Reviews tagging 'Child death'

On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu

15 reviews

brogan7's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

This is a difficult book, and yet told through the eyes of a child.  A family decides to relocate from Kabul to Australia.  Their journey is not just challenging, it's deadly and demeaning and unusually cruel.   Government policies set far away have extreme consequences on these families and individuals, trapped in a camp, in limbo, not knowing their status, constantly being offered a return flight to Afghanistan.  After all their torment to get as far as they have!  The family's distress is palpable.  The author refers to pills everyone is taking, to sleep, and this part is a little muddy in terms of what exactly the refugees are being given, and whether they're addicted to these pills or what. 
 
The writing is sparse and poetic.  The character development is excellent.  If I see one small drawback, it's that huge plot points emerge late in the story, and it feels like neither the characters nor the reader have time to absorb them.  Maybe that's more like real life, but as a reader I felt projected out of the story.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Grief, Child death, Suicide, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia

bannedfrombookclub's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Racism, and Self harm

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Domestic abuse

seawarrior's review

4.0

This is a gorgerously lyrical book about a family searching for home while met with insurmountable indifference by both the governments they fled from and towards, as seen through the eyes of their young daughter. Firuzeh is a wonderful narrator whose innocence and stubborness demand attention and empathy, and I was gripped by her story from beginning to end. Yu's language is precise, dreamlike and haunting. She ties the fates of her characters together to joyful and tragic effect, and weaves a story of relentless hope that holds power even in the family's grimmest moments. One of the greatest magical realism novels I have encountered so far. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Confinement, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Suicide and Child death

Minor: Physical abuse

kbhenrickson's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death and Racism

Minor: Death of parent

moriahleigh's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Racism, Suicide attempt, Deportation, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Child death, Suicide, and Racial slurs

christynhoover's review

dark hopeful informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Xenophobia

laurareads87's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

On Fragile Waves follows the lives of an Afghan family -- two parents and their two children -- as they journey from Afghanistan to Australia and find that the country is not welcoming and peaceful in the ways that they'd hoped or expected.  From a precarious boat ride to immigration detention to sexual and racist harassment to the threat of deportation, the novel focuses on the precarity experienced by one family seeking safety and is not an easy read.  I will say that I question the shelving of this book as 'fantasy,' and based on some of the reviews I expected a much more experimentally written book than I actually got.  An infuriating and heartbreaking read; this doesn't read like a debut novel -- definitely recommend.

 gender-based violence / intimate partner violence

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, War, Child death, Death of parent, Suicide, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Islamophobia, Death, and Confinement

Moderate: Domestic abuse

tree_branch's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Death of parent, War, and Racism

Minor: Domestic abuse and Cursing

larbster90's review

challenging emotional informative sad fast-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

I don't cry at a lot of books, but I cried at this one. Excellent storytelling style.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Child death, Police brutality, Violence, Death, and War

whatkathrynreads_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Racism