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books_tea_blanket's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
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
4.75
I really liked a lot of the language the author used to describe the characters and their relationships. You could see their motivations for the decisions they made, and how drastically different their lives became as a result of their choices. The primary theme of the novel is identity, and the author wrestled with how identity is formed, how it’s expressed, and how it makes you feel. Throughout the book there’s contrasts of dark and light, white and black, poor and rich, love and lies, and more broad themes of life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, and Medical content
Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia
Book has a lovable trans character and has scenes involving queer characters in the 1960s-80srachelblair's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Racial slurs, and Racism
aniyapapaya10's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
4.5
Brit really did her thing with this book! I admired the commentary around colorism, sexuality, and family dynamics. All of which can be difficult for black women/people to find for themselves and I think this book really shows examples of that struggle from different perspectives. My favorite character was Jude, the daughter of Desiree Vignes. I see Jude as the beacon of hope for black women everywhere because she was labeled as unlovable from a you g age, but she found a love so strong not even distance could stop it. Really a beautiful read. The only thing I wish for is a more detailed or eventful end, but the end also feels just right.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
dandan10's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Racism, Racial slurs, and Murder
samanthaleereads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Abandonment, Racism, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Death, and Racial slurs
Minor: Medical content
carly_the_librarian's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
damiscous's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Sexual assault, Hate crime, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
lavaly_1's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
Moderate: Physical abuse
20sidedbi's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Classism, Racism, Hate crime, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, and Physical abuse
micaylabean's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.5
Very well written story, couldn't stop listening.
Really felt for each of the characters. I think it's interesting to think of how we each have parts of ourselves we probably would like to leave behind sometimes. It's in the way we hide in the grocery store when we see someone from high school. Always feeling like parts of our past are secrets we have to try and hide or just don't want to confront. Not a perfect comparison as we're probably not hiding such big secrets. There's also the reminder that there are people who still want and love us even for the parts we would like to discard.
I did feel there was some disjointed story telling towards the end in regard to Jude's relationship. Some of the timeline presented felt contradictory.
Also, I've been really into books with strong themes of family. Good families, bad families, estranged families, close families... this has a little bit of all of that.
Really felt for each of the characters. I think it's interesting to think of how we each have parts of ourselves we probably would like to leave behind sometimes. It's in the way we hide in the grocery store when we see someone from high school. Always feeling like parts of our past are secrets we have to try and hide or just don't want to confront. Not a perfect comparison as we're probably not hiding such big secrets. There's also the reminder that there are people who still want and love us even for the parts we would like to discard.
I did feel there was some disjointed story telling towards the end in regard to Jude's relationship. Some of the timeline presented felt contradictory.
Also, I've been really into books with strong themes of family. Good families, bad families, estranged families, close families... this has a little bit of all of that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Racial slurs