Skip to main content

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead







The Underground Railroad is an adult fiction novel by Colson Whitehead. It was Oprah Winfrey's book club selection for 2016 and also a National Book Award winner. I picked this book up to read after it was recommended by one of my favorite adult authors, Jodi Picoult.

Sex: Women are raped. There is one explicit sex scene at the very end of the book. It caught me off guard. It's two or three lines, so a reader can easily skip over it.

Language: Mild to moderate. Lots of racial slurs.

Drug/Alcohol Use: A few mentions and scenes of drunkeness.

Violence/Gore/Frightening Scenes/Death: The violence is the kicker in this book. It's very detailed and extremely disturbing. Unfortunately, it's also historically accurate. There are many deaths and scenes of torture. The entire book is suspenseful. The main character spends the entire book trying to escape.

Final Note: I personally had to read this book in spurts. The chapters tended to jump around and sometimes they switched perspectives. The Underground Railroad in this novel is an actual underground railroad. I thought the story had a creative twist on history and was well written. Out of 5 stars on Goodreads, I gave it 4!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My 2020 5 Star Reads

I'm a few days late, but here it is! My top books from 2020! Because of quarantine, I was able to finish 321 books - 83,718 pages. I decided to organize my favorites by genres so they are easier to pick out for those who care! 😊   Middle Grade: -All the Greys on Greene Street by Laura Tucker -New Kid AND Class Act by Jerry Craft (graphic novels - 1st two books in the same series) -Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina -A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee -To Be a Slave by Julius Lester (Nonfiction) -Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jason Reynolds -Mistakes Were Made and We Meet Again by Stephan Pastis (Timmy Failure series) -Guitar Notes by Mary Amato -The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden -The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon -Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus AND Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling (1st two books) -The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones by Daven McQUeen (Historical fiction) -My Year in the Midd...
Post a Comment
Read more

Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Purchase this book on Amazon!   Short is a junior fiction novel by Holly Goldberg Sloan. Julia has always been small. So when her mother encourages her to audition for the local play and she's cast as a munchkin, Julia is not surprised. What does surprise her, though, is how much she loves it. Sex: None. Julia talks about some of the older cast members dating and liking each other, but it's all pretty harmless. Language: None. Drug/Alcohol Use: Champagne is mentioned once. Violence/Gore/Frightening Scenes/Death: Julia is sad throughout the book because of the loss of a pet. Another character talks about how she lost her daughter. Final Note: This book was so cute! I couldn't help but absolutely adore Julia. Holly Goldberg Sloan really hit this one out of the park. I think kids in grades 4-7 will enjoy this novel!
Post a Comment
Read more

What is The Rapid Reader?

Hello fellow parents and friends! My name is Danielle. I had the idea for this blog a couple of years ago when I was working in my son's school library. It was a known fact that I was an avid reader of middle school and young adult literature and several parents would ask me about books before checking them out for their kids. (Or buying them at the book fair!) Because I read so much, I've never worried too much about what my kids might be reading. My oldest is only eight years old and anything he's read, I've read already! But what about parents who don't necessarily enjoy reading or have the time? I wanted to offer a resource that gave these parents the chance to make educated decisions about books their kids are reading. That's how this blog was born! Before we go any further, I want to point out that I am strongly opposed to book banning. I believe in freedom of speech and expression of art through literature. But I also feel strongly that kids should ...
1 comment
Read more