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kayannmar's review against another edition
1.0
DNF'd this book within the first chapter, I couldn't get past the terrible writing. This book could be something that is easy to enjoy for a middle-school age or early high school aged person. I understand what the purpose of the book is. But I detest the use of pop-culture and popular items in books. I would rather read a book written by Donald Trump than read this.
The writing was severely lacking and if I bothered to go back and count the amount of commas used in the first page I'm sure it would be well into the 50's. The cover for the book is the main reason I picked it up, its gorgeous, and the synopsis was intriguing. I think the editing team and publisher really let this author down by not screening the work more thoroughly. I really don't know how the majority of the paragraphs can consist of two run-on sentences
I'm disappointed that this book wasn't any good. It may have more redeemable qualities but I won't be bothering to find out. Maybe the author can learn from this and pick a different publisher for their next book. (P.S. I'll never understand how this book has such a high rating - paid promotions?)
The writing was severely lacking and if I bothered to go back and count the amount of commas used in the first page I'm sure it would be well into the 50's. The cover for the book is the main reason I picked it up, its gorgeous, and the synopsis was intriguing. I think the editing team and publisher really let this author down by not screening the work more thoroughly. I really don't know how the majority of the paragraphs can consist of two run-on sentences
I'm disappointed that this book wasn't any good. It may have more redeemable qualities but I won't be bothering to find out. Maybe the author can learn from this and pick a different publisher for their next book. (P.S. I'll never understand how this book has such a high rating - paid promotions?)
vizira's review against another edition
this is literally just The Hate U Give but worse; it's fine to be inspired by another author's work, but your book should still be able to stand on it's own....
caffeineaddict980's review against another edition
4.0
'Hate is too ugly of a devil for some people to acknowledge, but the thing about hate is you can't throw it on someone else without getting a little bit on yourself.'
Marvin goes to a party with his twin Tyler and never expected a night of what should have been harmless fun to turn into a shooting, a police raid happening shortly after.
Straight after the party, Tyler goes missing. Marvin and his family go frantic looking for him, but soon a leaked online video gives them clarity.
Tyler has been shot and killed by a police officer.
This novel is raw and touches on many different scenes featuring police brutality against africian americans which is extremely disturbing to read about, but is important!
There are a few shining lights in this book that don't discriminate Marvin for the colour of his skin or his background. We find these in Ms. Tanner, who is Marvin's English teacher, who seems to be the most supportive within the book aside from Marvin's group of close friends.
Overall, this novel is an important one highlighting difficult topics of grief, discrimination and police brutality.
Marvin goes to a party with his twin Tyler and never expected a night of what should have been harmless fun to turn into a shooting, a police raid happening shortly after.
Straight after the party, Tyler goes missing. Marvin and his family go frantic looking for him, but soon a leaked online video gives them clarity.
Tyler has been shot and killed by a police officer.
This novel is raw and touches on many different scenes featuring police brutality against africian americans which is extremely disturbing to read about, but is important!
There are a few shining lights in this book that don't discriminate Marvin for the colour of his skin or his background. We find these in Ms. Tanner, who is Marvin's English teacher, who seems to be the most supportive within the book aside from Marvin's group of close friends.
Overall, this novel is an important one highlighting difficult topics of grief, discrimination and police brutality.
gingerbread_void's review against another edition
4.0
I want to keep my review of this book short. I also want to start by saying that I am not a POC and I strongly encourage you to read reviews from POCs and get more accurate idea of how accurate this book is. Now as a person who has not personally experienced this sort of thing I enjoyed this. I found it be an honest look at how police brutality can effect people and not just people of color but also how it can effect other police officers. Something I really liked about this book was how it made a point of saying not all cops are bad or racist but enough of them are. I found while this book can be hard to read at time it is incredibly powerful and a book everyone should read.
cowmingo's review against another edition
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
eastcoastbooktart's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. Really, really. But there are a few issues I have...
1. The characters are nothing. There's no information on them, really. There's no development. And for that reason, I found it hard to invest myself into this. I didn't feel as heartbroken as I imagine the author wanted me to. I didn't really feel heartbroken at all spare for thinking of all of the times this has happened in real life.
2. Being inspired by another novel is one thing. Essentially copying it and removing all of the good bits of it is another. This novel shares at least 7 major plot points with The Hate You Give. Now, granted, I do expect overlap if we're going to discuss the black experience in the US or police brutality in the US. But this is not that.
3. The language is very... under-developed? If you take out the swearing it reads at a junior high level.
4. Plot holes, plot holes, plot holes. The biggest of which is the whole damn point of this book.
I'm hoping his next novel is Comeback of the Year > Sophomore Slump but this did not give me a great amount of hope.
1. The characters are nothing. There's no information on them, really. There's no development. And for that reason, I found it hard to invest myself into this. I didn't feel as heartbroken as I imagine the author wanted me to. I didn't really feel heartbroken at all spare for thinking of all of the times this has happened in real life.
2. Being inspired by another novel is one thing. Essentially copying it and removing all of the good bits of it is another. This novel shares at least 7 major plot points with The Hate You Give. Now, granted, I do expect overlap if we're going to discuss the black experience in the US or police brutality in the US. But this is not that.
3. The language is very... under-developed? If you take out the swearing it reads at a junior high level.
4. Plot holes, plot holes, plot holes. The biggest of which is the whole damn point of this book.
Spoiler
I find it incredibly hard to believe a cop shot a kid, mom reports THE VERY SAME KID missing IN PERSON with his IDENTICAL F*CKING TWIN and no one is like, "oh, yeah, that kid? he's in the morgue!"I'm hoping his next novel is Comeback of the Year > Sophomore Slump but this did not give me a great amount of hope.
wylanslcve's review against another edition
4.0
Stranger Things Readathon 2020 book #4
I loved this book. Full review to come!
— Aisha.
I loved this book. Full review to come!
— Aisha.
indecisivesailorscout's review against another edition
4.0
Poignant and powerful. Compared to it's recent contemporaries, this debut novel is a little rough around the edges, but it is still very much worth picking up. I cried as much as I laughed, and shared several whole passages with teacher friends that have been resonating in their classrooms lately. Violence against black youth is never an easy thing to talk about but it is always necessary if we are going to do better for the kids who come after us.
gkeebs's review against another edition
5.0
I believe that this book was one of the best ones I've ever read. It was written so well and SO poetic. The words dug into me and stuck so much. I was speechless and I think that everyone should watch.
the_lissauros's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this book which tells a story about police brutality and the black community in America. Beautifully written and with a theme and tone you don't see often in books, this story manages to both be relevant, but also abstract and give you a whole new experience of what it's like to live with fear because if the colour of your skin.
Just amazing!
Just amazing!