. Sometimes they just, happen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Police brutality

Minor: Religious bigotry

chyneyee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

Sometimes, Jai's character frustrates me, but at the same time, I kept telling myself that he's just a kid. He still doesn't know many things and how the world works.

My favourite part:

Ma picks up the scrunchie. 'Put it back,' I tell her. 'It's evidence.' 'This is not your stupid show,' Ma screams at me. 'What's wrong with you? I cannot bear to listen to you for a second more.'

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Trafficking

libristella's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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

This book is beautiful, funny, sad, and surprising. The audiobook narrators are brilliant. I loved this story: seeing the events unfold through Jay’s eyes brought such an interesting light to it all. Anappara expertly captured the spirit of the children’s innocence as well as their unique insight and way of making connections.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Classism

horizonous's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

3.5

I loved the friendship between Jai, Pari and Faiz and was surprised that I didn't mind the narration from a child's POV at all. However, the story is slow going and at times repetitive, so there's a bit of a slog in the middle until it picks back up towards the end where everything happens all at once and ends in just a couple of chapters. But I would definitely read from Deepa Anappara again!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Racism, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Slavery, and Trafficking

cwgrieves's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, and Violence

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

adventurous challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

Debut novelist Deepa Anappara carefully captures the epidemic of child disappearances in Indian slums, told from the perspective of a spirited basti child.  An expert on police proceedings due to his religious observance of the TV show Police Patrol, young Jai convinces his friends to conduct the detective work necessary—due to local police incompetence—to find their missing classmates.  In the seams of their escapades are the threads of their vibrant community—the culture is palpable in every moment.  Jai tells an ultimately sorrowful story with the levity and excitement that can only come from a child; his voice is a bittersweet delight.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Drug use, Slavery, Trafficking, and Pregnancy

ceecee9093's review against another edition

mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Animal death and Domestic abuse

dgrachel's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is a novel that broke my heart. When a classmate goes missing, 9 year old Jai, who is obsessed with detective shows on TV, gathers his two best friends to investigate the case. As other children go missing, Jai and his friends take bigger risks to try to discover the truth behind the disappearances. Told from Jai’s perspective, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, is both amusing and horrifying. As an indictment of the treatment of the poor and “other” in India, the novel sheds light on how the poor are barely considered human, but it also showcases the resilience of the people, particularly the children. Happiness and hope weaves throughout the suffering. It’s a beautiful, if heartbreaking, novel and I cannot recommend it enough. Also, the audiobook is phenomenal. I switched between audio and print, and the narrator is fantastic. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment

womanwill's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Excrement, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Police brutality, and Stalking

fionac326's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, and Religious bigotry