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shubka's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Classism, Cultural appropriation, Murder, and Death
clarabooksit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Slavery, Murder, and Police brutality
bzliz's review against another edition
- 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
Clara is an extraordinary character. She hits all the traits I adore. She’s resilient, driven, more than a little stubborn, and so very clever. Israel is a sweetie and I would do anything for Aristotle. Zelda is the best friend everyone needs and Mama Octavia is a powerful driving force.
I highly recommend you read the Author’s note. It makes it clear just how much research Leslye Penelope put into this book and gives some other recommendations if any particular aspects intrigued you. She gracefully handled tough subjects like slavery, racism, classism, and harm being compounded by people who wish to raise themselves by holding others down in a way that’s easy to read and reflect on, while giving the gritty real world just a little magic sprinkled on top.
Graphic: Racism, Classism, and Slavery
Moderate: Kidnapping, Gun violence, and Police brutality
aksmith92's review
- 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
4.0
The setup: We follow Clara Johnson, a woman living and working in Washington DC, after dark moments when she was thrown in jail. She works as a typist for a pretty arrogant man but knows the work is essential to the Black community. However, on the side, she also meddles with spirits, or Enigmas, because she has the "second sight." People will come to her to get a Charm - something Enigmas will hand out to humans to help them - but only with a Trick, making their lives more challenging.
Soon, Clara notices some of her friends and neighbors are starting to go missing. When a concerned mother comes to her about her son, who looks absolutely in a daze and cannot speak, Clara is sure that the spirits are to blame. This novel works through Clara trying to figure out who is at fault and what can be done about these folks controlled by spirits. While figuring out the details, Clara is tasked with finding and stealing a magical ring, which may be the reason for the spirits and afflicted humans. Therefore, she and a team of lovely characters take on this heist. It was such a fun and exciting ride, and it had unique storytelling.
Integrated into the fantasy novel was also some incredible historical context about the Black community in Washington DC and some of the atrocities that went down during this period (1919-1925ish). Yet, it was also a fantastic display of the community's growth and perseverance to make a great life for themselves. Leslye Penelope's Author Note at the end of the novel was beautiful, and I highly encourage you to include that in the final reading chapters.
What I loved: I thoroughly enjoyed the characters - Clara was a tough-minded woman who always spoke her truth, which could not have been easy in the timeframe. This book also had a lovely found-family aspect - the wonderful characters of Aristotle, Jesse Lee, and Zelda. Plus, we had the lovely and charming Israel Lee. I was glad to see that Penelope was able to integrate a lot of these characters' backstories into the novel, as we were able to catch a glimpse into their personalities. Zelda was one of my favorite characters in this novel; she had such a layered personality and provided her friends great insight (and comedic relief).
I also thoroughly enjoyed this plot - while ghosts and the spirit world are not new themes, I thought Penelope did it justice with unique worldbuilding and exciting subplots, especially with the charms/tricks component. I also loved Clara's connection with her late grandmother and how that was integrated into the story. Penelope's integration with these fantastical elements alongside actual historical context in 1920s Washington, DC, was also phenomenal. I thought it was a nice touch to weave these historical components (like real historical people like DeBois!) into this novel.
Overall, I was deeply immersed - there is a bit of fantasy, a bit of a mystery, and even a splash of a love story. I had a lovely time with it and think Penelope is a fantastic writer!
What could've happened for a higher rating: I think the pacing fell a little short for me, and I'm trying to figure out why. I think it is because most of the book was about planning for the heist and then only briefly getting to it. The action was relatively minimal but still had very interesting components. It took me some time to finish this book, which is pretty abnormal for me, so maybe that's where I'm going when I say pacing issues.
Lastly, I was a bit confused at the end with some of the Engima...fighting? I won't go into detail about spoilers, but the end of the heist scene was thrown together quickly and was confusing with the rest of the mostly intriguing and organized plot around the spirits. Even though I had some questions about the heist scene, it was the most action-packed, which I appreciated. I was on the edge of my seat, wondering how it would all come together!
Overall, it was a great novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. In my opinion, heists are challenging to do, and Penelope did it well. I look forward to reading some of her other material in the future!
Graphic: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Classism, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, and Slavery
Minor: Alcohol, Confinement, and Pregnancy
laurareads87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
This novel would make absolutely fantastic television; I'd happily read more set in this world & more from Leslye Penelope.
Content warnings: racism, racial slurs, police brutality, racist violence, hate crime, enslavement, classism, colourism
Graphic: Police brutality, Classism, Hate crime, Racism, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Murder, Gun violence, and Slavery
carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Very very few issues, to the point where I can't even verbalize them.
Absolutely adore the characters. They're just the kind I like: a l(ot)ittle damaged, sassy, a little bitchy, magical, charismatic. Israel Lee, I wish you were real so I could kiss you on your mouth<3<3 Clara Johnson, you're cool too, don't get me wrong, but he's so so perfect <3 I love him and Clara together: confident, kind-hearted ladies man falling for the grumpy closed off girl? sign me the fuck up. The rest of the cast is really cool too, the villains aren't extremely fleshed out, but it works cause they're sprits.
The plot was also really up my alley, urban magic? a heist?? a ragtag group??? yes yes yes. I really loved exploring 1920s DC, and how the black people who lived there managed to carve out their own space despite Jim Crow. I also liked that besides
Highly highly recommend.
Graphic: Slavery, Trafficking, Murder, Racism, Violence, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Alcohol, Gun violence, and Infidelity
Minor: Confinement, Ableism, Sexual assault, Body horror, and Pregnancy
mal_reads_books's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
The side characters’ abilities and their backstories involving the deals they made with the spirits were also interesting. I actually preferred these characters over the protagonist, Clara, whom I didn't care much for. I loved how they were all misfits who banded together and became a "found family." I liked how the story included cameos of real Black historical figures like Langston Hughes. Even Clara was based on a real person.
Additionally, the author did a good job weaving themes of classism, colorism, and racism into the story. She handled these heavy topics well, approaching them with nuance.
While the writing was generally engaging, the story had pacing issues in that it lost my attention at times. This was usually whenever a new character was introduced with an introductory chapter; it would take me out of the story for a bit.
And while I did like the characters, I felt they could've have been better developed. Not sure why, but I kept getting two of the side guys, Aristotle and Jesse Lee, mixed up.
All in all, it was a pretty good, thought-provoking read. It has room for improvement, but is worth checking out. I'd love to see a movie adaptation for this.
Graphic: Classism and Racism
Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Slavery
Colorism is mentioned; this goes hand in hand with classism among African-Americans.lottiegasp's review
- 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
Moderate: Racism, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Classism
Minor: Slavery
While it deals with serious issues of racism and colorism, I found that it did so in a cathartic rather than heavy or upsetting waylizzie24601's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Gun violence, Classism, and Police brutality
yuna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Weird coincidence, but it seemed like all of the mother figures in the book kind of sucked. Abandoned their families, sold their children, were homophobic...etc.
Moderate: Racial slurs, Abandonment, and Classism