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1.91 AVERAGE
1.91 AVERAGE
slow-paced
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book did get a three stars from me! I enjoyed the premise of the book but I have some issues with the facts of the book, the character development, and the flow of the writing. There are a lot of characters in this book but it takes about half of the book just to get straight who is who, how they are related to everyone else, and which part of the story they belong in. Trying to keep the plot and characters straight took away from the book experience as a whole for me. Plus, no one was exceptionally likable, it didn't make it easy to finish the title at all when I wasn't rooting for anyone. As for the plot itself, it shows a lot of promise. Charleston during the Civil Rights era is not really a hugely talked about subject, as people tend to focus more on Birmingham, Jackson, and other hotspots from the time period. That being said, there were moments of this book that seemed like they were based on fact that were not true. It can be misleading to the reader unless you are willing to do a lot of your own research on the KKK and bus riots in the city in the 1950s. I was willing to sit down and do that search but the majority of readers won't. I know this title is billed as historical fiction but there are several parts of the book that are factual so it can be pretty confusing to mix factual and non-factual, especially for me, a Charleston native. Regarding the flow of writing, it is pretty choppy and there were several moments where I had to reread a sentence several times to figure out what was going on. Grammatically, it does seem to be correct but sentence structure is a little rough. I did think it was interesting that this book is told from the perspectives of people of color but it was written by a white woman who is not from the area. I personally didn't love that, but I am also a big advocate of local authors writing about local experiences. Overall, I personally would not read this title again but with some strong editing, it could be alright for a certain audience.
I could not finish this book unfortunately. Very poorly written, no cohesive storyline, juvenile punctuation. It’s a shame because the actual content had a lot of potential which is what kept me reading longer than I should have.
emotional
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:
No
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The author's story has potential but misses the mark as it is currently written. There are no glaring grammatical errors. However, the writing style often feels like a history essay with a bit of fiction added in. The characters are not developed fully, so it is difficult to become invested in them. The author chose to tackle too many complex social issues in a single storyline. By doing so, the story is very muddled with terrible pacing and no emotional depth. The quick shift from one challenging topic to the next distracted from the serious nature of what the characters were experiencing and came off as an excuse to "shock" the reader. The ending felt rushed -- as though the author just needed it to be finished rather than the story coming to a natural conclusion. Ultimately, this book should be divided into four separate stories, so the characters can be fully developed within the frame of a single issue. The convoluted story and poor character development is why I give this book a 2 out of 5.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
Moderate: Rape
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Classism