Reviews

The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race by Jesmyn Ward

bibliobrandie's review

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5.0

Read this a second time for a staff book club and it was just as amazing as I had remembered. Every essay gave us so much to discuss.

mnqmariah's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

alittlebird's review

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challenging informative reflective

4.0

Highlights:
The Weight
White Rage
Black & Blue
Blacker Than Thou
Know Your Rights
Message to My Daughters

I'm not really sure how the bioessentialist "Composite Pops" slipped into the collection, but it had me return to previous essays in the collection with far more scrutiny than was ultimately fair. It definitely pumped my brakes on what was otherwise a masterful collection.  I feel like I need to reread hook's "The Will to Change" to get the taste out of my mouth. 

With the ways masculinity often shutters the emotional side of men and the ways fathers often withhold showing their love towards their sons and how that creates distrust and devalues the mothers’ love (which is easier to obtain), maybe our message should be one of loving as political action and living authentically.

abbennsky's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

heidipolkissa82's review

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challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

4.25

jwest87's review

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emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

whatcandicereads's review

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5.0

“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but you read.”

It’s a story of trials, loss, pain, and suffering. It’s a story of strength, redemption, and revolution. Wow, this book is definitely a must read for young adults or anyone really, those of us who find ourselves attempting to navigate this political world. I very rarely write book reviews, but this one warranted something. It is a great reminder of the power of individual narratives and seemed to chronicle my thoughts, experiences, and opinions, as I navigated the killings of our unarmed black boys and girls, the rise of our first Black President and more. As we move forward, this book is an empowering reminder of where we have been, where we are going, and where we can be.

searobin's review against another edition

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4.0

As with all anthologies, some were amazing, some were less than stellar. It was definitely good on the whole.

sunseas's review

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

laellede's review

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5.0

Such an important book for everybody to read. As the NYT critic, Dwight Garner, puts it, these essays are "so alive with purpose, conviction and intellect." Yes. Yes. Yes.