Reviews - Not So Pure and Simple

428 reviews for:

Not So Pure and Simple

Lamar Giles

4.03 AVERAGE

astitchnastory's review

5.0

funny inspiring 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

katielibrarian's review against another edition

5.0

ALC provided by Libro.fm - wonderful audiobook

alimoo511's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 14%

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.

Content Warnings

destdest's review against another edition

4.25

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

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.

Content Warnings

chelseajo_12's review against another edition

3.75

Cressie and Shianne are my heroes!!

as someone who grew up in purity culture, this was all a bit too familiar.

penelope_w's review against another edition

3.5

funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

madisonmcla's review against another edition

5.0

This book reminded me of why I love YA so much, while being original and bringing in new tropes and ideas. It’s reminiscent of Sex education because of the premise, but it included such great discussions about teen pregnancy and motherhood, the effect of abstinence-only education, and the problematic ways boys are taught to expect things from girls. This book is sooo good and I hope it gets the hype it deserves.

nathanbartos17's review against another edition

3.0

Read for my Library Materials for Young Adults class.
I would not have ever picked this book up outside of class. What I'll say about it is this: I'm glad it exists; I'm not that glad that I read it. I'm glad I can point teens, especially young men, to this for funny and honest discussions of sex, sexuality, slut-shaming, etc. My main problem with this book, though it may be a realistic depiction, is that the main character, Dell, doesn't get to a point where he really changes his attitude towards women until his sister forces him to see how the attitude that men have towards women has affected her. I know that is sometimes what it takes, but I still think it's kind of...gross; the women in your lives should not have to share their trauma for you to treat them and other women as people.

hk_reads's review against another edition

3.75

challenging funny hopeful 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

beebirdlown's review against another edition

4.0

READ IF YOU ENJOY:
• guy schemes to get the girl plots that get upended in the end
• Black boy narrators outgrowing toxic attitudes concerning sex and relationships
• high school drama

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