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literaryintersections's review
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
If I could give this zero stars I would. This book is harmful and anti-Black and I will tell you why:
1) you have a main character who has clear (and problematic) ideas of what it means to be a Black person. Relax your hair? Not Black enough. Don't watch videos of police brutality of murder of Black people? Not Black enough. Don't wear a fro? Hand in your Black card. Jasmyn is not like Issa Rae: she isn't rooting for everyone Black, only the ones she deems Black enough. And all of that makes it hard to root for her, hard to like her. She is more than an "unlikeable main character" she is actually a horrible human.
2) The entire plot ofBlack people turning white in order to succeed. I feel like I am trying to understand where Yoon is going with this: that Black folks can self-sabotage, that the ways that we try to assimilate are hurting us in the end, that there is no such thing as a Black utopia . But she missed the mark imo. Because what she is showing is that in order of us to survive we need to be white. Also that Blackness is skin, accent, and culture. WHICH IS WILD TO ME. And so reductive. Again, I feel like I kind of understand where she was going with this but it feels so problematic and anti-Black to say that whiteness is the above all. That we can't beat them at their own game so let's play it by becoming them. . The comps to Get Out are both understandable and wildly unfounded: Get Out was subtle and also hit you over the head with the point that to white people, Black folks are just body parts, just a sex, just athleticism. The white folks are the villains. And in this book? The villains are us.... but still ultimately catering to white folks. It made me ill.
3) The husband, the side characters. Everyone was one-dimensional. Her husband? TRASH YOU HEAR ME TRASH. What he did to their child?! No sir. Murdered. I would've killed him. All the secondary characters were like charicatures - that one friend who had the art gallery and was doing the fists all the time like did Nicola know Black people when writing this book? It feels like every person is a stereotype. They all gave us nothing and added nothing to the story
4) The violence by police was not only ripped from the headlines it literally was the headlines. Just using different people's names. Talk about commodifying the murder of Black people! Just again disgusting
I have enjoyed Yoon's previous YA books but this one? Absolutely horrible, offensive, disgusting and anti-Black.
1) you have a main character who has clear (and problematic) ideas of what it means to be a Black person. Relax your hair? Not Black enough. Don't watch videos of police brutality of murder of Black people? Not Black enough. Don't wear a fro? Hand in your Black card. Jasmyn is not like Issa Rae: she isn't rooting for everyone Black, only the ones she deems Black enough. And all of that makes it hard to root for her, hard to like her. She is more than an "unlikeable main character" she is actually a horrible human.
2) The entire plot of
3) The husband, the side characters. Everyone was one-dimensional. Her husband? TRASH YOU HEAR ME TRASH. What he did to their child?! No sir. Murdered. I would've killed him. All the secondary characters were like charicatures - that one friend who had the art gallery and was doing the fists all the time like did Nicola know Black people when writing this book? It feels like every person is a stereotype. They all gave us nothing and added nothing to the story
4) The violence by police was not only ripped from the headlines it literally was the headlines. Just using different people's names. Talk about commodifying the murder of Black people! Just again disgusting
I have enjoyed Yoon's previous YA books but this one? Absolutely horrible, offensive, disgusting and anti-Black.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Violence, Racism, and Police brutality
Moderate: Kidnapping
lifewithjoce's review against another edition
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Emotional abuse
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I think this one could have stayed in the drafts or made for a short story, albeit with a different ending?
I struggle with anyone gatekeeping activism, and that’s what the main character -Jasmyn- of this book does. However, that does not mean I co-sign her deserving the ending.
I fully recognize this is meant to be darker satire, but I do think this reads as trying to teach white people or even non-Black people. I agree with the sentiments, I just struggle with the execution of this particular novel.
I struggle with anyone gatekeeping activism, and that’s what the main character -Jasmyn- of this book does. However, that does not mean I co-sign her deserving the ending.
I fully recognize this is meant to be darker satire, but I do think this reads as trying to teach white people or even non-Black people. I agree with the sentiments, I just struggle with the execution of this particular novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Racism, Police brutality, Confinement, and Toxic relationship
windywife's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
As a white woman, I found the perspective of a black woman fighting racial inequalities informative. She was trying, against the odds, to hold on to her past and fight for those don’t always have equal treatment due to skin color. On top of that, this story felt like a retelling of “Stepford Wives” with the all too perfect community.
