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lezreadalot's review
3.0
“Child, maybe your nature is a journey, and not a destination.”
A good read, if not quite as enjoyable as the first in the series. It's not that it doesn't live up to it or anything, but I think the charm and the whimsy of the 60s slang has done all it could for me. While I still enjoyed this narrative and following Stevie as she grows up and learns some more life lessons, has a few big upheavals in her life, and navigates her new surroundings as a black woman just beginning to own her bisexuality, it just wasn't as potent for me. There are a lot of bullet-proof themes here for me, like the way it addresses racism, and especially the way it calls out the rampant biphobia that has always existed in so many subgroups. But I had a bunch of little nitpicks.
And see, here's the problem that arises when I don't take notes and I wait a day or so to write my review: I don't actually remember what a lot of those issues were. LOL. So maybe they weren't that notable, but I just remember there being many times when the book showed its age, and actually kind of disappointed me in the way it chose to address certain things. Again, I don't really remember the sources of my annoyance, but I just know that this didn't land as well as the first one. It's not really the fact that it was so plainspoken. Unlike the first book, I would categorise this as adult, and sometimes I did wish that the writing were a little bit more subtle to reflect that. But I mostly enjoyed the simple writing. Just not really the way the author chose to handle some stuff. Like, I really wished we'd discussed internalised racism a little more, for example.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Amber Patrick, which did wonders to improve my impression of the book, as it always is with any writing that I don't absolutely love. The narrator hammed it up a lot, but it was apt and warranted imo. I'm not sure if I'll continue the series, but this ended in a good enough place that I feel okay about leaving Stevie here.
arisbookcorner's review
funny
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
cici_supreme's review
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
melanie_page's review
5.0
April Sinclair picks up right where she left Stevie, the protagonist of Coffee Will Make You Black. Stevie graduated high school in the spring of 1971 amid the rise of the Black Power movement and unspoken investigations of her sexuality. Not sure of her place in things, but certain that she doesn’t like labels or blanket statements, Stevie heads off to college in middle-of-nowhere Illinois to take advantage of a full-ride scholarship to a college with 500 black students on a campus of 20,000.
Ain’t Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice doesn’t spend much time with Stevie’s college years, showing only how the protagonist befriends two other black women and a white French woman, all residents of Stevie’s dorm. Again, Stevie’s feelings for a woman aren’t totally platonic — this time it’s the French woman — and Stevie can’t tell her black friends. She skates around whether she’s allowed to have white friends, let alone a white lover, and how the black community typically reacts to LGBTQ individuals.
While Coffee Will Make You Black has race at the forefront and sexuality in the wing, Ain’t Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice flip-flops that. Stevie points out that she knows white college students who steal all the time, but when she walks into a store, the clerks whisper, “You’ve gotta watch them, they’ll steal anything that’s not nailed down.” Later, Stevie acknowledges that her white roommate, who gets nude on a public beach, doesn’t listen to commands to get dressed. Instead, she dances. Why? Because this woman wouldn’t have to worry that anything she “ever did would reflect upon an entire race of people. She was an individual. She was white.”
And this gets to the crux of Stevie’s life. After college graduation, Steve and two friends head to San Francisco for a vacation. Realized the community there welcomes gays and lesbians, Stevie decides to stay. It’s the summer of 1975. She locates lesbian bars and women-only spaces to find out who she is. But in the end, she always wants to be herself, not a label. Stevie finds the lesbian/gay community tries to make her choose sides, just like fellow black students in high school did, when she realizes she may be bi-sexual. She admits to her new friend Sterling that she’s attracted to men and women:
April Sinclair captures the 1970s well, likely because she’s from Chicago (like Stevie) and moved to San Francisco Bay (like Stevie). The characters are feminist first and black second, another trait that doesn’t sit right with Stevie because it comes back to labels. People talk about “vibes,” asking Stevie to “just try and tune in to the vibes a person is putting out before [Stevie inserts her] energy into their space. . .” There are hippies and womanists galore — it’s the 70s! — who Stevie navigates.
Because Ain’t Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice explores sexuality, there are many sexual situations and adult language. Sinclair can spin a funny tale, though. It’s not overwhelmingly offensive. Stevie’s grandma, who’s more progressive than Stevie’s mother, gives Stevie advice like “if you can’t be good, be careful.” And in reference to her white afro, she says, “Chile, there might be snow on the chimney . . . but, there’s sho’ nuff fire down below.” This granny is feisty. She’s not too proper to say, “And if he cain’t cut the mustard, he kin least lick the jar.” Sure, I’m blushing (I have some grannies), but I’m also laughing that Stevie’s grandma has clever sayings that allow her to speak openly about sex.
Lastly, April Sinclair writes strong dialogue. Most authors don’t. In fact, some famous authors skip dialogue because it’s so hard. Sinclair has an ear for spoken rhythm, though. Here’s an excellent, funny example of Stevie talking to her friend’s brother, who visits in San Francisco before he moves to Alaska. The exchange begins with him, Buster:
This review was originally published at Grab the Lapels.
Ain’t Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice doesn’t spend much time with Stevie’s college years, showing only how the protagonist befriends two other black women and a white French woman, all residents of Stevie’s dorm. Again, Stevie’s feelings for a woman aren’t totally platonic — this time it’s the French woman — and Stevie can’t tell her black friends. She skates around whether she’s allowed to have white friends, let alone a white lover, and how the black community typically reacts to LGBTQ individuals.
While Coffee Will Make You Black has race at the forefront and sexuality in the wing, Ain’t Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice flip-flops that. Stevie points out that she knows white college students who steal all the time, but when she walks into a store, the clerks whisper, “You’ve gotta watch them, they’ll steal anything that’s not nailed down.” Later, Stevie acknowledges that her white roommate, who gets nude on a public beach, doesn’t listen to commands to get dressed. Instead, she dances. Why? Because this woman wouldn’t have to worry that anything she “ever did would reflect upon an entire race of people. She was an individual. She was white.”
And this gets to the crux of Stevie’s life. After college graduation, Steve and two friends head to San Francisco for a vacation. Realized the community there welcomes gays and lesbians, Stevie decides to stay. It’s the summer of 1975. She locates lesbian bars and women-only spaces to find out who she is. But in the end, she always wants to be herself, not a label. Stevie finds the lesbian/gay community tries to make her choose sides, just like fellow black students in high school did, when she realizes she may be bi-sexual. She admits to her new friend Sterling that she’s attracted to men and women:
Sterling smiled. “You have your reputation to consider.”Based on conversations on Twitter, I know bisexual individuals are still often ostracized, so I found Stevie’s experiences searching for identity educational.
“I do?”
“Yes, you’re building a portfolio.”
“Why can’t I just be open to whatever feels right?”
“Because, then the next thing you know they’ll be calling you bisexual.”
“That’s so bad?”
“Stevie, everybody hates bisexuals. Lesbians will think you’re just a straight woman experimenting at their expense. And heterosexuals will see you as a nymphomaniac.”
April Sinclair captures the 1970s well, likely because she’s from Chicago (like Stevie) and moved to San Francisco Bay (like Stevie). The characters are feminist first and black second, another trait that doesn’t sit right with Stevie because it comes back to labels. People talk about “vibes,” asking Stevie to “just try and tune in to the vibes a person is putting out before [Stevie inserts her] energy into their space. . .” There are hippies and womanists galore — it’s the 70s! — who Stevie navigates.
Because Ain’t Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice explores sexuality, there are many sexual situations and adult language. Sinclair can spin a funny tale, though. It’s not overwhelmingly offensive. Stevie’s grandma, who’s more progressive than Stevie’s mother, gives Stevie advice like “if you can’t be good, be careful.” And in reference to her white afro, she says, “Chile, there might be snow on the chimney . . . but, there’s sho’ nuff fire down below.” This granny is feisty. She’s not too proper to say, “And if he cain’t cut the mustard, he kin least lick the jar.” Sure, I’m blushing (I have some grannies), but I’m also laughing that Stevie’s grandma has clever sayings that allow her to speak openly about sex.
Lastly, April Sinclair writes strong dialogue. Most authors don’t. In fact, some famous authors skip dialogue because it’s so hard. Sinclair has an ear for spoken rhythm, though. Here’s an excellent, funny example of Stevie talking to her friend’s brother, who visits in San Francisco before he moves to Alaska. The exchange begins with him, Buster:
“Why not Alaska? I need to stack up me some dead presidents.”I highly recommend Ain’t Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice, but you must read Coffee Will Make You Black first.
“So it’s all about the paper?” [asks Stevie]
Buster nodded. “I’ma be working on the pipeline, making some long green.”
“It’s gonna be cold up there.”
“That’s cool, ’cause money’s got all kinds of friends. Heat is one of ’em.”
This review was originally published at Grab the Lapels.
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