Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

10 reviews

emmagreenwood's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful informative reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Death of parent, Torture, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Murder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Rape, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Abandonment, Body shaming, Classism, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

flowerowl's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad 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

3.5

Loved the beginning, it just crabs you and takes you in. Loved the way it every thing was told/expressed when Washington was a child. But them later on, around the trip in the ice, the writing kind of lost.

the disappearing didn't grasp me, it did not flow nicely with all the rest, the dead of the Father who was being sort of a jerk moved me more.

And so because of that I felt like I could not grasp the story anymore as in the beginning, which made the ending even more unsatisfactory and confusing. But maybe there is something I'm not getting (then please explain it to me). Maybe the feelings of not grasping it is exactly what your meant to feel, for it is what Washington feels the longer he lives; and if that is the case, then I (still) did not like that feeling, but then Esi Edugyan is also a really good writer!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide, Abandonment, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

stellarstar's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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

4.5

Brilliantly written, disappointing ending. Would have preferred more clarity. Ending is rather abrupt. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Gun violence, Trafficking, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Classism, Cursing, Sexism, Colonisation, Abandonment, Child death, Confinement, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcoholism

Minor: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Eating disorder

lostinthelibrary's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense slow-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? No

3.0

This was just okay. Strong start and it picked up a bit towards the end but a lot of it was confusing and I feel I slogged through a bit. I didn't really care for most of the characters other than Wash himself. The big emotional moments didn't really hit as hard as they should and neither did the tense moments. Everything was all a bit meh. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Child abuse

Minor: Rape

thenonbinaryc's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Slavery, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Rape, Racism, Sexual assault, Classism, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Murder, and Suicide

reading_rainbows's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Abandonment, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Child abuse, and Death

gwendolynaudrey_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

So close to a 5 star for me -- the ending was a little disheartening and honestly, confusing. The rest of the book is an amazing depiction of the realities of slavery, through the eyes of an "exceptional" young boy who escapes slavery and forges an uncertain life as an illustrator among academics and scientists. Adventurous and globe trotting. Fellow white people -- read this to understand how a "savior complex" does not rid you of the evils of the institution. Washington, the main character, is exceptionally loveable. The prose is beautiful and heart wrenching. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Slavery, Abandonment, Colonisation, Racial slurs, and Racism

rachel_smyth's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.5

This was an original, exciting and powerful read which effectively tackled many difficult topics. The character and plot development are convincing and kept me coming back for more. While there is a slow start, the plot soon picks up and is definitely worth the wait. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Suicide, Child abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, and Slavery

Moderate: Colonisation and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty and Bullying

brgntteva's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Violence

wcsheffer's review

adventurous hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A sort of unlikely pick for me. Thrilling, plot-driven historical fiction following the life of a once slave through North America, Europe, and Africa. I found the most compelling things about this book to be the descriptions of the widely varying landscapes and the thematic exploration of family. Which upon further reflection, might have to do with the listening to it instead of reading it. Listened to the audiobook and found the narrator to be excellent except when doing a Scottish accent, that said would absolutely recommend the audiobook. A great one to recommend for literary readers who are looking to read some fantasy or historical fiction that still feels ground in realism. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse