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accidentalfolklore's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
4.25
4.25 Stars: Exceptional - A truly exceptional book that deserves to be celebrated for its originality, depth, and impact. It pushes the boundaries of storytelling and challenges readers to think deeply about the world around them. It’s a must-read for anyone who appreciates the power of literature to inspire, educate, and entertain.
Great book that had me invested in the story and characters. The ending is a little flat as others have mentioned. That’s because this story is more about the characters and how people grow over time. Thing about something like the Color Purple, Fried Green Tomatoes, Where the Crawdads Sing. I get the same vibe from those books where you have a rich world and characters who are enveloped in it with feeling separate from it. I loved the addition of an LGBTQ+ character. Im on the spectrum but a different one. I felt it was done very authentically but I’ll let people who identify in that category speak on how well it was portrayed. I’m being vague only for spoiler purposes since I wasn’t expecting it but loved how it was introduced and evolved with story progression.
Great book that had me invested in the story and characters. The ending is a little flat as others have mentioned. That’s because this story is more about the characters and how people grow over time. Thing about something like the Color Purple, Fried Green Tomatoes, Where the Crawdads Sing. I get the same vibe from those books where you have a rich world and characters who are enveloped in it with feeling separate from it. I loved the addition of an LGBTQ+ character. Im on the spectrum but a different one. I felt it was done very authentically but I’ll let people who identify in that category speak on how well it was portrayed. I’m being vague only for spoiler purposes since I wasn’t expecting it but loved how it was introduced and evolved with story progression.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Slavery, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
oliviapincin's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Racism, Racial slurs, Hate crime, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Dysphoria, Death, Grief, and Bullying
Minor: Sexual assault
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
I was pulled in right away! Its been a long time that a foreword has made me say “oh this is going to be a great book” 💜
A beautiful story that I didn’t want to put down but also wanted to take my time with it! I marked a lot of passages with quotes that struck me or made me think.
Chapters could be a little long for my taste but I didn’t always mind it. I was intrigued and captivated by the well-developed, complex characters! I especially enjoyed the switching POVs and spanning across years/decades to follow the twins and the family. There were times I hated characters and other times I sympathized with them.
I’ve never read a book quite like this and I’ll definitely be reading more from Brit Bennett!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Racial slurs, Murder, and Death of parent
Moderate: Dysphoria, Bullying, Grief, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Dementia
gottheblues's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Racism, Transphobia, Murder, Racial slurs, and Misogyny
Moderate: Deadnaming, Pedophilia, and Rape
Minor: Grief
noahbw's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It’s hard not to think of this in conversation with Passing - in some ways, it feels like it could be an extended version, even though of course the details (and time period) are very different.
And some unexpected trans representation! I would have been interested to see some exploration of passing in terms of gender v race
And some unexpected trans representation! I would have been interested to see some exploration of passing in terms of gender v race
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, and Hate crime
Moderate: Death of parent, Dysphoria, and Racism
Minor: Dementia
savreads28's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Racial slurs, Medical content, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Racism, Death, Abandonment, Classism, Grief, and Dysphoria
beeasinbumble's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Death of parent, Racism, Racial slurs, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Addiction, Medical content, and Dysphoria
kenzieburns's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-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? Yes
3.0
I might return to this one to read again, and to re-evaluate my rating. So much to think about. The character development was amazing, nothing short of spectacular. I often find it so hard to follow and stay engaged with novels that span generations, because I get too attached to one character/generation's story arc, and then end up skimming the sections not relevant to that character/arc. This book was NOT that. By the time we got to Stella's perspective and the focus on her life, I was itching to learn more about what motivated her to up and leave, especially after Desiree was the one who originally motivated her to leave.
This book really challenged my perceptions of race in the US, especially in recent history. I wasn't "shocked" by the segregation that pervaded into the later portions of the novel, but I did have to keep reminding myself that it was set in the 80s at that point, and even earlier in the book it was only the late 50s/early 60s. That's like, when my mom was born. It also gave me pause to consider that, yes, we're 40 years down the line from the 80s, but how much has changed? I was particularly struck by the introduction of Stella's portion of the story when the main plot point is that the neighborhood association is scandalized by a Black family moving in, and people were saying how it would "drop property value" and they "wouldn't be wanted, so why would they move in anyways?". I just know that there are still neighborhood association meetings today that play out following the exact same script.
