Reviews with content warning for Police brutality - Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?

I don’t know how to feel about this. I was intrigued by Kitty’s story, and I saw what the author was trying to do, but I think this book was lacking in a lot of areas. The first 100-150 pages were pretty slow and built Elise’s story only to disregard it completely for a significant portion of the book. I was way more invested in the story of Kitty and her friends, to the point that the 2017 story felt unnecessary and disappointing most of the time. I also found the characters in the 2017 storyline a bit under-realized.
Kitty was a complex character and not always “likable,” which I think was a strong point of this book. The challenging decisions she faced were evident and her handling of certain situations showed her humanness.
Overall, I found major plot points of this book predictable and minor ones a bit confusing.

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savheath's review

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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torturedreadersdept's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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sholtie's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Finally! A book that understands history is gossip!

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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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emotional informative mysterious sad slow-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

4.0

Rounding up to a four. Not one my favorite ways of storytelling, but the ending gave me the payoff I was looking for. Lots of themes to sort through. Well worth the effort.

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annamay1021's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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sophs_mood_reading's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A multi generational saga spanning from the segregated south, glitzy old Hollywood and the current celebrity life. Kitty Karr a white Hollywood legend has left her entire estate to three sisters who are young, wealthy in their own right and Black.

As Elise one of the sisters digs through Kitty’s belongings she discovers a story that will change everything.

We get the learn the truth through multiple points of view spanning many generations, locations and women. It’s a book where if you listen carefully you can easily pick up all the little clues and put together what’s what yourself but not in a way that feels to predictable.

There is a lot of discussion surround race and what that meant in America at the time so it is no where near a fluffy historical fiction and really does get you thinking.

The audiobook was good with different voice actors playing the different points of view, however, the voice actor for Elise fell short and it was often difficult to figure out what was dialogue and who was talking.

This would be a great book for bookclubs.

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nevertheless_she_reads's review

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this recent Reese's Book Club pick by Crystal Smith Paul, Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?

Pub date: May 2, 2023

Brief intro: When Kitty Karr Tate, a White icon of the silver screen, dies and bequeaths her multimillion-dollar estate to the St. John sisters, three young, wealthy Black women, it prompts questions. Lots of questions.

So much happens in this book! At times, I felt a bit overwhelmed trying to keep details and names straight. However, I really enjoyed the storyline and how it introduced me to a concept I had never heard of - "passing".
Passing is when a person from Black lineage can "pass" as being white, so they abandon their Black life for one of privilege, taking on a whole new identity.
The stories of Kitty Karr and the St. John's sisters was so intriguing, I struggled to put this one down! The book addresses racism and White privilege in Hollywood, and revisits historic moments like the brutal killing of Emmett Till and the desegregation of public establishments in the South. It also reminds us that we, as a nation, still have so much to improve upon when it comes to matters of racism, microaggressions, and police brutality.
This is certainly a book that will stay with me and I'm grateful for the chance I had to read it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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