Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

429 reviews

jasmine_peacock's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Drug use, and Drug abuse

laynazaubinde's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse and Suicide attempt

melm_'s review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Mental illness and Grief

mxpringle's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

This book talked about really hard topics, but it was beautiful enough to where that was completely okay and warranted. It had such a unique reflection on both the value and harms of religion to a person's life that I found so inspiring. All of the hard topics that were brought up were like experiencing them the way real people experience them, not merely for a plot point, but intentionally crafting those as background to a person's character. This is the best book I have read in a long time. It was so stunningly beautiful that I'm honestly left a little bit unmoored after finishing it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Drug use, Addiction, Suicide, Racism, and Alcohol

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Sexual content

theanisakay's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse

marinef's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Drug abuse and Mental illness

pandact'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? Yes

4.5

   This book nailed my feelings with scientific precision, and Gyasi simultaneously leaves room for different kinds of faith. This reflective fine-tuning happened to be exactly what I was looking for, plus the slightly lonely and queer first-generation bildungsroman. I'd read a whole book where they dive into ethical and religious questions!

   I hope it's also impactful for others who read it, and it shares similar themes with Freshwater, Liturgists, Semler, and the X-files.

   Spoilers in tags

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Addiction, Drug use, Grief, Death, Drug abuse, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Racism

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Medical content, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Child abuse and Animal cruelty

Spoiler

Also I thought the ending made sense, almost like when a documentary flashes forward before the credits. The mother still wrapped up the emotional arc better than I expected from getting it spoiled in reviews!

ksuazo94's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Drug abuse, and Self harm

Moderate: Death of parent, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Infidelity

tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

A beautiful and painful book that demands the reader's full attention. Gyasi doesn't lay things out A then B then C; instead, she gives us a puzzle of C then A then Q and trusts that we as readers are clever enough and paying enough attention to put the pieces together.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Child death, Grief, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Addiction, Death, Ableism, Drug use, and Racism

Moderate: Blood, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Xenophobia, Bullying, Body shaming, Sexism, Violence, Child abuse, and Animal death

Minor: Medical content, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Vomit, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

lermaline's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Medical content, Drug use, and Addiction

Moderate: Racism and Suicide attempt