Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Not So Pure and Simple

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles

9 reviews

trixster33's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny informative inspiring 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

Really fun book, tackles lots of issues, including gossip, toxic masculinity, teen pregnancy, sex education. It has great dialogue, great characters, really appreciate everyone feels real so you can tell who is speaking without needing to be told

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space_bandit's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.75

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meleac07's review against another edition

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challenging funny hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

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

3.75

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bendersreads's review

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challenging emotional funny reflective tense slow-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

This book is forever in my head.

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alimoo511's review against another edition

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This is obviously written by a man for men. I can't get over the main character's misogyny and just grossness no matter how much reviews assured me this is a novel meant to "call out" men. I just have no interest in a novel that is so clearly geared to men to talk about a topic I already know about.

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destdest's review against another edition

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funny inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

4.25

There is an ever-present layer of general f**kboyish-ness in general (being a “nice” guy, double standards of teen pregnancy, objectification of women’s bodies, scoring how many girls you can sleep with, boys go have sex; girls stay pure, male entitlement, etc). Know that in advance it may make the story annoying for the average female reader. I know there were many times I was annoyed. But I think having the book coming from Del’s perspective helps call some things out without coming off preachy.

Beyond that, I found Del’s narrative fun. He had a strong voice. I loved Jameer! Del was always hilariously wondering if they were going to have to come to blows. The Purity Pledgers also captured my heart. I enjoyed how the story tackled that the lack of sex education can be very <b>harmful</b>. There were many times I had to laugh at the dialogue and how much of a butthole Qwan was lol.

I’m very familiar with the purity pledge especially at a Black church. So, it was relatable to me (they had a Harvest Fest; any Christian kid growing up knows the Halloween alternative parties: Hallelujah Night, Light the Night, etc). I also love that the characters weren’t just black or white, the church and the non-church goers. Neither gets demonized here.

Overall, I don’t regret reading this. I think I’m becoming a fan of Lamar Giles’ work. I would watch a Netflix adaption of this.

Ending spoilers/rambling:

so GLAD! Kiera didn’t get with Del. He was always pushing up on her in ways that made her uncomfortable. Some probably won’t like the Mya angle, but I figured they had a connection there. I was expecting Del to remain single.

I read some reviews that were uncomfortable with Del’s brunt of realization coming after he found out his sister was sexually-assaulted. I hate to say it, but this is mad realistic. I know of way too many men, cousins even, that want to talk about who all is a hoe here and there, but until something happened unfavorably to their mom or sister, they doubled down on their misogyny. A lot of guys will even tell you they only care about the women in their family and everyone else can get mistreated. There can also be a lack of accountability when their guy friends are acting gross.

With Pastor Newsome getting off scot-free after all his mess, have you been to a church lately? Call a pastor out publicly at church. You better be ready to bob and weave. The majority of the pastor’s supporters will skin you alive. That’s why most people just vote with their feet. A lot of indecent, abusive pastors stay in power because it takes a lot of courage to call out a pastor who has purposefully done wrong. I definitely agree Del’s mom should not have allowed the pastor to bully her son/left the church. I mean, eventually they find a new church, but only, after all the damage has been done.

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chapkip's review against another edition

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challenging funny informative

Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I liked the overall message of this book but I wish it hadn’t taken so long to get there. The pacing almost made the lessons learned feel like some plot-twist reveal

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plumpaperbacks's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into Not So Pure and Simple. Ultimately, I didn’t love or hate this novel. I liked Giles’ writing style and some of the themes incorporated into the story. While the characters definitely felt like teenagers and I admired the growth many of them experienced, I wasn’t attached to any of them. I appreciated the way the story ended, as it felt authentic. I don’t think there’s much else for me to say; although this wasn’t a book for me, it was a decent read and one I think will be important for and enjoyed by many actual teens.

Representation

Black protagonist and side characters
Black gay side character

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bugmanreads's review against another edition

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informative lighthearted fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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