Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi

31 reviews

rachellle's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book was amazing! This prequel was absolutely necessary for me because it enhances the world in 'Pet'. Definitely rereading 'Pet' and then rereading this book again. The conflicts that Bitter, her friends, and Assata face were written with so much depth.
From Bitter's indifference towards the protests, to Bitter's guilt about the angels and not supporting her friend's, to the exhaustion the Assata members face. It's really important that the novel highlighted the structure of organizing and the exhaustion that the work leads to. The conflicts between Bitter and her friends was complex and demonstrated how the world affects interpersonal relationships (Eddie ending their friendship).


The only part I wish the novel spent more time explaining was the resolution of the overarching conflict.
Obviously the mega rich guy is killed and the mayor is spared, leading him to abolish the prisons and replace the entire city council. But what conversations led to that? I know not much of a conversation would have went down but I wanna know what was said.


Overall, this book was so good. What really drew me in was the honesty of the relationship dynamics; their interactions are not isolated from the larger world. It was interesting to see how they all did their best to hold each other up and even fail sometimes. And Bitter's character development was layered and amazing to watch unfold. 
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pandact's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

Bitter and pet can be read in either order because even if you forgot all the character names in Pet, you'll be thinking about Bitter for a long time after you finish it! Every book by Akwaeke Emezi is so relevant and interesting, so don't skip this one just because it's a prequel 👩‍🎨
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cerilouisereads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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booksandteatime's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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cadence99's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.75

I loved Pet, and Bitter certainly didn’t disappoint either. it’s truly such a fulfilling experience to fall into their writing. 
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tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
I almost DNFed this several times but stuck with it to see all the ways it ties to Pet. But most of the major characters besides Bitter herself bugged the crap out of me. And idk what message Emezi intended readers to take away, but the one I got sits poorly with me.
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carolinalopezwatt's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective 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

4.5

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kell_xavi's review against another edition

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4.0

This book is, unexpectedly, quite a bit better than Pet. Pet builds a world that cares, that is intentional, that believes:

We are each other’s harvest. We are each other’s business. We are each other’s magnitude and bond.

Bitter tries to explain how Jam’s parents, Bitter and Aloe, were made familiar with the capacity for creatures to be brought forth from her paintings. It also tries to explain how a city somewhere close to ours in white supremacist capitalist politics, but in the fight for equality, came to be the haven of Pet.

The history is, in some ways, disappointing, because it turns out that as much divine intervention as hard work goes into the answer; this novel doesn’t give hope like a bold of lightning, but in a trickle (but still there). There are moments, in willingness to talk after anger—in refusing the cure for a disability, in Bitter’s ability to find a safe space—that look like hope, monsters or not.

It was mostly resolved by the end, but parts of this book after Bitter brings something from a painting didn’t seem to quite fit with the first book. The roles Hibiscus and Ube inhabit, the way Bitter and others talk about change, the personality of the creature. It’s cohesive, such that I expect Emezi knew the whole timeline from the start, but some of the pieces didn’t line up for me.

Here’s what I loved: Aloe’s romance. Bitter’s art. The casual queerness. The way art is discussed as valuable. The phrasing around Bitter’s childhood. How true anxiety felt. Disability! How true anger and hopelessness felt.

Here’s what I wasn’t sure about: Assata. Eucalyptus. The utopic institutions were vague in ways, which was fine, but some of what was described felt a bit wonky, or else hollow. Population count for Lucille?

Here’s what I didn’t like: Perhaps necessary for the continuity, but I didn’t like how present the guilty party from Pet was here. Blessing’s outfits. The homogenous reaction the the scene in the public square: there’s a reductiveness to the immediate change everyone undergoes, and the discussion of punishment, anger, and terrorism ends up being sorely limited and ineffective as a result. I wanted concrete descriptions of what Assata is doing, a framework of what we’re fighting against: use of allegory would have strengthened Emezi’s ability to create a call to action through this work. 
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cookiecat73's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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mar's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective 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

3.5

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