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ac_rva's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Violence
apthompson's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Grief, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Cancer and Death of parent
lettuce_read's review against another edition
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Homophobia
kirstym25's review
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Homophobia, and Death of parent
mahtzahgay's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
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? No
3.75
Shot me through the fucking heart, bro.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
earth2dunz's review
emotional
informative
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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, and Sexual harassment
anjoureadsbooks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-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
4.5
This is one of those stories that stay with you for a very long time. It is beautiful, sad, haunting and hopeful at the same time.
Blessings is a coming of age story that explores self-discovery, acceptance and self hatred. In this story, you see what it means to grow up and live in a society where your identity is criminalized and you have to hide parts of yourself.
This story follows Obiefuna whose father discovers him in an intimate situation with a boy and essentially alienates him from the family by sending him away to a Catholic boarding school. This journey begins when Obiefuna is 15 years old and we see him navigate life in secondary school all the way to University. Along the way, he finds love, friendship and community.
We also see his mother’s perspective which I truly loved. It was interesting to read.
One of my favorite quotes came from her:
“It's one thing to love a child, but it's an entirely different thing for the same child to feel loved.”
The ending of this story is both sad and hopeful and I have a keen appreciation for this kind of storytelling.
Chukwuebuka Ibeh’s writing is captivating and beautiful. The way he renders the characters’ complexities and context is quite remarkable and it will stay with me for a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent
bibim's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Violence
Minor: Child abuse and Violence
chainingbooks's review
challenging
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Thank you to Doubleday Books for providing this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
Overall Rating: 4 / 5
Warnings: Homophobia, Violence, Child Abuse, Sexual Content, Cancer, Terminal Illness, Death of a Parent, Gun Violence, Police Brutality
I would highly recommend this novel to those that were fans of the film Moonlight or other similar media.
“Blessings” is a raw coming of age story that follows Obiefuna as he navigates the complicated feelings of being a queer teenager in Nigeria. The themes of self-acceptance, grief, and the weight of societal expectations all come through beautifully as the reader is shown glimpses of Obiefuna’s life experiences.
We’re brought into Obiefuna’s life just as he meets a young man that he finds himself falling for. His father soon catches the two together and Obiefuna is banished to an all-boys boarding school. There he finds himself having to hide inwards, not only dealing with the pain of being ripped away from his home for his sexuality, but also because of the cycle of violence that the student body perpetuates onto the youngest students. Not long after Obiefuna graduates, he leaves for college and begins his first serious relationship with another man. Through this he navigates what he’s witnessed in the past and begins to find what it means to be able to love and accept oneself when society seeks to tell you that you shouldn’t exist.
This story was a bit tough for me to get into in the beginning since it felt like we were dropped right in the middle of Obiefuna’s life, not given much time to adjust to the setting and situation before seeing him begin to navigate his sexuality. Despite that, I could feel the raw emotion from the very beginning. I also felt that this story was a bit slower paced than my usual taste but the emotional beats in the latter half made this well worth the read.
The aspect of this book that I appreciated the most was the complexity of it. The characters, the situations, the moral quandaries, all of it felt so nuanced and left me thinking about how I would struggle to handle what the characters were facing. Most of all I enjoyed how complex every character was, Obiefuna especially. Watching him have to handle such morally intense situations left me so worried for how he would come out on the other end. Multiple times I wished I could reach through the pages of the book to tell him he was strong for what he did, especially in the moments when he chose to protect himself. I cannot say that I have lived any of his experiences myself, but I could feel the emotional weight to each moment.
I would definitely read another work by this author. Their writing style was beautiful and managed to pull out so many emotions in a rather short book. I look forward to what else the author has to offer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Violence, and Outing
Moderate: Cancer, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Gun violence and Police brutality
maryz63's review against another edition
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? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia