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themusingsofmsb's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book!
This book is an incredibly powerful and thought-provoking story, told from multiple viewpoints, about how members of the community deal with the police killing of an unarmed 13-year-old Black girl.
Given the number of Black folx murdered by police in recent years, this story obviously felt very realistic. The way the author uses the voices of different characters (members of the community who knew the girl who was killed, interviews with professors, artists, folx who left the community, social media posts, etc.) really helped to move the plot along and invoke several emotional responses as I read. Learning more details about several of the characters’ pasts (and how they were all connected) made me feel invested in their stories and enabled me to feel like I was able to experience a bit of their world.
The viewpoints of the white characters in this story really helped give voice to how racism works both covertly and overtly in our society. Readers get to see how a well-meaning yet sheltered white college student (whose middle name clearly should’ve been “microaggressions” when we first meet him) begins to grow into a more knowledgable and empathetic person who actually decides to become an accomplice for POC. Readers also get to experience some of the disgustingly blatant racism POC experience, via social media posts and protestors who show up to the young girl’s funeral saying she got what she deserved.
Light It Up is a painful and realistic look at our society, that will hopefully challenge readers to have honest conversations about how to combat microaggressions, police brutality, and systemic racism - and promote dignity and humanity for all.
This book is an incredibly powerful and thought-provoking story, told from multiple viewpoints, about how members of the community deal with the police killing of an unarmed 13-year-old Black girl.
Given the number of Black folx murdered by police in recent years, this story obviously felt very realistic. The way the author uses the voices of different characters (members of the community who knew the girl who was killed, interviews with professors, artists, folx who left the community, social media posts, etc.) really helped to move the plot along and invoke several emotional responses as I read. Learning more details about several of the characters’ pasts (and how they were all connected) made me feel invested in their stories and enabled me to feel like I was able to experience a bit of their world.
The viewpoints of the white characters in this story really helped give voice to how racism works both covertly and overtly in our society. Readers get to see how a well-meaning yet sheltered white college student (whose middle name clearly should’ve been “microaggressions” when we first meet him) begins to grow into a more knowledgable and empathetic person who actually decides to become an accomplice for POC. Readers also get to experience some of the disgustingly blatant racism POC experience, via social media posts and protestors who show up to the young girl’s funeral saying she got what she deserved.
Light It Up is a painful and realistic look at our society, that will hopefully challenge readers to have honest conversations about how to combat microaggressions, police brutality, and systemic racism - and promote dignity and humanity for all.
lovelynovellas's review against another edition
3.0
I wish this book didn’t have so many points of view. That ruined it for me because it took awhile to remember which characters are involved in which relationship. This book could also be read as a stand-alone because I didn’t know it was book two and I haven’t read How It Went Down.
I think this should be New Adult because the characters are all in college and working. Minus Tina and Shelia.
Because of there being so many points of view, it dropped to a 3 star for me but I related to how it feels to be a target. The scene where Tyrell is in the car while Robb (white dude) is driving made me almost cry because I know Tyrelland DaVonte would have faced some sort of charge or violence but not Robb
I think this should be New Adult because the characters are all in college and working. Minus Tina and Shelia.
Because of there being so many points of view, it dropped to a 3 star for me but I related to how it feels to be a target. The scene where Tyrell is in the car while Robb (white dude) is driving made me almost cry because I know Tyrelland DaVonte would have faced some sort of charge or violence but not Robb
xallroyx21's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is a sequel to How It Went Down, but it can definitely be read as a standalone. The content is powerful, especially given all the protests that happen last summer and comparing them to what happened last week in the Capitol. Everyone (especially white people) should read this, because it hits on so many points about the way the media affects these situations. I've said it before and I'll say it again: language is important.
While the content is absolutely spot-on, there were too many characters here to really get any great character arcs, except for maybe one or two. The multiple narrators definitely work to give a full view of the situation, but I wanted more character development overall. This is the main reason why this isn't getting 5 stars from me.
Still a powerful read, and definitely one I'll recommend to fans of Angie Thomas and Jason Reynolds.
While the content is absolutely spot-on, there were too many characters here to really get any great character arcs, except for maybe one or two. The multiple narrators definitely work to give a full view of the situation, but I wanted more character development overall. This is the main reason why this isn't getting 5 stars from me.
Still a powerful read, and definitely one I'll recommend to fans of Angie Thomas and Jason Reynolds.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Racial slurs
mudder17's review
5.0
Wow. That was a powerful book. I picked up this book because of the summary--13 year old girl, unarmed, is shot in the back by a police officer for essentially jogging while black. It's implied that she had her earbuds in as she did her usual routine of jogging and didn't hear the officer when he shot her. When I first started the book, the style of it kind of threw me because the story moved along from different perspectives and I was not yet familiar with the characters. But it didn't take me long to sort them out and it really helped tell the story, especially when discussions of racism, white privilege, and so on where happening between different characters. Many of the discussions covered in this book are reminiscent of real-life conversations I've had with people, both on and off social media. These are important conversations to have and I think this book is an important book to read, especially if you're not a POC, but you're trying to better understand what POC go through every day. On a related note, this is a follow-up of a previous book, How it Went Down, which covers the shooting of Tariq, who is mentioned several times in this book, but I did not know this when I began this story, and while reading the first book might add another layer of depth to this book, this story stands alone very well.
