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maya_reads_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racism and Mental illness
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, and Stalking
sammirosewater'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? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Sexism, Hate crime, Death, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Racism, Violence, Gaslighting, Murder, Pedophilia, and Mental illness
klathe'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
4.75
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Outing, Rape, Racial slurs, Stalking, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Police brutality
Minor: Suicide attempt
danielles_reads'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? It's complicated
2.5
I hate that these systems, all this institutional shit, can get to me. I hate how they have the power to kill my future, kill me. They treat my Black skin like a gun or a grenade or a knife that is dangerous and lethal, when really it’s them. The guys at the top powering everything.
If it isn’t Niveus that does it, any one of them could get us.
The guys at the top are bombs and explosives, killing millions, getting away with it.
WOW, that was intense! This book is definitely compulsively readable, and I was dying to know what happened next. However, it does have some plot holes and inconsistencies. It also felt like the author was piling every negative Black stereotype onto Devon’s character. It made me really sad at the end when Devon says “we deserve a happy ending” because why did it take until the very very end for him and Chiamaka to be happy?
Like:
- Exciting, fast-paced. Alternating POVs with no repeated scenes and short chapters made this a breeze to get through. Definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.
- A great allegory for systemic racism, and how insidious it all is.
- Some extremely chilling and well done scenes that are so surprising you feel the need to reread multiple times for it to really sink in.
Like the scene with Mr. Taylor telling Devon he hasn’t been signing off on his absences this entire time and “his kind” don’t go to college. WHAT! - The gossip about Devon and Chiamaka was well-plotted and well-planned, and revealed at a steady pace with good foreshadowing.
- Maintained a tense atmosphere throughout that had you second-guessing every single character.
- Devon’s inner thoughts were really well done, and I enjoyed seeing his relationship with
Andre.
Dislike:
- Bruh I almost DNFed this 7% in because Chiamaka’s introduction is so obnoxious (I mean her first line is “High school is like a kingdom”). She is obsessed with popularity and will do anything to get it. And reading this as someone in their late 20s who was definitely not popular in high school was so freaking grating. She had no real friends even before everything happened and it was frustrating to see her not realize that, especially with Jamie, who was disrespecting her from the very beginning. She also looked down on Devon the entire book, and it felt like she didn’t grow that much as a character. I just disliked her slightly less in the end.
- Poor poor Devon. Did the author really have to make the poor Black character suffer so much? I’m not sure what his dad being in prison really added to the story other than showing another way racism affects Black people. And why were only the poor Black people shown as homophobic and the rich white kids didn’t seem to care?
- Gonna disclaimer this bullet with: I am white. But like why is every single white person in this novel racist? Yes, every white person benefits from racism whether they are explicitly anti-racist or not, but not every white person is KKK levels of racist out to do whatever it takes to ruin Black people’s lives. Belle was really the only white person shown who wasn’t all in, and even that was debatable. I saw a YouTube commenter say that this book would have been more believable if
a small group of people were behind Aces instead of literally the entire school and I’m inclined to agree because that’s how systemic racism works in real life. It would also have erased a lot of plot holes because how has this been maintained for so long with so many people involved? Also why was Chi’s father so indifferent to his family’s racism towards his wife and daughter and why did that go unchallenged? - Also like… people who are KKK levels of racist will take ANY CHANCE they get to remind others how racist they are. I find it sooo hard to believe that every single person
who interacted with Devon and Chiamaka over the past three years never once let slip any of their racist views. Not everyone is a good actor. - On that general theme… Terrell.
Why was him spying on Devon for Niveus even a thing? For one, by his own account, he didn’t even do much. And two, he was forgiven so easily. I feel like the story would’ve been the same with that plot line removed. Why was he given so much slack? - The ending was so rushed and didn’t make much sense.
How did the protestors get there? How did they know where to go? Devon’s tweet was so vague. What happened with Niveus afterwards? How did Devon and Chi finish their senior year and manage to get into college? What did their parents think? And like what is Chi going to do with Headmaster Ward? That seemed like an unnecessary addition to me. - The thing with blocked memories seemed overdone for the suspense. It also bordered on magical realism because it didn’t really make sense.
- There were also some small moments that made me think these characters didn’t have access to the internet in their pockets (smart phones) lol. Why did they not google things more often?
- Another small thing but virtually every single male character in this book cries freely and openly and tbh it threw me off. It’s nice to see men express a range of emotions but I find it hard to believe that every single one would do so.
The more I think about this book, the more I dislike it, so I’m decreasing my rating. It was compulsively readable, and I think it has good things to say—I just wish the story was more realistic and the characters weren’t just shat all over.
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Homophobia, Outing, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Classism and Mental illness
Minor: Suicide attempt
lilahs_literacy_corner'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: Racism, Car accident, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Drug use, Mental illness, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Outing, Mental illness, and Misogyny
sonoma'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
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Death, Medical content, Police brutality, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Fatphobia, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
bornachoker's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Murder, Bullying, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Death, Grief, Racism, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Police brutality
Minor: Alcohol
anapthine'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Bullying, Car accident, Cursing, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Classism, Death, Homophobia, Murder, Mental illness, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, and Stalking
Moderate: Child abuse, Colonisation, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Gun violence
greatexpectations77'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: Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Homophobia, Drug use, Hate crime, Murder, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
Minor: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality
This book should come with a blanket to wrap yourself in while you ponder it late at night, eyes wide and horrified.hyliansee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Hate crime, Blood, Outing, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Car accident, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, Sexism, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Vomit, Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Misogyny