Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I have no complaints! This book was really good! I hated Muggy at the start of the book but I liked him at the end when he saved everyone that was sleeping in Greenwood when he rang the bell and he sacrificed his life for these people who despised him, for all his tricks and I really liked Isaiah and Angel’s love. They were so nice and sweet with each other, it was really sad what happened to Greenwood and overall this book was great
dark
emotional
informative
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
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
emotional
hopeful
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
Goody-two-shoes Angel and bad boy Isaiah think they have little in common beyond living in the same affluent Black community in 1921 Tulsa. When they both accept a job running their English teacher’s mobile library on a two-seater bicycle, they’re surprised to find they enjoy each other's company. But on May 31, 1921, their lives--and perspectives--change forever.
This historical fiction set around the massacre on Black Wall Street holds so much grief, pain, and fear, but also tenderness, love, and joy. This one for sure would have been five stars for me were it not for some historical inaccuracies that took me out of the story, and the somewhat stilted dialogue. But Angel and Isaiah are such compelling protagonists, and Randi Pink's writing really shines a light on the devastating human toll of the attack on Black Wall Street.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This historical fiction set around the massacre on Black Wall Street holds so much grief, pain, and fear, but also tenderness, love, and joy. This one for sure would have been five stars for me were it not for some historical inaccuracies that took me out of the story, and the somewhat stilted dialogue. But Angel and Isaiah are such compelling protagonists, and Randi Pink's writing really shines a light on the devastating human toll of the attack on Black Wall Street.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Great story. Wish it had focused a bit more on the actual Tulsa Race Massacre as it stated in the summary (which is why I only gave it 4 stars instead of 5), but it had enough that I am compelled to do more research on this horrific history that we’ve never been taught.
Side note: do not listen to the audiobook. The narrator had a strange halting style that I did not like. She paused in very odd spots in the middle of sentences (trying for dramatic effect?!) and it became distracting. I was able to get past it because the story was good, but just as I seek out certain narrators, I would try to avoid her.
Side note: do not listen to the audiobook. The narrator had a strange halting style that I did not like. She paused in very odd spots in the middle of sentences (trying for dramatic effect?!) and it became distracting. I was able to get past it because the story was good, but just as I seek out certain narrators, I would try to avoid her.
An excellent YA intro to the Tulsa Massacre. I was able to get a good sense of Greenwood at that time, but I wish that the actual events of the massacre and its aftermath were covered in a bit more detail.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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
Angel of Greenwood is teen romance set against the back drop of the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. It is a sweet story that tracks the age old debate of DuBois and Booker T. Washington on identifying what’s the best method to achieve black prosperity. I think readers, DuBois, and Washington all realize that it will take more than one to achieve economic comfort within the black community. And more than anything it will take, the black community to come together to push against the “rioters” who oppose our progress. I appreciate Pink’s discussion of this topic in the book, but I wish she gave readers more. For a YA audience this is perfect, but I need more! I love that her intent was write a book where black teenagers could fall in love in peace. I think that’s beautiful and desire nothing less for my children.
I was reviewing my highlights from this book and I found two that I think encompass what needs to be said:
"Two intelligent, passionate Black folk. Kissing freely in the middle of the street their own people owned. What a wonderful world it was." This was 70% into the book by way of citation.
"There was no way to live peacefully alongside the foe. No building by one’s own bootstraps or rising from ashes." At 78% in.
Intelligent, passionate Black people kissing that ends with them having to rise from ashes, literally. If I could tell a story in two quotes those would be it.
Angel and Isaiah are teenagers living in Greenwood that share a love of books and with different ideas about how Black people should continue to live, differing between Du Bois and Booker T. There is love and poetry, mischief and flames.
You can forget what's coming, enamored with the story, until the countdown date at the start of the chapter reminds you that history hasn't forgotten. And we shouldn't either.
"Two intelligent, passionate Black folk. Kissing freely in the middle of the street their own people owned. What a wonderful world it was." This was 70% into the book by way of citation.
"There was no way to live peacefully alongside the foe. No building by one’s own bootstraps or rising from ashes." At 78% in.
Intelligent, passionate Black people kissing that ends with them having to rise from ashes, literally. If I could tell a story in two quotes those would be it.
Angel and Isaiah are teenagers living in Greenwood that share a love of books and with different ideas about how Black people should continue to live, differing between Du Bois and Booker T. There is love and poetry, mischief and flames.
You can forget what's coming, enamored with the story, until the countdown date at the start of the chapter reminds you that history hasn't forgotten. And we shouldn't either.