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aimeedarsreads's review
Thanks so much to Algonquin Books for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Everywhere You Don’t Belong by Gabriel Bump and for the gifted copy of the book. Originally published last year to high praise, the paperback edition is going on sale Tuesday, January 12.
Claude McKay Love, growing up on Chicago’s South Side, feels like everyone he loves leaves. Still, he has the unwavering support of his strong and witty grandma and her best friend, Paul, a photographer who drinks more than he works. His losses make Claude, naturally introverted, more isolated, but when Janice arrives in the neighborhood, he starts to fall in love.
At the same time, Big Columbus, a drug dealer with a mission, stakes a presence in South Shore and starts recruiting students for his gang, the Redbelters. When an unarmed black teenager cat-sitting for a neighbor is killed by police, a standoff between the police and Redbelters becomes a deadly three-day siege.
In the wake of the riot, Claude and Janice, only fourteen-years-old, wrestle with their reactions and responses to the death and devastation they witnessed and what was taken from them. Claude ultimately left Chicago to attend journalism school in Missouri, but he learned that leaving Chicago would take more than changing addresses.
Everywhere You Don’t Belong is my favorite kind of novel, one with language that sings, told through charming yet flawed characters, and imbued with subtle humor. The short chapters give the book a fast pace, accelerated even further with a final dramatic confrontation.
The social commentary is intense, especially after the terrorist attack at the Capitol last week and the anemic and hypocritical response of law enforcement compared to last summer when BLM activists protested in DC. However, it doesn’t overshadow the characters and narrative arcs, and is always intercut with a dark humor.
The paperback edition includes an essay by the author, “The Spectacular Average,” which is worth reading!
I highly recommend this for those who like contemporary or literary fiction. It has a similar style as There There by Tommy Orange and structure to Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson.
Claude McKay Love, growing up on Chicago’s South Side, feels like everyone he loves leaves. Still, he has the unwavering support of his strong and witty grandma and her best friend, Paul, a photographer who drinks more than he works. His losses make Claude, naturally introverted, more isolated, but when Janice arrives in the neighborhood, he starts to fall in love.
At the same time, Big Columbus, a drug dealer with a mission, stakes a presence in South Shore and starts recruiting students for his gang, the Redbelters. When an unarmed black teenager cat-sitting for a neighbor is killed by police, a standoff between the police and Redbelters becomes a deadly three-day siege.
In the wake of the riot, Claude and Janice, only fourteen-years-old, wrestle with their reactions and responses to the death and devastation they witnessed and what was taken from them. Claude ultimately left Chicago to attend journalism school in Missouri, but he learned that leaving Chicago would take more than changing addresses.
Everywhere You Don’t Belong is my favorite kind of novel, one with language that sings, told through charming yet flawed characters, and imbued with subtle humor. The short chapters give the book a fast pace, accelerated even further with a final dramatic confrontation.
The social commentary is intense, especially after the terrorist attack at the Capitol last week and the anemic and hypocritical response of law enforcement compared to last summer when BLM activists protested in DC. However, it doesn’t overshadow the characters and narrative arcs, and is always intercut with a dark humor.
The paperback edition includes an essay by the author, “The Spectacular Average,” which is worth reading!
I highly recommend this for those who like contemporary or literary fiction. It has a similar style as There There by Tommy Orange and structure to Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson.
dreesreads's review against another edition
4.0
Claude, the main character, is a typical teen despite his somewhat unusual upbringing in South Shore, Chicago (where Bump himself grew up). He struggles with abandonment issues (his parents left him to be raised by his grandmother, his friends keep moving to "better" neighborhoods). Only Janice stays, and Janice should have some abandonment issues of her own. She channels her issues into hared of the gang who instigated a riot.
Despite his often feeling out of place (even with Janice's friends) and unwanted, he knows he is loved--like so many teenagers from all kinds of places and upbringings. Bump has created a character who is funny and somewhat irreverant, but also lost and unclear on how to accomplish his dream of getting out and doing "something".
He heads to college in Missouri, to major in journalism. He has a weird roommate and doesn't much like working on the school paper, or the people he works with. Does he like his major? He doesn't know. When he and the other black staffer are assigned the "diversity project" he realizes this isn't going to work. He doesn't even understand what they want or what to do or how.
And then Janice comes for a surprise visit. The story goes absurd and surreal from here, but I could not help rooting for these characters, and their chance to get back at the two groups they feel ruined their childhoods.
Despite his often feeling out of place (even with Janice's friends) and unwanted, he knows he is loved--like so many teenagers from all kinds of places and upbringings. Bump has created a character who is funny and somewhat irreverant, but also lost and unclear on how to accomplish his dream of getting out and doing "something".
He heads to college in Missouri, to major in journalism. He has a weird roommate and doesn't much like working on the school paper, or the people he works with. Does he like his major? He doesn't know. When he and the other black staffer are assigned the "diversity project" he realizes this isn't going to work. He doesn't even understand what they want or what to do or how.
And then Janice comes for a surprise visit. The story goes absurd and surreal from here, but I could not help rooting for these characters, and their chance to get back at the two groups they feel ruined their childhoods.
elemee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
fivecatsinacoat's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Everywhere You Don't Belong is a heartbreaking debut novel. One that fools you with simplistic prose and a story that jumps quickly along. The emotional complexity sneaks up on you in lyrical prose that reads more like a series of short stories.
The anticipation and excitement in Everywhere You Don't Belong builds to a frenetic, surreal frenzy and you can't imagine putting it down. Easily finished in an afternoon of binge reading.
I was given this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Everywhere You Don't Belong is a heartbreaking debut novel. One that fools you with simplistic prose and a story that jumps quickly along. The emotional complexity sneaks up on you in lyrical prose that reads more like a series of short stories.
The anticipation and excitement in Everywhere You Don't Belong builds to a frenetic, surreal frenzy and you can't imagine putting it down. Easily finished in an afternoon of binge reading.
I was given this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
popthebutterfly's review against another edition
5.0
Disclaimer: I received this ebook from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Everywhere You Don’t Belong
Author: Gabriel Bump
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Black American main characters and focused stories
Recommended For...: contemporary lovers, ya readers, cultural reads
Publication Date: February 4, 2020
Genre: YA Contemporary
Recommended Age: 16+ (slight violence, injustice, trauma, childhood violence, racism, slight romance)
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Pages: 264
Synopsis: In this alternately witty and heartbreaking debut novel, Gabriel Bump gives us an unforgettable protagonist, Claude McKay Love. Claude isn’t dangerous or brilliant—he’s an average kid coping with abandonment, violence, riots, failed love, and societal pressures as he steers his way past the signposts of youth: childhood friendships, basketball tryouts, first love, first heartbreak, picking a college, moving away from home.
Claude just wants a place where he can fit. As a young black man born on the South Side of Chicago, he is raised by his civil rights–era grandmother, who tries to shape him into a principled actor for change; yet when riots consume his neighborhood, he hesitates to take sides, unwilling to let race define his life. He decides to escape Chicago for another place, to go to college, to find a new identity, to leave the pressure cooker of his hometown behind. But as he discovers, he cannot; there is no safe haven for a young black man in this time and place called America.
Percolating with fierceness and originality, attuned to the ironies inherent in our twenty-first-century landscape, Everywhere You Don’t Belong marks the arrival of a brilliant young talent.
Review: I really liked this book! I thought the book did well to make a story and make it so engaging that I lost myself in the book. The character development is amazing, the world building was amazing and the writing was masterful! The book does well to show the trials and tribulations that most Black Americans face today, including injustice and generational pain through racism. The book also opens in such a lyrical and beautiful fashion. The book, for the second half of it, then centers on a person who is experiencing another sort of trauma. The book is beautiful from start to finish and you will cry.
The only thing that I didn’t really like about the book was that sometimes the pacing was a bit slow.
Verdict: Highly recommend!
