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vegronica's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-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
I cried so much reading this; the first half of the book sets up the characters you will spend the second half sobbing over. There are certainly dated elements (describing a specific reaction .gif, use of Tumblr and Facebook as though they're relevant to teens), but the overall plot unfortunately is as relevant as ever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Gun violence, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Police brutality
snowydaze's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Fantastic book! I'm surprised it doesn't get recommended more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Cursing, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Grief, Murder, and Police brutality
nannahnannah's review against another edition
DNF @ 12%.
I tried, I really did. I wanted to keep going, because I recognize that this story is important, but it is so badly written, and the representation feels like someone running down a checklist of identities (even if the author is part of some of these communities himself). The book is obviously well loved, so I’m the outlier here.
Representation:
- the MC is a (-n overweight?) gay black man with anxiety
- his love interest is a gay latino, I think
- a secondary character is a latina lesbian
- lots of other diverse characters are mentioned who I assume will be more central to the story, but I didn’t get that far
A police officer murdered Moss’s father six years ago and was was vilified by the media. He never got justice, despite the efforts of Moss’s activist mother. Now with debilitating anxiety from what happened then, Moss has to face the city’s racist police in his own school. When it’s announced that the officer stationed at his school will subject the kids to random locker searches, Moss and his classmates fight back.
If this book were written better, I would have few problems with it (with what I’ve read so far). And there are parts that seem crafted with a lot of care, but there’s just too few of them in this 450-page book. It’s very dialogue heavy, which isn’t a problem by itself, but I don’t think the author is very comfortable writing prose. When he does, it’s to add beats or to infodump about the diverse people around him (“There was Rosa’s home, with her three boys, Rafael, Luis, and Ramon, and her trim painted bright pink, a Big Wheel long abandoned in the front yard. The two oldest boys, Ramon and Luis, were usually in the middle of the street, kicking around a soccer ball. But last week, Moss had seen Rafael put on his mother’s heels … [...] Rosa’s family lived next door to Tariq and Eloisa, whose purple house leaned sadly but proudly to the right. They had tried to have a kid for years …”). So many characters are introduced in these first three chapters, and so far not many of them have come back. I get the feeling I’m supposed to be introduced to a vibrant, diverse community, but what’s happening (for me) is I’m just being hit with a wave of new names I’ll never remember because they’re not being introduced in a way that integrates them into the story. More than that, it feels like Moss is talking to me and leading me around on some kind of tour, noticing things a character normally wouldn’t when going about their normal day, as he introduces his friends by their sexuality and their religious beliefs. He’s not experiencing his own story in real time, which is odd.
But more than anything, the humor is unbearable. It feels like the author collected a bunch of those fake stories from reddit/tumblr/twitter and added them into his book. The book is littered with pop culture references and sayings that have already gone out of style, and it’s very difficult to power my way through it without cringing.
What made me stop reading, though, was when Moss (who has major anxiety and panic attacks still from what happened with his father) told his mom, an activist, that police could search his locker at any time for any reason at school, and she said, “Okay, so what are you going to do about it?”
And then I read that later a metal detector actually somehow rips out someone’s surgical pins in this contemporary YA, making him physically disabled for life, and I decided I’m not going to read this. The technology just gets more sketchy from there. It only happened to motivate Moss, too, which I find really distasteful, so I’ll skip this one.
I tried, I really did. I wanted to keep going, because I recognize that this story is important, but it is so badly written, and the representation feels like someone running down a checklist of identities (even if the author is part of some of these communities himself). The book is obviously well loved, so I’m the outlier here.
Representation:
- the MC is a (-n overweight?) gay black man with anxiety
- his love interest is a gay latino, I think
- a secondary character is a latina lesbian
- lots of other diverse characters are mentioned who I assume will be more central to the story, but I didn’t get that far
A police officer murdered Moss’s father six years ago and was was vilified by the media. He never got justice, despite the efforts of Moss’s activist mother. Now with debilitating anxiety from what happened then, Moss has to face the city’s racist police in his own school. When it’s announced that the officer stationed at his school will subject the kids to random locker searches, Moss and his classmates fight back.
If this book were written better, I would have few problems with it (with what I’ve read so far). And there are parts that seem crafted with a lot of care, but there’s just too few of them in this 450-page book. It’s very dialogue heavy, which isn’t a problem by itself, but I don’t think the author is very comfortable writing prose. When he does, it’s to add beats or to infodump about the diverse people around him (“There was Rosa’s home, with her three boys, Rafael, Luis, and Ramon, and her trim painted bright pink, a Big Wheel long abandoned in the front yard. The two oldest boys, Ramon and Luis, were usually in the middle of the street, kicking around a soccer ball. But last week, Moss had seen Rafael put on his mother’s heels … [...] Rosa’s family lived next door to Tariq and Eloisa, whose purple house leaned sadly but proudly to the right. They had tried to have a kid for years …”). So many characters are introduced in these first three chapters, and so far not many of them have come back. I get the feeling I’m supposed to be introduced to a vibrant, diverse community, but what’s happening (for me) is I’m just being hit with a wave of new names I’ll never remember because they’re not being introduced in a way that integrates them into the story. More than that, it feels like Moss is talking to me and leading me around on some kind of tour, noticing things a character normally wouldn’t when going about their normal day, as he introduces his friends by their sexuality and their religious beliefs. He’s not experiencing his own story in real time, which is odd.
But more than anything, the humor is unbearable. It feels like the author collected a bunch of those fake stories from reddit/tumblr/twitter and added them into his book. The book is littered with pop culture references and sayings that have already gone out of style, and it’s very difficult to power my way through it without cringing.
What made me stop reading, though, was when Moss (who has major anxiety and panic attacks still from what happened with his father) told his mom, an activist, that police could search his locker at any time for any reason at school, and she said, “Okay, so what are you going to do about it?”
And then I read that later a metal detector actually somehow rips out someone’s surgical pins in this contemporary YA, making him physically disabled for life, and I decided I’m not going to read this. The technology just gets more sketchy from there. It only happened to motivate Moss, too, which I find really distasteful, so I’ll skip this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality and Racism
(only from what I read so far)podanotherjessi's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- 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
4.75
This book frequently made me emotional just for the vast array of representation it held. And then it made me emotional by having emotional things happen. There were moments this book felt unrealistic, and I couldn't tell you if it was Oshiro's sci-fi background seeping in or my own unwillingness to believe how awful things can be. It's definitely well written, and I love these kids so much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Police brutality
ysary's review
emotional
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Racism, Police brutality, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault
andy_chx's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Death, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Biphobia, Ableism, and Homophobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Rape
tina94's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
The only qualm I have with this book is that all the many characters and names became indistinguishable at some point. Powerful and moving stuff otherwise
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Murder, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Biphobia, Car accident, Deadnaming, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
body image issuesgenielle's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Police brutality, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual assault
gayliott's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Murder, and Racism
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Transphobia
charlotte2609's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality