Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Go as a River by Shelley Read

12 reviews

booksbri's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Toxic relationship

aaltsjeh's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, and War

ryleee's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

This book is

'Teen Mom' set in 'Where the Crawdads Sing'

. The setting is established well and includes nice imagery of the scenery in rural Colorado, which makes it easy to imagine. The main protagonists are likeable enough, but I wish we had a bit more insight into some of the ancillary characters (Seth, their dad), to want to empathise with them through the series of unfortunate events that befall them towards the end. For example,

I wanted the dad to give us SOMETHING to say that he knew about the baby, and still loved Victoria, and acknowledge his failings as a father since the mum died. But alas, even on his deathbed the man was stoic.

It feels like four stories mashed together, supposedly linked through the impending flooding of Victoria's home town. Because of this, the pacing often lurches forward in places to get through the plot points at the expense of relationship-building between the characters. The ending is wholesome enough, but pretty far-fetched and abrupt.

If you're into internal-monologue-narration, and knowing the protagonist's feelings and experiences intimately, then you will probably enjoy this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Car accident, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content and Colonisation

lornaxstardust's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Animal cruelty and Child death

fkshg8465's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.75

A story that brings life to completion, and a story with so much more to be told. One that lets my imagination fill in the gaps most satisfactorily.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

hilhawk's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

What an incredible story, of resilience, of love, of loss..... It was absolutely devastating and heartbreaking in so many ways, but I couldn't put it down even though I was absolutely wrecked.  
I wish I could go back and read this for the first time again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Child death and Death of parent

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

I have about 4K words of thoughts about this that are more appropriate for elsewhere, but I am absolutely baffled that other reviews didn't mention the fact that this book uses violence against a Native person to prompt personal growth from a white woman. Wil shows up, gets called slurs, has no characterization,

gets Tori pregnant, is vaguely magical, and then dies in less than 100 pages. He only exists to be pined for as like an ethereal being. He is written as essentially something other than human who also provided a baby.

It made me REALLY uncomfortable. Also, I felt like the end was a whole different story that got tacked on. I just cannot believe Read talked to Native folks before writing this book, as she states in her acknowledgements. Because I really feel like she just went and checked off all the tropes of writing about Native people in the kind of "magical Negro" trope. The character is there to further the story, but they're not really a full person. I'm just really mad about this. First time I've been burned by a blind date with a book. Sigh. The action kind of trickles out too. 
*bought at Analogue Books & Records in Pueblo, CO

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Hate crime, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Drug abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

0.5

this was so so disappointing. the characters are incredibly one dimensional and stereotypical, the plot is incredibly unbelievable and boring, and the author used the singular Indigenous American character is barely featured and simply used to further the main characters story and then thrown away. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mdavis26's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug use, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

luelle_'s review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Grief, and Abandonment

Minor: Child death and Miscarriage