Mood Readers Unite. discussion

An exciting literary debut: the unflinching and powerful story of a young girl's journey out of Zimbabwe and to America.

Darling is only ten years old, and yet she must navigate a fragile and violent world. In Zimbabwe, Darling and her friends steal guavas, try to get the baby out of young Chipo's belly, and grasp at memories of Before. Before their homes were destroyed by paramilitary policemen, before the school closed, before the fathers left for dangerous jobs abroad.

But Darling has a chance to escape: she has an aunt in America. She travels to this new land in search of America's famous abundance only to find that her options as an immigrant are perilously few. NoViolet Bulawayo's debut calls to mind the great storytellers of displacement and arrival who have come before her--from Junot Diaz to Zadie Smith to J.M. Coetzee--while she tells a vivid, raw story all her own.

TW:
(view spoiler)[Animal death
Death
Racism
Sexual content
Violence
Pregnancy
Animal cruelty
Abortion
Racial slurs
Rape
Alcoholism
Eating disorder
Fatphobia
Sexual assault
Sexual violence
Religious bigotry
Death of parent
Colonisation
Adult/minor relationship
Child abuse
Child death
Cursing
Incest
Pedophilia
Suicide
Terminal illness
Xenophobia
Blood
Excrement
Grief
War
Addiction
Body horror
Body shaming
Genocide
Gore
Gun violence
Hate crime
Mental illness
Misogyny
Sexism
Police brutality
Islamophobia
Dementia
Mass/school shootings
Murder
Toxic friendship
Injury/Injury detail
Classism (hide spoiler)]

I think I need to do better at looking into the tw's before I suggest these books. Please proceed with caution friends.

I will preface everything that follows this message by saying that I was not the audience for this book, but I can appreciate that it is written well.

That being said, nothing about this book was easy to read though the way that Darling thinks, at times, did make me chuckle a bit.


Things I did not enjoy - (view spoiler)[ 1. Chipo's pregnancy and the way that her rape by her grandfather was handled.
2. The almost abortion that the kids were about to perform on her, UNSUPERVISED! If MotherLove hadn't turned up when she did that would have been the point that I dnf'd this book without any hesitation.
3. I get that exploring your sexuality is a part of growing up, however, I could have lived my entire life without joining a group of teenagers on an exploration of the entirety of a pron website. Also, the circumcisi0n video could've missed me too.
4. Whatever was going on with Tshaka Zulu. That was heartbreaking and I wish I could have opted out of it. (hide spoiler)]


Things I appreciated (view spoiler)[ 1. The fact that NoViolet emphasized that every country has issues. The ever shining America is also troubled just as their homeland is. The rose coloured glasses blinded her and her friends just as the media brainwashing fooled the Americans into thinking that Africa was this wasteland begging to be saved from itself.
2. The characters each felt distinct from each other so I wasn't confused as to who was being referred to at any point into the book. (hide spoiler)]

I won't be rating this one.