Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Dig by A.S. King

3 reviews

beccam22's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I have heard this book pitched many time to me and I don’t think anyone I have heard talk about this book has read this book. Yes it’s kind of about potatoes, a pita or farmer, a character is called the shoveler. 

But this book is about racism, this book is about generational trauma and breaking out of that. This book is about trusting the next generation is not just lazy, whiney, and stupid kids. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

all of the characters are connected, the grandmother is I would say the most racist which is routed in receiving “black blood” after an accident that almost killed her and needing a blood transfusion following, being told she had “black blood” and feeling dirty/unpure ever sense. She passed this racism down to one child, the others have tried to do better. Her husband does get sick of her shit near the end of the book and wants to do better. The grandchildren all recognize the racism and want to do better. There is mention of white supremacy, neo-nazism, and hate crimes. There is also a character who is introduced as a very likable and caring person and come summer when he wears short sleeves has a “100% white power” tattoo. There are teenagers being recruited to join white supremacy groups outside their school. There is a girl who was kidnapped, raped, murdered, and buried in the woods but is not gone into in detail until the end of the book. A female character talks about douching with turpentine multiple times in the book.

kell_xavi's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense medium-paced

3.0

As the author herself says, this book is uncomfortable. It’s unresolved. It’s weird. It contains a lot of trauma, mental illness, intergenerational biases and tensions, domestic violence, sexual assault, white supremacy, white guilt. It’s intelligent, includes complex conversations and resilient characters, and was engrossing. I liked it, though I didn’t enjoy it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Murder

Minor: Bullying, Medical content, and Alcohol

cko's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I love the surrealism in Dig, the mysteries of how the characters relate to each other, the discussion of white supremacy, and the use of the second person — until the very end, at least. Then the second person didn’t work for me quite as well. It felt a bit rushed at the end.

This is one of the first novels I’ve read where white characters talk about whiteness and is written by a white author. We need more work like this!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Vomit

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, and Kidnapping

Minor: Rape and Slavery

White supremacy