Without giving anything away, I will have to say I was surprised and frustrated with the ending. I was also disappointed that one of the side couples was homosexual. Both of those things bring my rating down a star.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Police brutality, Racism, Death, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Sexual content
bookedwithliz's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Police brutality
the_rainydayreader's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
I had very high expectations for this after the blurb said that this is a "thrilling [story] with insightful social commentary", and compared this title to The Stepford Wives, Rosemary's Baby, and Get Out. These comparisons provide a lot to live up to, as they are classics of the speculative fiction genre. Speculative fiction books with social commentary are big right now and I was ready for this to be a standout, especially considering Nicola Yoon's successful YA books that deal with racial prejudice.
First off, I want to clarify that I am a white woman. This book is not written to reflect my experiences and I am not supposed to be able to relate to the Black main character, although I do make an effort to educate myself on racism/antiracism by reading POC authors. So take what you will from my opinion but read other reviews but Black readers, too.
I had yucky feelings about this main character right from the beginning. The MC Jasmyn immediately makes it clear that she has strong opinions on what it means to be an "enlightened" or "authentic" Black person. Yes, these words are literally used in this context in the book-
"Jasmyn studies the woman's hairline. It's funny how much hair can tell you about the kind of person you're dealing with. To Jasmyn's mind, using creamy crack is a sure sign of being an unenlightened Black woman."
"Jasmyn studies Keisha. One of the necessary skills of her job is the ability to spot a liar. This woman doesn't seem like one. With her big Afro, her loud clothes, and her louder laugh, she seems a damn sight more authentic than Catherine Vail did."
At this point I thought that this book was supposed to be satirical and/or Jasmyn is meant to be an unlikable MC. But reading on, it also seemed like the reader is meant to sympathize with Jasmyn, a feeling that didn't support my hypothesis. One minute we see her being a loving wife and mother, and caring about the Black community even more than her own health (another point I take issue with), and the next minute she's judging other Black people for their clothing, hair, and the way that they interact with the Black community; in other words, gatekeeping. Here's a passage that explains what Jasmyn thinks about a woman who feels that watching videos of police brutality are too much for her-
"Of course Jasmyn has met her type before. She's one of *those* Black people, too delicate to face up to the world we live in. The kind that looks away and pretends that if she can't see the world's violence against Black people, it isn't happpening. Jasmyn has never understood, or agreed with, that way of being. She always clicks the headlines. She always watches the videos. Why should she feel safe and comfortable when yet another Black man is dead? No. It isn't OK to look away. She always watches. Bears witness."
The police brutality case going on in the background of this book takes up much of the MC's thoughts and colors the tone of the entire book. If I was reading this book without any context of who Black people are and their culture, I wouldn't have any choice but to assume that Black culture doesn't include anything but trauma, victimhood (and some various types of food) because that is all that Yoon describes in this book. There are no instances of Black joy. Any interaction that Jasmyn has ends up with her talking about racism and police brutality. And to be clear, police brutality and racism are EXTREMELY problematic and relevant issues to Black people in real life, but there is more to Black culture than that, and Yoon doesn't make that clear in this book.
I also have to mention the hypocrisy of the MC and her strange sense of social justice, which eclipses her own sense of self. She's offended by an invitation to the Wellness Center because a spa visit would take away from her time serving the Black community. I reacted strongly to this because this is such a toxic mindset for an activist. Caring for yourself is part of caring for the community. This made Jasmyn was unlikable in a way that didn't make sense in context with the rest of the story.
After all this, I don't understand what we are supposed to feel about the MC, or what message the author is trying to send with this book. Is she saying that Black culture is being whitewashed? And possibly something about not giving up? It's not very clear.
The writing style also feels very surface level and Young Adult. This book makes me think that Yoon should stick to the YA genre.
I had very high expectations for this after the blurb said that this is a "thrilling [story] with insightful social commentary", and compared this title to The Stepford Wives, Rosemary's Baby, and Get Out. These comparisons provide a lot to live up to, as they are classics of the speculative fiction genre. Speculative fiction books with social commentary are big right now and I was ready for this to be a standout, especially considering Nicola Yoon's successful YA books that deal with racial prejudice.
First off, I want to clarify that I am a white woman. This book is not written to reflect my experiences and I am not supposed to be able to relate to the Black main character, although I do make an effort to educate myself on racism/antiracism by reading POC authors. So take what you will from my opinion but read other reviews but Black readers, too.
I had yucky feelings about this main character right from the beginning. The MC Jasmyn immediately makes it clear that she has strong opinions on what it means to be an "enlightened" or "authentic" Black person. Yes, these words are literally used in this context in the book-
"Jasmyn studies the woman's hairline. It's funny how much hair can tell you about the kind of person you're dealing with. To Jasmyn's mind, using creamy crack is a sure sign of being an unenlightened Black woman."
