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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
A slowly-unfolding horror story, brilliantly executed.
emotional
reflective
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:
Yes
This was a good read, kept me coming back. But defining it as a romance is a very interesting take, in my opinion. I think it was a great story of the main character, Jess, growing and developing as a black woman and experiencing the ups and downs of life. I would certainly recommend it, just don’t expect a traditional romance
So, I read this book strictly to see if it's as problematic as people say it is.
Reviewing this one is complicated. Not because of well, racism is complicated (it's not, you're either anti-Black, or not) but because...there's other issues going on aside from that. We're talking quality writing issues.
This book is trying so bad to be Little Fires Everywhere or Go Ask Alice. It ends up being quite a borefest, with most personal interactions reading like Political Twitter. That's tiring - to the point where after reading, I just want to go home, if not for already being home.
As for the racism - first of all, I am not Black. I cannot judge on racism as if I were. I don't have those same experiences. But I can say there are a lot of characters with prevailing attitudes that are systematically racist, and these characters staunchly defend these attitudes as being necessarily systematic. And they're not necessarily corrected.
I'll also add that it does try to show Jess entering into something of a high socio-economic, conservative hell, but I don't think the typical high-literary expectation of quiet subtlety does any favors. The last scene in particular can validly be interpreted as the gates of this hell closing in in Jess once and for all, but the irony of this final scene is lost compared to the absolute slog necessary to get there.
Reviewing this one is complicated. Not because of well, racism is complicated (it's not, you're either anti-Black, or not) but because...there's other issues going on aside from that. We're talking quality writing issues.
This book is trying so bad to be Little Fires Everywhere or Go Ask Alice. It ends up being quite a borefest, with most personal interactions reading like Political Twitter. That's tiring - to the point where after reading, I just want to go home, if not for already being home.
As for the racism - first of all, I am not Black. I cannot judge on racism as if I were. I don't have those same experiences. But I can say there are a lot of characters with prevailing attitudes that are systematically racist, and these characters staunchly defend these attitudes as being necessarily systematic. And they're not necessarily corrected.
I'll also add that it does try to show Jess entering into something of a high socio-economic, conservative hell, but I don't think the typical high-literary expectation of quiet subtlety does any favors. The last scene in particular can validly be interpreted as the gates of this hell closing in in Jess once and for all, but the irony of this final scene is lost compared to the absolute slog necessary to get there.
challenging
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book made me mad, and sad, and I didn't root for the romance at all, but maybe we aren't supposed to? It was also a hard read against the backdrop of the latest US election given everything.
challenging
emotional
funny
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