Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet by Laekan Zea Kemp

6 reviews

mysterymom40's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Cursing, Police brutality, and Self harm

Minor: Vomit and Alcohol

Due to some of the content, I would say the audience might range from an older teen to an adult.

sydthewitch's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Sweet and sympathetic. An absolutely cozy read about growing up, the many expressions of love, and the meaning of hope that will have you craving ojos de pancha.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Violence, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racism, Trafficking, and Fire/Fire injury

amandalorianxo's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• 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? No

3.0

So I know there is romance in this book but I felt more connected with Pen and Xander when they weren’t being coupley. I liked both of their separate storylines as we experience both their POV’s (more Pen then Xander) Kemp doesn’t shy away from police brutality / mannerisms with immigrants. The slight scare/ horror that you could be deported with a simple stop. The ways in which anxiety and depression could mess with you in more ways than one. I wasn’t the biggest believer in the romance - it felt abrupt without a lot of buildup. Overall, as a debut this was great if you are looking for generational Chicano representation set in Texas. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Abandonment, and Self harm

Minor: Police brutality and Sexual content

wordrevel's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Hate crime

Moderate: Police brutality, Racism, Mental illness, and Abandonment

Minor: Self harm

thebakerbookworm's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective tense 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

4.0

This book was definitely more sweet than bitter! Hehe. We get POVs from Pen and Xander, two different narrators in the audiobook and both were excellent. Pen and Xander are easy to like and root for, and I loved their individual growth over the course of the story and the growth of their relationship with each other.

There is a good plot here, but I would say it's more character-based. A lot of the plot has to do with Pen and Xander coming of age and figuring out who they are, and parts of it felt a little unrealistic (but this is true for most YA books I think). The setting was wonderful though—there are so many food descriptions in this book, you will be hungry throughout the whole book! I loved all the scenes at Nacho's Tacos, Pen's dad's restaurant (major flashbacks for me, I worked at my dad's restaurant as a kid), and the family aspect within this community and all that I learned about Mexican culture. So many good developed side characters too.

Overall I enjoyed this quick audiobook and this sweet story! Now I'm gonna go eat some tacos.

Thank you to Libro.fm, Hachette Audio, and the author for my ALC.

Read if you like: eating, cooking, community families, not backing down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime and Racism

Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

introvertinterrupted's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief

Moderate: Death and Bullying

Minor: Stalking