Book: Everywhere You Don’t Belong
Author: Gabriel Bump
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Black American main characters and focused stories
Recommended For...: contemporary lovers, ya readers, cultural reads
Publication Date: February 4, 2020
Genre: YA Contemporary
Recommended Age: 16+ (slight violence, injustice, trauma, childhood violence, racism, slight romance)
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Pages: 264
Synopsis: In this alternately witty and heartbreaking debut novel, Gabriel Bump gives us an unforgettable protagonist, Claude McKay Love. Claude isn’t dangerous or brilliant—he’s an average kid coping with abandonment, violence, riots, failed love, and societal pressures as he steers his way past the signposts of youth: childhood friendships, basketball tryouts, first love, first heartbreak, picking a college, moving away from home.
Claude just wants a place where he can fit. As a young black man born on the South Side of Chicago, he is raised by his civil rights–era grandmother, who tries to shape him into a principled actor for change; yet when riots consume his neighborhood, he hesitates to take sides, unwilling to let race define his life. He decides to escape Chicago for another place, to go to college, to find a new identity, to leave the pressure cooker of his hometown behind. But as he discovers, he cannot; there is no safe haven for a young black man in this time and place called America.
Percolating with fierceness and originality, attuned to the ironies inherent in our twenty-first-century landscape, Everywhere You Don’t Belong marks the arrival of a brilliant young talent.
Review: I really liked this book! I thought the book did well to make a story and make it so engaging that I lost myself in the book. The character development is amazing, the world building was amazing and the writing was masterful! The book does well to show the trials and tribulations that most Black Americans face today, including injustice and generational pain through racism. The book also opens in such a lyrical and beautiful fashion. The book, for the second half of it, then centers on a person who is experiencing another sort of trauma. The book is beautiful from start to finish and you will cry.
The only thing that I didn’t really like about the book was that sometimes the pacing was a bit slow.
Verdict: Highly recommend!
hollyannsa's review against another edition
4.0
Really interesting story that I wish I had a class of other readers to discuss it with!!
agloes's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
kaitlin_rockett's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
3.0
kmoreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
3.0
This book was tough for me to read. Several times I set it down to pick it up again later. I just had a difficult time with the way in which it was written because it just didn’t flow. It really could have been a great book. Instead it was just okay.
Thank you to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for the #gifted copy of the books.
Thank you to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for the #gifted copy of the books.
edgwareviabank's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
I started and abandoned my review at least three times now. I'm not sure I can do Everywhere You Don't Belong justice. One thing's for sure: the endorsement on the back cover, claiming you won't realise this book has hypnotised you until the very end, is true - and I'm finally realising it weeks after reading the final chapter.
I'll start from what I know: plot and character.
The South Shore section presents Claude and his chosen family with a mix of tenderness and sorrow that makes it incredibly easier to share the love the characters feel for each other, and the pain they can't help each other avoid. Even Janice, who looked to me like the weak link in the cast (not as thoroughly characterized, sometimes more of a vehicle for Claude to project emotions on), ends up feeling like family, because of the attachment Claude, Grandma and Paul feel for her. It's impossible to care about any one of these characters without wanting the others to also find unconditional love, a sense of belonging, a way of living that feels safe and far less precarious. A particularly powerful choice Bump made was to write Claude as an average boy, dealing with change and forces bigger than him without any desire to become the hero or channel destruction. He is confused, sometimes scared, often unsure of himself. He may be depressed. His grandmother's efforts to ignite a spark in him mostly fall flat. Sometimes, we want to read about leaders who rise the occasion, or dangerous, morally compromised characters; sometimes, we need to be reminded that there are all sorts of people in between, paralysed by danger and doubt and just looking for something to hang on to.