Special thanks to NetGalley, Kekla Magoon, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Special thanks to NetGalley, Kekla Magoon, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
quirkybibliophile's review against another edition
5.0
This story is told through a series of vignettes after a cop shoots and kills an unarmed thirteen-year-old girl. Shae Tatum was on her way home with headphones in, a winter coat on, and in a rush but she never made it home. The community comes together in protest against the senseless taking of black lives by law enforcement and the injustice of the system that was created to protect.
This book was so moving and addressed such important and real issues. It addressed the ever-pressing issue of police brutality, and the ongoing problems black people face with Law enforcement just for existing. It does this in a manner that speaks about the issues through multiple different eyes and from all perspectives.
At first, I was worried I wouldn't be able to follow with so many characters and so many storylines but that added a lot to the story. I loved hearing from each character and watching how events change them. I loved watching Robb come to the realization he reaches after a very pivotal moment in the story. I also found it sad, moving and a lot to take in to watch so many of the children become adults overnight. I thought it was important that the police officer's daughter had her viewpoint shown and to see how conflicted she was about the actions of her parents.
Something else I enjoyed was watching the story play out on both sides. I liked hearing not just from the main cop and his family but also another cop, people who thought they escaped their old town, and people in the middle of it. It really showed the importance of community during those tumultuous times. I liked watching as all of their stories came together to create the bigger picture and watch the roles that they played in each other's lives.
This book was so moving and addressed such important and real issues. It addressed the ever-pressing issue of police brutality, and the ongoing problems black people face with Law enforcement just for existing. It does this in a manner that speaks about the issues through multiple different eyes and from all perspectives.
At first, I was worried I wouldn't be able to follow with so many characters and so many storylines but that added a lot to the story. I loved hearing from each character and watching how events change them. I loved watching Robb come to the realization he reaches after a very pivotal moment in the story. I also found it sad, moving and a lot to take in to watch so many of the children become adults overnight. I thought it was important that the police officer's daughter had her viewpoint shown and to see how conflicted she was about the actions of her parents.
Something else I enjoyed was watching the story play out on both sides. I liked hearing not just from the main cop and his family but also another cop, people who thought they escaped their old town, and people in the middle of it. It really showed the importance of community during those tumultuous times. I liked watching as all of their stories came together to create the bigger picture and watch the roles that they played in each other's lives.
themoodyambr's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 ⭐
"When Shae Tatum died, it was different. It was about how they treat us, no matter how good or innocent we are. It was about how a black face is a black face is a black face. A threat no matter how you slice it"
WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THIS WAS A COMPANION NOVEL? I saw this skimming through reviews and I did not know that but anywhooo
It felt like it took me MONTHS to read this book but its only been one month. I started this book while I was in a slump thinking it was going to take me out of it. It did slightly. I enjoyed the pacing of the story. I liked the perspectives of the different people such as Brick, Kimberly and Zeke. I DID NOT like the Officer's perspective (but I think that was the point)
This story follows all these people after a 13 year old is shot and was unarmed. Chaos ensues and everyone is in a riot.. literally. So the story shows these POVS and how everyone is processing whats going on in the news. There are tweets and interviews. I liked that this was a Black Lives Matter book because we got to see everyone perspective on what they perceive is right or wrong. Did Shae deserve to die? Is the last resort is to pull a trigger for police?
This book made me angry, sad, happy (there were some romance sprinkled) and angry again because just because this is a fictional story this happens everyday. A black person gets shot by an officer and then nothing happens to the officer. It's a never ending cycle.
thank you to netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review. this title comes out October 22nd 2019
"When Shae Tatum died, it was different. It was about how they treat us, no matter how good or innocent we are. It was about how a black face is a black face is a black face. A threat no matter how you slice it"
WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THIS WAS A COMPANION NOVEL? I saw this skimming through reviews and I did not know that but anywhooo
It felt like it took me MONTHS to read this book but its only been one month. I started this book while I was in a slump thinking it was going to take me out of it. It did slightly. I enjoyed the pacing of the story. I liked the perspectives of the different people such as Brick, Kimberly and Zeke. I DID NOT like the Officer's perspective (but I think that was the point)
This story follows all these people after a 13 year old is shot and was unarmed. Chaos ensues and everyone is in a riot.. literally. So the story shows these POVS and how everyone is processing whats going on in the news. There are tweets and interviews. I liked that this was a Black Lives Matter book because we got to see everyone perspective on what they perceive is right or wrong. Did Shae deserve to die? Is the last resort is to pull a trigger for police?
This book made me angry, sad, happy (there were some romance sprinkled) and angry again because just because this is a fictional story this happens everyday. A black person gets shot by an officer and then nothing happens to the officer. It's a never ending cycle.
thank you to netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review. this title comes out October 22nd 2019
gabbyl's review against another edition
5.0
I can’t wait to share this book with my students tomorrow. The multiple viewpoints give the reader a ton of different access points for the complexities of racism and police brutality in our communities. What makes it even more special is the unique voice of each character. This is the kind of book that makes you want to read more and more.
jennifer1001's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
alisong906's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0