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saucy_bookdragon's review against another edition
- 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
A slow burn, twisty YA contemporary that's about unpacking intergenerational trauma. I loved how layered and realistic this story was and how it dealt with the intersection of family history and national history, making history personal. Written with some beautiful prose!
TWs: racism, homophobia, cancer, death of family members, grief, drug usage, police brutality (mentioned in retrospect, not on page)
Graphic: Grief, Cancer, Homophobia, Drug use, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Racism
Moderate: Police brutality and Medical content
mezzythedragon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Grief, Death, Alcohol, Cursing, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Terminal illness
CW // intergenerational trauma, abuse, racism, death, internalized queerphobia, alcohol and drug use This is some hard-hitting, heavy stuff. A clear example of “hurt people hurt people.” Even though both Zora and Mama Letty have gone through/are still going through their personal traumas, they too have done some terrible things to each other, and in Zora’s case, to Avery as well. I will say the endingamandalorianxo's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
You can tell how much love and emotion it took for this debut to come together and I can’t thank Jas enough for creating this wonderful young adult novel. It centers around 17 year old Avery Anderson, a biracial teen from DC who moves to Bardell,Georgia after finding out that Mama Letty (Avery’s mother) has terminal breast cancer. The relationships we uncover in this book have a lot of deep rooted, repressed trauma and sometimes acknowledged verbal /emotional tendencies that lean towards abusive. Avery along with the audience unpacks a lot within the several months she is living in Bardell. This definitely leaves you thinking and wishing that more people of color did in fact have monuments dedicated to them because lord knows the Confederates of the past have no business being glorified. My only critique were the random flashbacks that weren’t necessarily needed or could have been implemented a different way.
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Terminal illness, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Racism, Murder, Drug use, Outing, Infidelity, Homophobia, Medical content, and Lesbophobia
lettuce_read's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Grief, Cancer, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Murder, Outing, Cursing, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Classism