Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires

8 reviews

jordynkw's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts

madelinequinne's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. It was very informative about the lives of black people in this day and age, and I feel like I learned a lot from it. I definitely recommend to anyone interested in reading about the experiences of black people in the modern world

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Mental illness, Police brutality, Suicide, Body shaming, Bullying, Grief, Hate crime, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Chronic illness, Classism, Gun violence, Infidelity, Child abuse, Child death, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

ebonykashan's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Racism, Police brutality, Mental illness, and Death

foxowl2005's review against another edition

challenging reflective fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, Murder, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Ableism, and Child abuse

auntleona's review

dark funny fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, Eating disorder, and Sexual harassment

lwalla01's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

I don’t know how to rate this book, because I can’t tell how much satire is in this book. Some sections of this book left me uncomfortable as a disabled person, but I’m not sure who this book was written for exactly. I appreciated the diversity of the Black experience that was highlighted in this book, but I wonder if more sensitivity could have been given to those whose Blackness intersects with other identities? Or was it meant to look at the absurdity of how Blackness can still work to oppress otherness through lateral oppression? I need to read some more think pieces before I make a final decision about my rating or even my full thoughts on this collection. The writing and narration of the audiobook are great though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Child abuse

Moderate: Fatphobia, Murder, and Police brutality

krisharris525's review against another edition

funny reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Police brutality, Eating disorder, Suicide, and Body shaming

balladofreadingqueer's review

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

I listened to this audio book while driving the final stage of our journey in New Mexico and I really enjoyed it. 

This satirical book covers a lot of important and interesting themes such as police brutality, disability fetishisation, tokenism, competition between black women, the insidiousness of the white gaze and colourism.

The first story was interesting but very meta, it was a series of related vignettes with most of the action happening off screen and a self-aware narrator. My favourite stories were This Todd, the story of a woman who fetishises and diminishes the disabled men she dates by calling them all ‘Todd’ despite their criticism of her she lacks all self-awareness. Belle Lettres is 2 mothers writing each other petty letters via their daughters schoobags, a tense competition with the only 2 black girls in the grade. I also enjoyed Suicide, Watch a damning indictment of the impact of social media on young women. The main character wanting attention on social media writes a suicide note but did not intend to kill herself 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide, Police brutality, and Racism