Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Pomegranate

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Pomegranate by Helen Elaine Lee

15 reviews

juliaxgulia's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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decie's review against another edition

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4.75

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad 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

4.0

Overall, I liked the story that was told, it was really interesting to learn about ranita and her life up until the point. I did think that the 'big reveal' was underwhelming or we were missing it

her dancing in the garden, during the rain, in the middle of the night? What was the big deal? I felt like we were missing a scene there

Sometimes the writing was a bit much, hard to get through, being overly descriptive/wordy, but then it went away

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helenwalker's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring 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

beautifully written, painful yet hopeful, and touching.

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rubberrosebooks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

I loved this book with my whole heart. The author did such an incredible job exploring intersectionality with the main character being a woman who is black, queer and a mother. The events and dialogs we experience through Ranitas' eyes show both the surface level, as well as the more complex struggles of life post incarceration.

I listened to this on audio (Libro.fm) and found it very easy to follow, even when the timeline changed. The character development was 10/10, and I appreciated that we got to know almost every single character in Ranitas life so intimately.

I have experience within the system of corrections, and I appreciated how accurate the representation of prison life was. So many times, I caught myself saying, "Wow, this is exactly how it is."

This wasn't a "poor me" kind of story, but a life like account of the unfortunate circumstances that many people who become incarcerated have been through. Ranita takes responsibility for her actions, and I admire her so much.

This book is extremely well written and one I will think about for years to come! Ranitas resilience was inspiring and beautiful.

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entropyseeker's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A lovely book about the hard journey to recovery after substance abuse.

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katieana_210's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Phenomenal writing, excellent characters, beautiful hard story that is absolutely a pleasure to read

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abbie_'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

This was such a beautiful, beautiful book, so full of heart and hope, just a gorgeous experience. It follows Ranita, who’s just finished her time in prison and is adjusting to life back on the outside, fighting to stay clean and sober and to regain custody of her kids. She’s also trying to come to terms with her late-found queerness, which blossomed during her stint in prison with Maxine (side note, please can the author write a book about Maxine next because I would read that ten times over). The story flips back and forward in time, so we see snapshots of Ranita’s life as a child, as a wayward teenager, during prison, and then after her release. I loved all the chapters, Lee writes with such assuredness and Ranita was an incredibly developed character. My heart broke for her a million times over - she did not have an easy life. Lee addresses complex mother-daughter relationships, emotional abuse over physical, with welts left just as deep, sexual abuse at church, the lure of alcohol and drugs as numbness, but above all the ability to heal and redeem. I love everything about Ranita’s journey, but obviously especially the queer aspects of her life she begins to seek out and embrace.

My one critique is that the issue with Ranita’s old partner, DQ, didn’t seem fully resolved. There’s one confrontation with him when she’s back home, but then he just melts away. It felt a little too neat, but honestly with all the shit Ranita has to deal with, she deserves a win like that!!

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julieb3a's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

3.75

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djeanine's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Excellent & beautiful writing!

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