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melsage1823's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-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? No
5.0
Disclaimer: As a non black reader, my review my unintentionally have bias. Please check out own voices reviews to get proper qualified opinions on the representation.
An emotional, raw and brutally honest story about racism in the UK and how it can affect young black teens.
I loved this novel so much, it touched my heart and had me crying almost every chapter. Jawando knows how to write authentic raw povs that made me really connect with the characters of Chantelle, Jackson and Marc. She managed to tell an incredible story of how injustice can affect people and how messed up the justice system.
This novel was perfect and definitely deserves five stars. Honestly it's flaws are easily dismissable due to how much of punch this story is. It felt like a brutal wake up call to how bad racism is in the UK and that it doesn't just happen in America its everywhere. I'll get into my two flaws before getting into what I liked.
Firstly as someone who only left high school a few years ago as of this review, I can assure you that Grade 10 does not exist. GCSES go from grade U-9 with 9 being the highest. Jawando does an absolutely brilliant job of bringing the town of Manchester to life so as a result its super jarring to hear about grades that don't exist. I hope for future novels she does more research so mistakes like that don't happen.
Finally it's a minor nit pick but I thought I'd call it out. Although as a queer person I loved the representation I feel like they should have ratioed the relationships a bit better. It kinda feels like the heterosexual relationship in this book was an afterthought which is such a shame since there's not much black queer representation out there. No shade to the heterosexual relationship in the book though, they were a cute well built up couple.
Right, onto my main positives. First I loved how diverse the story was. Without spoiling anything Jawando showcases all the different struggles black people face in the UK in a meaningful and sensitive way. From fostercare to the justice system to the education system Jawando makes sure to show how rigged the system is against black people. She even shows how class doesn't help black people much at all. Being broad and diverse made this an educational read too I feel like if the novel only focused on the injustice of Shaqs stabbing it would have felt hallow so I'm glad Jawando wrote incredible storylines for all three of our main characters.
Secondly I loved the characters. Writing multi pov requires a lot of pratice and Jawando succeeds at this massively. Jackson, Marc and Chantelle are all fleshed out equally and given their own character arcs that are wrapped up beautifully. We see not only how Shaqs stabbing has affected them and changed them but also struggling and coping with the regular injustices that come their way as black teenagers. The trios dynamic is developed across the story too and it makes you come to route and care about their friendship.
Finally the ending. Without giving any spoilers the ending happens at the right pace and also happens in a realistic way. If I were to describe it I'd say its like a punch in the face and then a bitter sweet taste. Its sad and happy but also realistic. Through her genius writing Jawando makes the reader understand that with how strife racism is in the UK a happy ending wasn't realistic but its not completely hopeless. I also like how the ending was kinda foreshadowed at the very beginning of the book.
Overall a raw but incredibly real and elegantly written story with well developed characters, good foreshadowing and an incredible black solidarity friendship at the forefront of everything. Highly recommended, I'm so glad I picked this up even though it wasn't on my list.
An emotional, raw and brutally honest story about racism in the UK and how it can affect young black teens.
I loved this novel so much, it touched my heart and had me crying almost every chapter. Jawando knows how to write authentic raw povs that made me really connect with the characters of Chantelle, Jackson and Marc. She managed to tell an incredible story of how injustice can affect people and how messed up the justice system.
This novel was perfect and definitely deserves five stars. Honestly it's flaws are easily dismissable due to how much of punch this story is. It felt like a brutal wake up call to how bad racism is in the UK and that it doesn't just happen in America its everywhere. I'll get into my two flaws before getting into what I liked.
Firstly as someone who only left high school a few years ago as of this review, I can assure you that Grade 10 does not exist. GCSES go from grade U-9 with 9 being the highest. Jawando does an absolutely brilliant job of bringing the town of Manchester to life so as a result its super jarring to hear about grades that don't exist. I hope for future novels she does more research so mistakes like that don't happen.
Finally it's a minor nit pick but I thought I'd call it out. Although as a queer person I loved the representation I feel like they should have ratioed the relationships a bit better. It kinda feels like the heterosexual relationship in this book was an afterthought which is such a shame since there's not much black queer representation out there. No shade to the heterosexual relationship in the book though, they were a cute well built up couple.
Right, onto my main positives. First I loved how diverse the story was. Without spoiling anything Jawando showcases all the different struggles black people face in the UK in a meaningful and sensitive way. From fostercare to the justice system to the education system Jawando makes sure to show how rigged the system is against black people. She even shows how class doesn't help black people much at all. Being broad and diverse made this an educational read too I feel like if the novel only focused on the injustice of Shaqs stabbing it would have felt hallow so I'm glad Jawando wrote incredible storylines for all three of our main characters.