I'm particularly moved by Stella's chosen life in passing. I think I expected so much more fear to bleed through in her part of the story, but was equally moved by how nonchalantly it seemed to be discussed. Like, don't get me wrong, I definitely felt some fear in her perspective, but the fear was less of the "I'll be found out and killed" that I expected and more of a "everything I've built and worked hard for, even though no one knows I've worked hard for it, will be destroyed". I'm not sure why, but this difference in the perceived motivation of the fear made it all the more striking to read for me. I also think the author did an amazing job of writing Kennedy's perspective. I felt bad for her, for so many reasons (not knowing half of her identity, being lied to all her life, and having to lie for the rest of it as well...), but I also felt jealous of her/mad at her on behalf of Jude, who didn't seem to feel either of those emotions toward her cousin. It's really interesting to me that, as a White reader, I was feeling these negative emotions towards the perceived White character in the book, even though the Black character didn't display these emotions; so, these emotions were coming entirely from within myself, which leads me to believe they come from my own internal biases. Definitely something to make a personal note of and evaluate, but also writing it here to hold myself accountable.
My one gripe is that I wish there was more resolution to the Stella/Kennedy storyline. I felt like this was left very much an unknown, and would have loved to see even a tiny bit of Kennedy's coming to terms with her mother's (and her own) background. But, maybe this is my Whiteness wanting more resolution to the perceived White storyline, and maybe that's the whole point of leaving this storyline up in the air; that's not what the author wanted to focus on. All in all, a great novel that really challenged my thinking.
This book really challenged my perceptions of race in the US, especially in recent history. I wasn't "shocked" by the segregation that pervaded into the later portions of the novel, but I did have to keep reminding myself that it was set in the 80s at that point, and even earlier in the book it was only the late 50s/early 60s. That's like, when my mom was born. It also gave me pause to consider that, yes, we're 40 years down the line from the 80s, but how much has changed? I was particularly struck by the introduction of Stella's portion of the story when the main plot point is that the neighborhood association is scandalized by a Black family moving in, and people were saying how it would "drop property value" and they "wouldn't be wanted, so why would they move in anyways?". I just know that there are still neighborhood association meetings today that play out following the exact same script.
I'm particularly moved by Stella's chosen life in passing. I think I expected so much more fear to bleed through in her part of the story, but was equally moved by how nonchalantly it seemed to be discussed. Like, don't get me wrong, I definitely felt some fear in her perspective, but the fear was less of the "I'll be found out and killed" that I expected and more of a "everything I've built and worked hard for, even though no one knows I've worked hard for it, will be destroyed". I'm not sure why, but this difference in the perceived motivation of the fear made it all the more striking to read for me. I also think the author did an amazing job of writing Kennedy's perspective. I felt bad for her, for so many reasons (not knowing half of her identity, being lied to all her life, and having to lie for the rest of it as well...), but I also felt jealous of her/mad at her on behalf of Jude, who didn't seem to feel either of those emotions toward her cousin. It's really interesting to me that, as a White reader, I was feeling these negative emotions towards the perceived White character in the book, even though the Black character didn't display these emotions; so, these emotions were coming entirely from within myself, which leads me to believe they come from my own internal biases. Definitely something to make a personal note of and evaluate, but also writing it here to hold myself accountable.
My one gripe is that I wish there was more resolution to the Stella/Kennedy storyline. I felt like this was left very much an unknown, and would have loved to see even a tiny bit of Kennedy's coming to terms with her mother's (and her own) background. But, maybe this is my Whiteness wanting more resolution to the perceived White storyline, and maybe that's the whole point of leaving this storyline up in the air; that's not what the author wanted to focus on. All in all, a great novel that really challenged my thinking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, and Death of parent
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, Dysphoria, and Dementia
michaelion's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
Trying to find reasons not to give this 5 stars is very, very hard. I'm biased because immediately it reminded me of Toni Morrison's Paradise. Whether or not that was intentional, I'm not gonna look it up, but I love it even more for that.
Passing is a thing that happened and I'm sure there are still many, many quadroons and hexadecaroons walking around without a clue. I've always felt sympathy for the people who passed, and this book definitely gave me a new / another understanding. (I mean, who can be mad at you for wanting better for your life and your family?) To be moved so much by a book show just how good it is. That being said though I do not feel sympathy for Stella!After what she did to Loretta and Reg?! This one's definitely staying on my bookshelf.
Passing is a thing that happened and I'm sure there are still many, many quadroons and hexadecaroons walking around without a clue. I've always felt sympathy for the people who passed, and this book definitely gave me a new / another understanding. (I mean, who can be mad at you for wanting better for your life and your family?) To be moved so much by a book show just how good it is. That being said though I do not feel sympathy for Stella!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Grief, Racism, and Outing
Moderate: Sexual assault, Bullying, Classism, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, and Gaslighting
Minor: Terminal illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Stalking, Blood, Deadnaming, and Medical content
cakrolik's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Classism, Grief, and Racism
Moderate: Dementia, Death of parent, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, Racial slurs, Hate crime, and Sexism