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discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I really admired how Àbíké-Íyímídé used her characters to highlight a lot of the many ways that whiteness manifests to harm Black people. There’s the outwardly violent and malicious folks, but then there’s the white character whose family is poor and doesn’t necessarily benefit from class privilege, but who resents Black people for what they view as “affirmative action” or unearned advancement, and harnesses their white privilege to exert power.
Then there’s the “decent” white person who recognizes the harm of systemic racism and wants to be viewed as separate from it, but also does nothing to challenge it because it’s “too big” and they’re just one person—one person who continues to benefit it.
Graphic: Car accident, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Classism, Drug use, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Racism, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This book took me on a ride. The book starts off very low stakes and I was questioning what people meant when they said it was high stakes but boy did it get more intense with every part! By the end, I was so scared someone was going to die, that’s how high the stakes were.
I didn’t trust anyone throughout the book, and rightfully so. The only people I trusted were Devon and Chiamaka. Despite this, I didn’t really know who could be behind it all for a lot of the novel. I liked how bits and pieces were fed to us along the way but didn’t make it obvious as to who was doing these things and why, but when it was revealed as to who was behind it, it all started to make sense and everything fell into place.
I don’t really know how to articulate much more without just using the mind blown emoji, this is really just a book you have to read for yourself to see the real impact it has.
The one thing that did drop this rating down from a 5 star for me was the pacing and one detail in the ending. I didn’t like the circumstances around the fire. Don’t get me wrong, I loved to see Niveus burn, but I felt like the explanation and timing of this was way too convenient. I was adamant that Terrell lit the fire as revenge for what Aces did, but they just explained it off as an “electrical fault”. It just felt very abrupt and too coincidental that it happened at just the right time. It would’ve been good if everyone else thought it was an electrical fault but someone had lit the fire and we knew who.
Overall, I really enjoyed this and it was a fantastic, strong, intense, thrilling debut by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and I look forward to reading more of their novels in the future.
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Violence, Car accident, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Drug use
gabyleyendo's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Classism, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Homophobia
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Cursing, Drug use, Misogyny, Blood, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Suicide attempt, Outing, Police brutality, and Self harm
allisonbrooke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Murder, Terminal illness, Torture, Death, Bullying, Car accident, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Hate crime, Infidelity, Medical content, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
shell_s's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Gaslighting, Stalking, Racism, Rape, Death of parent, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment
rrio's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Police brutality, Stalking, Homophobia, Bullying, Racial slurs, Outing, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Mental illness, Classism, Slavery, Violence, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
spooderman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Gaslighting, Car accident, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Racism, Racial slurs, Outing, Mental illness, Slavery, Cursing, Stalking, Body shaming, Colonisation, Misogyny, Gun violence, Vomit, Death, Violence, Torture, Murder, Abandonment, Bullying, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol, Biphobia, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Confinement, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Drug use
Minor: Eating disorder and Pregnancy
jen1804's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
***********************************
This is one of those books which I think will stay with me forever. It’s a gossip girl/pretty little liars/get out vibe, dark academia story, which features the scary possibilities that institutionalised racism can demonstrate.
This is a suspenseful thriller with an excellent plot and well developed characters who have realistic feelings and emotions. I found the whole thing rather reflective, making me think about my own white privilege. There are some absolutely chilling moments and I gave some audible gasps.
In my heart I hope that the sick, calculated and wide spread hatred represented in this book is completely and utterly fiction, but I know that it does indeed highlight the racism that is still very much a prominent thing of this century. Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé does a fantastic job of demonstrating the everyday issues that those existing in darker skinned bodies must deal with, whilst also elaborating on it in a more dramatic way through the social commentary of institutionalised racism within a high school.
The pacing of the novel was perfect and I felt engaged all the way through. I also enjoyed the exploration of the LGBTQ+ difficulties and especially how it intertwined with race and culture.
Check trigger warnings before reading as this book covers a lot, but it does so in the best possible way.
Satisfactory ending? Yes.
Graphic: Death, Outing, Racism, Blood, Car accident, Hate crime, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Violence, Homophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Gun violence, Stalking, Body shaming, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
mattesserc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Racism, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Mental illness, Car accident, Physical abuse, Death, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Hate crime
ladystardust1979's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Drug use, Car accident, Bullying, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Gun violence, Racism, Outing, Mental illness, and Fire/Fire injury