Secondly I loved the characters. Writing multi pov requires a lot of pratice and Jawando succeeds at this massively. Jackson, Marc and Chantelle are all fleshed out equally and given their own character arcs that are wrapped up beautifully. We see not only how Shaqs stabbing has affected them and changed them but also struggling and coping with the regular injustices that come their way as black teenagers. The trios dynamic is developed across the story too and it makes you come to route and care about their friendship.
Finally the ending. Without giving any spoilers the ending happens at the right pace and also happens in a realistic way. If I were to describe it I'd say its like a punch in the face and then a bitter sweet taste. Its sad and happy but also realistic. Through her genius writing Jawando makes the reader understand that with how strife racism is in the UK a happy ending wasn't realistic but its not completely hopeless. I also like how the ending was kinda foreshadowed at the very beginning of the book.
Overall a raw but incredibly real and elegantly written story with well developed characters, good foreshadowing and an incredible black solidarity friendship at the forefront of everything. Highly recommended, I'm so glad I picked this up even though it wasn't on my list.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Hate crime
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Minor: Classism, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, and Abandonment
snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Review can also be found at Snow White Hates Apples.
Raw, emotional and so, so real, When Our Worlds Collided is a coming-of-age book involving three black teens are brought together after getting caught up in the aftermath of a fatal stabbing of another black teen. Neither of the trio were involved in the attack, but they were the only ones willing to try and help the victim, and I don’t know about you, but this is where I started crying.
With great sensitivity and care, Jawando brings to us this unfiltered, hard-hitting perspective of what it’s like to be young and Black in today’s society (specifically in the UK, though I assume it’s applicable to other countries as well). We witness forms of racism that range from passing remarks to upfront bigotry, intolerance and discrimination—and though we may have heard of those before, they will still leave an impact.
Moreover, our three main characters aren’t just battling with society’s prejudice, but with GCSEs and how their future can change depending on those results too. There is so much pressure and tension in this book, it feels like the characters can never get a break. But, that’s the reality. Because of this, I’m all the more thankful for the happier moments of friendship between the trio because they really helped to lighten things and provided a much needed balance (for the sake of the reader) to the story.
Nevertheless, despite my appreciation for how real this story feels, I must admit that the ending felt anti-climatic. It’s a realistic ending, but still abrupt which is probably due to how the pacing seems to have gone off track in those final few chapters.
Anyway, everything considered, this is a book with a powerful message and everyone needs to read it. If you’ve Angie Thomas’ Concrete Rose and The Hate U Give , and felt deeply for or resonated with them, you should definitely read When Our Worlds Collided . If you’ve not read any of Thomas’ books, I still urge you to read this one (and the other two).
Raw, emotional and so, so real, When Our Worlds Collided is a coming-of-age book involving three black teens are brought together after getting caught up in the aftermath of a fatal stabbing of another black teen. Neither of the trio were involved in the attack, but they were the only ones willing to try and help the victim, and I don’t know about you, but this is where I started crying.
With great sensitivity and care, Jawando brings to us this unfiltered, hard-hitting perspective of what it’s like to be young and Black in today’s society (specifically in the UK, though I assume it’s applicable to other countries as well). We witness forms of racism that range from passing remarks to upfront bigotry, intolerance and discrimination—and though we may have heard of those before, they will still leave an impact.
Moreover, our three main characters aren’t just battling with society’s prejudice, but with GCSEs and how their future can change depending on those results too. There is so much pressure and tension in this book, it feels like the characters can never get a break. But, that’s the reality. Because of this, I’m all the more thankful for the happier moments of friendship between the trio because they really helped to lighten things and provided a much needed balance (for the sake of the reader) to the story.
Nevertheless, despite my appreciation for how real this story feels, I must admit that the ending felt anti-climatic. It’s a realistic ending, but still abrupt which is probably due to how the pacing seems to have gone off track in those final few chapters.
Anyway, everything considered, this is a book with a powerful message and everyone needs to read it. If you’ve Angie Thomas’ Concrete Rose and The Hate U Give , and felt deeply for or resonated with them, you should definitely read When Our Worlds Collided . If you’ve not read any of Thomas’ books, I still urge you to read this one (and the other two).
Thank you so much Pansing for sending me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review! When Our Worlds Collided by Danielle Jawando is available at all good bookstores.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Hate crime, and Racism
Moderate: Hate crime, Police brutality, Child death, and Blood
Minor: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
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