Reviews

Everywhere You Don't Belong by Gabriel Bump

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decklededgess's review against another edition

4.0

Trigger Warnings: police violence, protests turned violent, murder of an unarmed Black people, racism and racist microaggressions, neighbourhood violence, gangs, gun use and mention, sex mention, harassment mention, verbally and physically abusive and racist teachers, hospital mention, physical injury, loss of family members, runaway parents

Basicallyyyyy i LOVED ittt

Read my full review here!

rensbookishspace's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

alrose619's review against another edition

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challenging emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

emmo's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

enobong's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

hellalibrary's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

✨Blog Tour✨

Thank you @algonquinbooks and @bumperg for this fantastic book and for having me on the #everywhereyoudontbelong blog tour!

“The entire universe is ruined,” Grandma said. “And no one wants us anywhere.”

A coming of age story, Everywhere You Don’t Belong is told through the voice of Clyde Mckay Love, a young Black man raised by his Grandmother, and her gay best friend Paul, in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago.

At age 5, Clyde is abandoned by his parents and it seems to be an underlying theme in life. He makes friends, only for them to leave the neighborhood with their families. Clyde doesn’t have many people in his life and spends most of his time with his Grandmother, who is a FORCE, and Paul.

I loved the relationships and the quick and witty dialogue between Clyde and her and Paul.

After witnessing a riot in his neighborhood in his teens, Clyde vows to leave Chicago for good and sets his sights on college.

Once in college in Missouri, an old friend comes to him that’s in trouble and Clyde has to make a choice about the kind of person he wants to be and what he wants from his future.

This a story about childhood trauma, abandonment, racism, police brutality, gang violence, to name a few and the human experience of one, young Black man in America.

I highly recommend this one to people wanting to learn more about that perspective.

signediza's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

⚠️ Spoilers Ahead - (Sorry)

A coming of age story of Claude. A young Black man born on the South Side of Chicago who just wants a place where he can fit in while being raised by his civil rights-era grandmother, who tries to shape him into a principled actor for change after being abandoned by his parents. He leaves Chicago to go to school in Missouri, and also didn’t fit in right there.

THEMES/TRIGGER WARNINGS
Abandonment
Social Injustices
Racism
Violence/Riots
Police Brutality
Identity
Microaggression

UNPOPULAR OPINION
While I was sucked in from the beginning about Claude coping with abandonment and what life is like for a Black youth growing up and wanting a place to fit in, the writing style wasn't my favorite.

Some characters get introduced and disappear with little or no development for me. Some parts were confusing and disjointed. And the ending was an unfinished deal for me.

I didn't like Janice. I saw no
vulnerability from her when she got abandoned outright to her face by her mother, unlike Claude.

But I do love Claude's grandma and Paul. They got my attention at a 100%

Overall, the story was fierce with sheer originality.

Content Warnings

myntop's review against another edition

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2.0

I wanted to like this book. I really think the story that it's attempting to tell is one that we need more of. For me, however, it fell short. I found the writing to be too choppy and the story hard to follow. Toward the end, I was able to finally get drawn in and eager to see what would happen, but even the ending felt a bit flat for me.

elzecatreads's review against another edition

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4.0

*Thanks to Goodreads and Algonquin books for a free Advanced Reading Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gabriel Bump's debut novel is composed of short, sometimes funny yet also poignant sketches in the life of Claude, a young black man growing up in Chicago's South Shore. Raised by his grandmother after his restless parents abandon him, Claude is struggling to find his place in the world. I enjoyed his writing style and watching Claude grow into a smart, sensitive young man. The parts of the book I could most relate to were Claude's initial college days.

A few quotes I especially liked:
"Whenever we come together...they want to break up apart."
"I thought of things I would die for. All of them were beside me."
"Leaving won't make you happy." "It might."
"I didn't know despair had a smell."

bookstagrem's review

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dark funny tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

Content Warnings

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