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muddymind's review
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
It’s a cute, funny story that’s pretty realistic & tackles some deep issues in an age appropriate way. I loved these books when I was younger & I’m happy I revisited the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Racism
Minor: Fatphobia
kricketa's review
1.0
while the plot and characters seemed pretty realistic, the writing was just plain sloppy. the author constantly contradicts herself, goes off on random tangents, quotes vague song lyrics, and ignores aspects of the plot that should have been revisited. editorial errors abound. for a story that brings in a similar exciting plot and true-to-life characters, try Kendra by Coe Booth...who actually knows how to write.
as much as i disliked it, however, it makes me happy that girls at my library love this series and recommend it to their friends. hey, they're reading!
as much as i disliked it, however, it makes me happy that girls at my library love this series and recommend it to their friends. hey, they're reading!
lumimemoir's review
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
paulapam64's review
4.0
DRAMA HIGH: The Fight is L. Divine’s first novel in the Drama High series. Filled with all the elements that make for a good book – young love, non-stop drama and a taste of the supernatural, it is sure to please. The author has a refreshing voice that young readers as well as adults can relate to. I read this book simultaneously with my teenage daughter, and although she said that is not the way teens talk, she enjoyed the book as much as I did. This novel comes highly recommended, and I look forward to the additional books in the series.
megschiebel's review
4.0
Divine captures her young readers in with the urban lit themed cover and storyline, but it has so much more than just that. Jayd is a great role model for young teens and sticks up for herself, and her "cookies" despite everything else going on in her life. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased which how much I learned from this book and I genuinely enjoyed it.
lowkeybooks's review
2.0
I read this when I was younger and I adored the series. I decided to read it again as a senior in highschool ( due to my school's book club) and I was disappointed. I felt like a lot of the characters were meant to be stereotyped, the slang for sex made me cringe and the book was mainly a "tell" rather than a "show- and tell".
bookishrealm's review against another edition
3.0
Sooooo haha this book was okay. I enjoyed it but it was the writing that brought down the rating. Sometimes the writing was really good and truly captured the voice of Jayd and other times it felt forced. I will be continuing the series because I’m interested in seeing what’s going to happen to Jayd and the rest of her friends. Overall a good pick for teen readers.
arisbookcorner's review against another edition
2.0
I think I would like this story a lot more if there wasn't the magical element to it. Mostly because I don't understand all the cleansings, potions and spells. I'm fairly skeptical but I think I believe in curanderas and stuff so I can understand the background of Jayd's spiritual heritage but I think it takes away from what could be a really good story about a contemporary Black teen trying to straddle many different worlds. The magical elements are like a safety net, Jayd knows that because of her magical powers and her Mama (who is really her grandmother, she calls her actual mother Mom) she is safe from basically everything. Oh and of course in addition to her magic skills she's in all AP and honors classes, drop dead gorgeous, has a job and all the guys flirt with her. Perfect protagonists are probably my second or third biggest pet peeve especially when like Jayd, they have a 'woe is me' attitude. Plus the book felt outdated to me. I have lots of friends who speak like Jayd with lots of slang, I do too sometimes, but "giving up the cookies" is definitely not an expression used anymore, same with "heffa."
I do like that while the drama may be more intense than a lot of teens are used to (including myself. We don't have physical girl fights at my school), the root of the problems are the same in all high schools. The story moves quickly and while Jayd is perfect she still manages to get herself in some amusing scrapes. There's a lot of emphasis on descriptions of people and places. The focus on describing Compton and LA was a good call, I didn't particularly care for how people were described (and their outfits). Especially since the author doesn't seem to fond of white people. I choose the quote I did because it's funny and definitely true when it comes to certain neighborhoods but that doesn't mean I have something bad to say about every white person. Jayd would talk about how nice/funny a guy was BUT he was white. I could relate to her apprehension about going out with Jeremy (a nice white guy) because while race shouldn't hold you back from dating someone, there are some questions worth thinking about and trying to answer concerning the relationship (and no I don't mean 'will my friends approve'). Like any teenager for about a hot minute Jayd worried about what people would think if she started dating Jeremy but she didn't let that deter her from going on one date with him.
The Fight contain fond childhood memories for me because they were some of the earliest books I found with Black teenagers on the cover. I devoured these books. The story isn't really a 'problem novel' a few heavy problems are mentioned, but mostly this is about life in privileged high school. I have a much lower tolerance for these books now but I gobbled them up when I was younger (read: middle school), I am curious as to how Jayd is doing because it's a long series (at least fourteen books) but its length deters me from catching up on reading them. There's so many books in the series and nothing really happens. This book is fast-paced but the action takes place in a couple of days which I found irritating. Jayd's the perfect protagonist and by that I don't mean she's fun yet flawed, no Jayd has it all. Her only flaw is something I'm not so sure the author sees as a flaw, I can't tell. Jayd is very judgemental especially concerning her white classmates and after awhile I was tired of her always mentioning that they wore white people clothes, sounded white, etc.
I do like that while the drama may be more intense than a lot of teens are used to (including myself. We don't have physical girl fights at my school), the root of the problems are the same in all high schools. The story moves quickly and while Jayd is perfect she still manages to get herself in some amusing scrapes. There's a lot of emphasis on descriptions of people and places. The focus on describing Compton and LA was a good call, I didn't particularly care for how people were described (and their outfits). Especially since the author doesn't seem to fond of white people. I choose the quote I did because it's funny and definitely true when it comes to certain neighborhoods but that doesn't mean I have something bad to say about every white person. Jayd would talk about how nice/funny a guy was BUT he was white. I could relate to her apprehension about going out with Jeremy (a nice white guy) because while race shouldn't hold you back from dating someone, there are some questions worth thinking about and trying to answer concerning the relationship (and no I don't mean 'will my friends approve'). Like any teenager for about a hot minute Jayd worried about what people would think if she started dating Jeremy but she didn't let that deter her from going on one date with him.
The Fight contain fond childhood memories for me because they were some of the earliest books I found with Black teenagers on the cover. I devoured these books. The story isn't really a 'problem novel' a few heavy problems are mentioned, but mostly this is about life in privileged high school. I have a much lower tolerance for these books now but I gobbled them up when I was younger (read: middle school), I am curious as to how Jayd is doing because it's a long series (at least fourteen books) but its length deters me from catching up on reading them. There's so many books in the series and nothing really happens. This book is fast-paced but the action takes place in a couple of days which I found irritating. Jayd's the perfect protagonist and by that I don't mean she's fun yet flawed, no Jayd has it all. Her only flaw is something I'm not so sure the author sees as a flaw, I can't tell. Jayd is very judgemental especially concerning her white classmates and after awhile I was tired of her always mentioning that they wore white people clothes, sounded white, etc.
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