pandact's review against another edition
- 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
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!tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
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
- 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
Graphic: Drug abuse, Medical content, Drug use, and Addiction
Moderate: Racism and Suicide attempt
flashandoutbreak's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, Grief, Medical content, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts
jazhandz's review against another edition
Graphic: Grief, Medical content, and Racism
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, and Racial slurs
The main character’s neuroscience research is based on experimenting on mice, and this is described in some detail.sketchydelusion's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Grief, Mental illness, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, Racism, and Sexual content
bites_of_books's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
All in all, this book is beautiful and heartbreaking. The ways that Gifty's family came together and broke apart are handled so carefully and tenderly that I was able to go through it with Gifty while maintaining a safe distance from that pain. I appreciate Gyasi's writing a lot and so far, both of her books have been excellent in my eyes, she's becoming an auto-buy author for me. I highly recommend this book but do check out the content warnings since it can be a difficult read for multiple reasons.
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Addiction, Grief, Death, Medical content, Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
paulap's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
There are several topics that the book looks at: addiction, faith and how that interacts with science, racism, the OxyContin crisis, being an immigrant, depression. Some of those topics were more interesting and better developed than others. I particularly liked the discussions about addiction, how it happens, if the brain is actually able to stop the impulse or not, if it is about will or something more basic than that.
The last major aspect of the book is Gifty’s relationships with people, mostly with her family, but also with friends and couples, how it is hard for her to develop those connections, how flawed her relationship with her mum is and how her brother affects that. Those parts were interesting. But the parts about her failing to have friends or a boyfriend felt underdeveloped cliches about antisocial scientists.
Overall, I liked the experience of reading this book, but it was a bit half and half about if the book resonated with me and I don’t think it will leave a strong mark.
Graphic: Addiction, Suicide, Mental illness, and Medical content
pagesofkenzie's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Medical content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Child death, Death, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Violence, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
hannahbailey's review against another edition
- 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
It made me feel more open-minded towards those that devoutly follow the Bible (I'm an atheist and quite the sceptic) and I always love it when I learn something new from a book - it's why I read! It's a great way to challenge your perceptions and grow as a person IMO.
Gifty's struggle understanding the events in her life in the context of God, and later in the context of neuroscience was a really powerful way to explore these issues. The impact of her brother's drug abuse in crushing her religious faith was interesting to follow, especially with the first-person narration. The strained relationship she has with her mother added another layer to this book making it a very captivating read.
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, and Racial slurs