The Missouri chapters are more pointedly plot-driven; action replaces some of the introspection, and the situation evolves with a speed that feels unnatural. Between the second-to-last chapter and the very end, there's a lot about Claude and Janice's life that feels unsaid, and as a reader who grew so fond of them, I really could have done with reading more. But the book's main themes are all there, resolved in ways that may or may not feel satisfactory, and definitely feel true to life. You may get to the end and remember how constant a thread abandonment was in Claude's early life: who is abandoning who, now? Is leaving always as gratuitous and unnecessary as it looks to the ones who stay? Or you may stop and think about the helpers Claude and Janice meet along the way: Juna and her father, outwardly so different from Grandma and Paul, but ultimately similar in their acts of resistance.
With so much racism and police brutality in the news, it's impossible to not find Everywhere You Don't Belong spot-on. The main characters are among those who suffer the most from the endless, institutionalized violence and constant micro-aggressions. To a reader like me, who hasn't lived this on as large a scale as Claude and his loved ones, the book underscores just how inadequate the response is from the groups that are on the side of privilege. Whether it's well-meaning (?) university journal editors that see a black student and place the burden of educating others on their shoulders, or college town boys that fly Confederate flags from their cars the way others blast loud music on the way to a party, any behaviour that ultimately excludes and threatens is indefensible. Yet, sometimes, it's all we see. The book doesn't say "do better" out loud: it's too preoccupied, legitimately preoccupied, with survival. The reader gets to share in the fear and sense of impending doom, as if the book's South Shore streets and Missouri motel parking lot were right outside their front door. And just because we don't see them, day to day, it doesn't mean that the places we live and breathe are any different or any safer.
I'll start from what I know: plot and character.
The South Shore section presents Claude and his chosen family with a mix of tenderness and sorrow that makes it incredibly easier to share the love the characters feel for each other, and the pain they can't help each other avoid. Even Janice, who looked to me like the weak link in the cast (not as thoroughly characterized, sometimes more of a vehicle for Claude to project emotions on), ends up feeling like family, because of the attachment Claude, Grandma and Paul feel for her. It's impossible to care about any one of these characters without wanting the others to also find unconditional love, a sense of belonging, a way of living that feels safe and far less precarious. A particularly powerful choice Bump made was to write Claude as an average boy, dealing with change and forces bigger than him without any desire to become the hero or channel destruction. He is confused, sometimes scared, often unsure of himself. He may be depressed. His grandmother's efforts to ignite a spark in him mostly fall flat. Sometimes, we want to read about leaders who rise the occasion, or dangerous, morally compromised characters; sometimes, we need to be reminded that there are all sorts of people in between, paralysed by danger and doubt and just looking for something to hang on to.
The Missouri chapters are more pointedly plot-driven; action replaces some of the introspection, and the situation evolves with a speed that feels unnatural. Between the second-to-last chapter and the very end, there's a lot about Claude and Janice's life that feels unsaid, and as a reader who grew so fond of them, I really could have done with reading more. But the book's main themes are all there, resolved in ways that may or may not feel satisfactory, and definitely feel true to life. You may get to the end and remember how constant a thread abandonment was in Claude's early life: who is abandoning who, now? Is leaving always as gratuitous and unnecessary as it looks to the ones who stay? Or you may stop and think about the helpers Claude and Janice meet along the way: Juna and her father, outwardly so different from Grandma and Paul, but ultimately similar in their acts of resistance.
With so much racism and police brutality in the news, it's impossible to not find Everywhere You Don't Belong spot-on. The main characters are among those who suffer the most from the endless, institutionalized violence and constant micro-aggressions. To a reader like me, who hasn't lived this on as large a scale as Claude and his loved ones, the book underscores just how inadequate the response is from the groups that are on the side of privilege. Whether it's well-meaning (?) university journal editors that see a black student and place the burden of educating others on their shoulders, or college town boys that fly Confederate flags from their cars the way others blast loud music on the way to a party, any behaviour that ultimately excludes and threatens is indefensible. Yet, sometimes, it's all we see. The book doesn't say "do better" out loud: it's too preoccupied, legitimately preoccupied, with survival. The reader gets to share in the fear and sense of impending doom, as if the book's South Shore streets and Missouri motel parking lot were right outside their front door. And just because we don't see them, day to day, it doesn't mean that the places we live and breathe are any different or any safer.