Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

26 reviews

criticalbooks's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Excrement, Misogyny, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Drug abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Stalking, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, Racism, and Toxic relationship

younglyricallit's review

challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Stalking, Sexism, Racism, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Physical abuse

jules_smith's review

dark emotional 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

The synopsis is a little vague, so I'd like to add that the story is about an underaged girl in a relationship with a famous RnB artist.

dalmavatai's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

This was a very impactful and important read, but I was a bit disappointed by a few things concerning the execution. 

It was very fast-paced and covered quite a few different things including being introduced to the music industry, going on tour, and then the trial and the police investigation. I honestly would've preferred if it had focused on just one of these things, like the whole book could've taken place during the tour and then the end could've been the investigation and the trial. I felt that because we had so many different settings, I was never immersed in any of them because the scene was just not set well enough, and before I could get used to one setting it had already moved on to the next. Because of this, I at times felt disconnected from Enchanted because her feelings and inner monologue weren't detailed enough to reel me in. Ultimately, I think I wanted less plot and more description and introspection to really engage me. 

Even so, I think this book is extremely important, offering commentary on rape culture, victim blaming, sexual exploitation of young girls by older and powerful men, the precarious situation of Black women in society, manipulative and abusive relationships, and more. I loved Enchanted as a main character and her relationship with her family, though, again, I wish it had been more fleshed out and detailed. I also liked how twisty the book got towards the end, I could really feel that it was a mystery/thriller in the last third. I also really enjoyed the final reveal, which I hadn't expected! 

Basically, too much plot and too little description for my taste that made me less engaged than I otherwise could've been with a story like this, but that aside, this book is a crucial and timely read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Dementia, Fatphobia, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

itsemlyyn's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racism

raquelita's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

riella_reads's review

challenging dark emotional informative 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

 Wow. This was powerful. Glad I finally read this. This hits deep and really makes you think. Lots of triggers in this one. I'm not one to be bothered by many triggers and even this one was hard for me to read and made me need to take breaks. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Death, Dementia, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

brookey8888's review

challenging dark 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? Yes

5.0

Wow this was hard to read but powerful. I highly recommend this if the tigger warnings aren’t to much. This is such an important topic and I’m glad she wrote about it. I really liked enchanted I though she was really strong. I do wish there was more of the familiar aspects though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

bookybadger's review

dark emotional tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Confinement, Drug use, Excrement, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Racism

Minor: Body shaming and Bullying

thenovelmaura's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

I am seriously in awe of this powerhouse author! I actually enjoyed this one even more than Monday's Not Coming. To start, Jackson's blend of hard-hitting contemporary and mystery/suspense is compulsively readable. I've seen other reviewers say they read this book in a day, and I flew through it, as well. However, the visceral themes of the book take much longer to digest. It is really difficult to witness Enchanted being groomed by this powerful producer; Korey expertly wields both her aspirations and her love for him against her. In spite of this, Enchanted is a really strong character, and I kept hoping that I was wrong about Korey even as he dropped countless red flags.

There was a little bit of dual timeline action through police interviews, which really dialed up the suspense and had me trying (and failing) to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Additional glimpses into reactions from Enchanted's community and broader conversations on social media made the contemporary of this book feel really well-fleshed out. While its subject matter is intense, I highly recommend picking this one up! It'll make you think long and hard about what voices we prioritize as a society and who we choose to believe. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Emotional abuse

Grooming, opiod addiction, victim blaming