Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez

26 reviews

bookthia's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.5

A strong 4.5 review for this one.  Told in multiple voices, the story of a community in east Scarborough, where poverty, addiction. racism and homelessness are rife.  In real life too.  These characters felt alive to me, real.  I can easily imagine this being a true story.   There are good people and bad people and sometimes good people who are also bad people -- this book illuminates them all, including how good people are forced into bad choices.  Using children as some voices allowed Hernandez to illustrate the loss of innocence in a powerful way.  The character of Mina was a conduit for illustrating institutional racism so authentically.  Brilliant.  This book was in Canada Reads in 2022 and could easily have been the winner in any other year.  Highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Racial slurs, Homophobia, Child death, Addiction, and Domestic abuse

brerabbit's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Mental illness, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Addiction, and Islamophobia

souplover2001's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

"every day, i am inspired by these people's resiliency. every day, i am honoured to know them all." 😭😭 cried so bad reading this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Classism, Racism, and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual harassment

Minor: Addiction, Child death, and Bullying

jessahrens's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

I bawled

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Homophobia, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, and Physical abuse

samplanett's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Islamophobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Classism, and Addiction

Minor: Hate crime and Self harm

wenwanzhao's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

A lovely collection of moments from a year in the life of a group of lower-income children and the people around them. I laughed. I cried. And most importantly, I thought about what I was reading, a lot. I always try to find books set in the GTA, both out of a sort of narcissism and out of a desire to learn more about the stories that exist where I grew up. Scarborough is an excellent telling of how the lives of regular people keep going. I enjoyed the way people were connected to each other, and how they shared their perspectives. It all felt very authentic and genuine. Loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Cursing, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, Bullying, Racism, and Child abuse

aspence94's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Child death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Physical abuse, Grief, Racial slurs, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism

gerzonvillegas's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

Graphic: Racism, Child abuse, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Mental illness

Minor: Bullying and Death

zee's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Child abuse, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child death and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Body shaming, Abandonment, Mental illness, and Islamophobia

jessicas_bookshelf's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, and Racial slurs