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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
emotional
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Minor: Death, Murder
sad
medium-paced
I love stories about interracial relationship.
And yeah, the relationship between the two characters was adorable. They were great characters and I loved their relationship.
One thing I also liked was how the female lead’s sister, who is a lesbian, is against her interracial relationship. It shows that people who you think will be understanding of your situation because they have experienced it themselves, aren’t as accepting as you think.
This was a good book and I do plan on reading the sequel, especially because of the ending.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Police brutality, Murder
For the first half of this book, I acknowledged the simple beauty of Ms. Jacqueline Woodson's writing, but I also kept on saying to myself, "this book has no plot." But the book was short and the writing style was easy enough to push through. And then I got to the second half of this book. This book, my friends, has no plot. It has a life.
A short synopsis: Ellie is a white girl who lives in Manhattan and Jeremiah is a black boy who lives in Brooklyn. They've both just started up in the sophomore year at Percy Prep. They meet once by literally running into each other, have this intense moment where they can pretty much see into each other's souls, then go about their lives for a month until they meet again. This time, "the moment" lasts. They start seeing each other more often and begin to fall in love (this is not really a spoiler as it happens pretty early on and the cover kinda gives it away). Their worlds collide and racial issues get in the way of their relationship as the story progresses.
The setting took a back seat to the characters and the relationships made between them in this book. Ellie and Jeremiah are really the only two that show much personality at all, but the side characters like Carleton, Marion, Nelia, Norman, and Anne add so much importance so that even though they barely get any screen time or characterization at all, this book would not be nearly as enjoyable without them. Ellie and Jeremiah are both quiet and thoughtful with similar experiences in their home life. J's parents are divorced and E's parents pretty much fell out of love a while ago but still live in the same house. J shows a rational head and tries to understand why this has happened in his life whereas E takes the angry approach.
A really interesting thing to read that added an unexpected element to the story was that Jeremiah's parents were both famous. His mother Nelia was a published author with high selling rates and his dad Norman was a film director. Again, this didn't really add much to the story, but it helped to really flush out Jeremiah's personality and added something new to a story like this.
Now we get to the part where I might come off as a "sap." This book is sad. It is a sad book that you will want to read next to the fireplace with a blanket wrapped around you and someone there to cry with you when you have read the last page. But it will also make you smile and you will feel like your heart just grew wings and flew to the happiest place on earth. It also has this subtle anger that you can feel burning in your throat. But this anger is not irrational. You will feel it when black and white men and women stare at Ellie and Jeremiah with accusatory glares and judgement in their eyes. And though this book was published in 1998, you will see this issue today.
But this is not an angry book. It does not point fingers at anyone. This book whispers "I forgive you" and lets you realize how wrong things were and are and how it needs to be stopped. This is not an angry book. It is a sad book, it is happy, and it is warm. This book is love in its purest form.
I sobbed reading the ending, but I smiled reading all the happy moments that Ellie and Jeremiah shared. I hope this review makes sense, but if you really need me to spell it out for you: GO READ THIS BOOK!
A short synopsis: Ellie is a white girl who lives in Manhattan and Jeremiah is a black boy who lives in Brooklyn. They've both just started up in the sophomore year at Percy Prep. They meet once by literally running into each other, have this intense moment where they can pretty much see into each other's souls, then go about their lives for a month until they meet again. This time, "the moment" lasts. They start seeing each other more often and begin to fall in love (this is not really a spoiler as it happens pretty early on and the cover kinda gives it away). Their worlds collide and racial issues get in the way of their relationship as the story progresses.
The setting took a back seat to the characters and the relationships made between them in this book. Ellie and Jeremiah are really the only two that show much personality at all, but the side characters like Carleton, Marion, Nelia, Norman, and Anne add so much importance so that even though they barely get any screen time or characterization at all, this book would not be nearly as enjoyable without them. Ellie and Jeremiah are both quiet and thoughtful with similar experiences in their home life. J's parents are divorced and E's parents pretty much fell out of love a while ago but still live in the same house. J shows a rational head and tries to understand why this has happened in his life whereas E takes the angry approach.
A really interesting thing to read that added an unexpected element to the story was that Jeremiah's parents were both famous. His mother Nelia was a published author with high selling rates and his dad Norman was a film director. Again, this didn't really add much to the story, but it helped to really flush out Jeremiah's personality and added something new to a story like this.
Now we get to the part where I might come off as a "sap." This book is sad. It is a sad book that you will want to read next to the fireplace with a blanket wrapped around you and someone there to cry with you when you have read the last page. But it will also make you smile and you will feel like your heart just grew wings and flew to the happiest place on earth. It also has this subtle anger that you can feel burning in your throat. But this anger is not irrational. You will feel it when black and white men and women stare at Ellie and Jeremiah with accusatory glares and judgement in their eyes. And though this book was published in 1998, you will see this issue today.
But this is not an angry book. It does not point fingers at anyone. This book whispers "I forgive you" and lets you realize how wrong things were and are and how it needs to be stopped. This is not an angry book. It is a sad book, it is happy, and it is warm. This book is love in its purest form.
I sobbed reading the ending, but I smiled reading all the happy moments that Ellie and Jeremiah shared. I hope this review makes sense, but if you really need me to spell it out for you: GO READ THIS BOOK!
It was good, but I didn't really need another sad story about a black youth losing their life right now.
I also don't love "love at first sight".
All that being said, it's horrifying that this was written *20 years ago* and nothing has seemingly changed. (And embarrassing how unaware I was at that point in time.)
I also don't love "love at first sight".
All that being said, it's horrifying that this was written *20 years ago* and nothing has seemingly changed. (And embarrassing how unaware I was at that point in time.)
Read for the Life's Library online book club.
I think this is closer to a 3.5 but the ending was a bit abrupt for me so I cut it down. I'm impressed a book written in 1998 hit these topics of interracial dating and blackness in America so hard (especially for a YA). It feels so relevant to 2018 which speaks both to Woodson's writing and ability to face the hard problems and also the state of the world.
Defnitely worth the quick read it is.
I think this is closer to a 3.5 but the ending was a bit abrupt for me so I cut it down. I'm impressed a book written in 1998 hit these topics of interracial dating and blackness in America so hard (especially for a YA). It feels so relevant to 2018 which speaks both to Woodson's writing and ability to face the hard problems and also the state of the world.
Defnitely worth the quick read it is.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No