"Jasmyn studies Keisha. One of the necessary skills of her job is the ability to spot a liar. This woman doesn't seem like one. With her big Afro, her loud clothes, and her louder laugh, she seems a damn sight more authentic than Catherine Vail did."
At this point I thought that this book was supposed to be satirical and/or Jasmyn is meant to be an unlikable MC. But reading on, it also seemed like the reader is meant to sympathize with Jasmyn, a feeling that didn't support my hypothesis. One minute we see her being a loving wife and mother, and caring about the Black community even more than her own health (another point I take issue with), and the next minute she's judging other Black people for their clothing, hair, and the way that they interact with the Black community; in other words, gatekeeping. Here's a passage that explains what Jasmyn thinks about a woman who feels that watching videos of police brutality are too much for her-
"Of course Jasmyn has met her type before. She's one of *those* Black people, too delicate to face up to the world we live in. The kind that looks away and pretends that if she can't see the world's violence against Black people, it isn't happpening. Jasmyn has never understood, or agreed with, that way of being. She always clicks the headlines. She always watches the videos. Why should she feel safe and comfortable when yet another Black man is dead? No. It isn't OK to look away. She always watches. Bears witness."
The police brutality case going on in the background of this book takes up much of the MC's thoughts and colors the tone of the entire book. If I was reading this book without any context of who Black people are and their culture, I wouldn't have any choice but to assume that Black culture doesn't include anything but trauma, victimhood (and some various types of food) because that is all that Yoon describes in this book. There are no instances of Black joy. Any interaction that Jasmyn has ends up with her talking about racism and police brutality. And to be clear, police brutality and racism are EXTREMELY problematic and relevant issues to Black people in real life, but there is more to Black culture than that, and Yoon doesn't make that clear in this book.
I also have to mention the hypocrisy of the MC and her strange sense of social justice, which eclipses her own sense of self. She's offended by an invitation to the Wellness Center because a spa visit would take away from her time serving the Black community. I reacted strongly to this because this is such a toxic mindset for an activist. Caring for yourself is part of caring for the community. This made Jasmyn was unlikable in a way that didn't make sense in context with the rest of the story.
After all this, I don't understand what we are supposed to feel about the MC, or what message the author is trying to send with this book. Is she saying that Black culture is being whitewashed? And possibly something about not giving up? It's not very clear.
The writing style also feels very surface level and Young Adult. This book makes me think that Yoon should stick to the YA genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Racism, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Pregnancy and Medical trauma
bookmaddie's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
zikeyag's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
At first, this book rubbed me the wrong way. The FMC Jasmyn came on so strong with her fight for black people. I get it. I know people like that, but it was to the point where she was overbearing, bossy, and sometimes rude with how she spoke to people. Mainly her husband at times. As the story went on I got used to her personality. I understood her fight, her wanting to fight for others, and not wanting to forget her roots and where her family came from now that they have more money than they ever imagined.
I felt as though this book was the pure definition of “all skinfolk ain’t kinfolk” which one of the other characters mentioned. Everybody fights for the rights/equality of black people in different ways and this showed the two different perspectives.
As for this being Nicola Yoon’s first Adult book and it being a psychological thriller, it didn’t really do it for me. It was slow, which is not uncommon, but it was a slow build up not really build up to anything. There were no twists and turns. The ending wasn’t surprising at all.
Overall, the book brought up a lot of views of racial issues, inequality, police violence, amongst other things. I enjoyed the conversations between the characters and some of the points made, but the “thriller” aspect was low.
Solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you Net Galley & Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC for the opportunity to read this novel.
*** I received the ARC for this book in exchange for my honest review.
I felt as though this book was the pure definition of “all skinfolk ain’t kinfolk” which one of the other characters mentioned. Everybody fights for the rights/equality of black people in different ways and this showed the two different perspectives.
As for this being Nicola Yoon’s first Adult book and it being a psychological thriller, it didn’t really do it for me. It was slow, which is not uncommon, but it was a slow build up not really build up to anything. There were no twists and turns. The ending wasn’t surprising at all.
Overall, the book brought up a lot of views of racial issues, inequality, police violence, amongst other things. I enjoyed the conversations between the characters and some of the points made, but the “thriller” aspect was low.
Solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you Net Galley & Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC for the opportunity to read this novel.
*** I received the ARC for this book in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
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