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titagee's review against another edition
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Sexual harassment
peachani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, and Suicide
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, War, and Classism
Minor: Hate crime, Infertility, Sexual assault, Violence, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
jasminealizae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, and Classism
lauravreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Each of these women has wildly different experiences due to their personal circumstances. As expected Muna has the hardest time finding employment, and receiving legal documents. However, they all share a similar experience of being a Black woman. They deal with racism, fetishization, and tokenization. These characters did not interact much rather they each had their individual storyline.
Out of the three women I found Kemi the most relatable character. As she moved to Sweden for work, her story focuses a lot on workplace racism, tokenism, work relationsips, and exploitation. I absolutely LOVED how professional she is! There were so many instances where I was just so proud of the way she handled certain situations.
I found Muna to be the most loveable character however her story was very emotional and serious. Her story highlighted inequities, classism, and international politics. Brittany on the other hand was a very frustrating character. Her storyline was very dramatic but lighthearted at the same time. Her story almost felt like a telenovela or sitcom. However, it did highlight fetishization and white privilege.
**Spoiler Ahead**
Jonny is another main character in this novel. As soon as he was introduced I noticed that he had a lot of the characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder. In the last 10% of the book, it is disclosed that he was indeed on the spectrum but undiagnosed and protected by his immense wealth. I feel that this highlighted the stigma regarding ASD as well as the ablism in society. I am glad that he was held accountable for his actions rather than excused for his ASD. However, I did feel that it fed a bit into the negative stereotype of people with ASD.
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
bandysbooks'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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really liked the author’s dedication to portraying characters with diverse backgrounds. The main three characters are each Black women, but their backgrounds are varied. Kemi is Nigerian-American, Muna is a refugee to Sweden from Somalia, and Brittney-Rae is African American. The main male character, Johnny, is neuro divergent and portrayed thoughtfully. We also see supporting characters who are refugees from Eritrea and Syria and two of Kemi’s friends are a gay couple. All of the diversity makes the story so much richer and realistic.
My only real critique of this story is that the ending was a bit open ended. I didn’t necessarily want it to be neatly wrapped up, but I wish there was just a bit more.
All in all, I would definitely recommend it for contemporary fiction readers, particularly readers with an interest in prejudice, xenophobia, fetishism, ableism, and racism.
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, Grief, Stalking, and Classism
Fetishismaargot1's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Abortion, and Abandonment
Withheld diagnosis, fetishlibrarybookscene'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
3.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
krys_kilz'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
4.75
I am still sitting with the ending, which was heartbreaking in so many ways. I am not a fan of happy, neatly wrapped up endings, so that's not something that bothers me. What I'm sitting with is what message the ending reveals along with its scathing critique of misogynoir and xenophobia. The entire novel does an incredible job of shattering the picture perfect image of Nordic countries we are often fed in the so called "united states."
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Islamophobia, and Stalking
Minor: Drug use
If suicide is a trigger for you, I would advise taking great caution with this book.laurenmagoo'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
3.75
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, and Stalking