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kitaliae's review
emotional
hopeful
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
3.75
I like this book, and the previous The Hate U Give; it's clear that Angie is going to be an important voice of the next generation as she continues to write emotional, touching stores for an audience that is largely ignored. I love Bri, she's so fiery and spunky, and I do relate to get struggles to chase her dreams and not be a burden. In a lot of ways I wish this book was more about her and her struggles with identity. It feels like parts of the book were rushed or sections were just left out. Nothing feels awkward or bad, just feels like there is depth missing from sections that really should have had more. So much of rap and hip hop in general is about identity and authenticity, and this book had so many opportunities to go after that and passed on it. The social themes in this book are amazing, but at points it feels like those plot lines were favored over Bri's story. (also this really didn't need a second love interest - it happened so fast it feels kind of icky)
On a personal note, it was really frustrating to have so much of Bri's fire dismissed as ODD by her brother. ODD exists, but it's not what Bri is struggling with and I wish it hadn't been included. So many black teenage girls get that label from the school system unfairly and having her brother reinforce that was really aggravating. It might have been a joke or whatever, but it comes off poorly when Bri had been nothing more than a typical teenager in her "outbursts".
On a personal note, it was really frustrating to have so much of Bri's fire dismissed as ODD by her brother. ODD exists, but it's not what Bri is struggling with and I wish it hadn't been included. So many black teenage girls get that label from the school system unfairly and having her brother reinforce that was really aggravating. It might have been a joke or whatever, but it comes off poorly when Bri had been nothing more than a typical teenager in her "outbursts".
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Police brutality, and Racism
Moderate: Addiction, Grief, and Police brutality
Minor: Abandonment, Bullying, Homophobia, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
salvatorer2's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Racism, and Racial slurs
Minor: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
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