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ooohgoshtara's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? No
5.0
This novel is layered and has a lot of depth. Beware it's an emotional story. A slow burn that follows main character Avery. Avery is a queer, biracial teen. There are secrets, drama, and a decades old mystery. Avery's family uproots their life moving them from D.C. to a small southern town to stay with their dying grandmother. The relationship between Letty, Avery's grandmother and her mother Zora has been strained for years. Because of their turbulent relationship Avery and her grandmother have never gotten the chance to get to know each other. Their strained relationship made me sad. Avery does what they can to get to know Letty even though neither Letty nor her mother make this easy. Avery is discovering who they are navigating friendships, love, family, and multi-generational trauma. The characters are so well developed. I enjoyed navigating this story with them from the family dynamics to the friendships. This YA novel touches on racism, anti-blackness, police violence, homophobia, grief, terminal illness, and death. I found Avery's family struggles to be very relatable. Deep rooted resentment from past hurts, secrets, and repeating the trauma cycle generation to generation.
"All night I thought how mom uprooted our entire lives to move down here. And now all she did was swat away my questions in a half baked attempt to pretend like everything was okay. Mom had always raised me to mature and inquisitive. But when it came to our own family all of that was out the window and replaced with her don't worry about it life is short the universe is big and our problems are not bullshit."
I thought this novel was well done from beginning to end and was floored by the many revelations at the end. Loved the title and how it ties into the overall story.
"All night I thought how mom uprooted our entire lives to move down here. And now all she did was swat away my questions in a half baked attempt to pretend like everything was okay. Mom had always raised me to mature and inquisitive. But when it came to our own family all of that was out the window and replaced with her don't worry about it life is short the universe is big and our problems are not bullshit."
I thought this novel was well done from beginning to end and was floored by the many revelations at the end. Loved the title and how it ties into the overall story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Police brutality, Homophobia, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Racism
e_flah's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
We Deserve Monuments is a lyrical, compelling YA contemporary that does a fantastic job balancing an interesting story with powerful themes. I really liked how the story interrogates intergenerational trauma, legacies, and complicated family relationships.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Cancer, Grief, and Homophobia
Minor: Murder
scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
This book was both easy and difficult to get through — easy because the writing and plot was not hard to follow. There were tidbits of flashbacks scattered about the chapters but they didn’t take away from the main plot. And it was difficult because of the topics of grief, terminal illness, and racism. Jas Hammonds has created a story absolutely beautiful and heart-breaking, executed so perfectly in every aspect. This book isn’t just about Avery and Simone’s wonderful slow-burn romance, but also about dealing with generational trauma, grief from death of a family member, and struggling with living as a Black person in a bigoted South town. This was such an important book to read and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone.
I am gutted after this one and it's going to stay with me for a really really long time. Good job, Jas Hammands and an equally good job to the narrator of the audiobook, Tamika Katon-Donegal.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, Emotional abuse, Cancer, Death, Racism, Police brutality, and Hate crime
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Homophobia
Minor: Pregnancy and Sexual assault
Content warning: police brutality and mentions of KKK, mentions of COVID/pandemic, death of a parent from murder, death of a sibling from murder, religious bigotry, parental abuse/negligence, cigarette use, underaged drinking. For more warnings, please check the user-submitted warnings on Storygraph Representation: Black, biracial, lesbian, bisexual, pansexualabaighritz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Racism
Moderate: Murder
onkenzisshelf's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS
I loved this book. It dealt with family trauma, grief, first loves, and friendship so beautifully. I think it dealt with really hard topics (racism, homophobia, etc.) in really genuine ways. I loved how we saw Simone and Avery’s relationship paralleled to Avery’s mom and Carol’s situationship in their early days. This book also had me SOBBING. The depictions of grief were just stellar. We lost my husband’s grandmother last year and Avery’s dealings with watching Letty die were SO real and hit SO hard.
This book is going to stick with me for SO long and I will absolutely recommend it to anyone and everyone. I think everyone can learn a little something from this one.
I loved this book. It dealt with family trauma, grief, first loves, and friendship so beautifully. I think it dealt with really hard topics (racism, homophobia, etc.) in really genuine ways. I loved how we saw Simone and Avery’s relationship paralleled to Avery’s mom and Carol’s situationship in their early days. This book also had me SOBBING. The depictions of grief were just stellar. We lost my husband’s grandmother last year and Avery’s dealings with watching Letty die were SO real and hit SO hard.
This book is going to stick with me for SO long and I will absolutely recommend it to anyone and everyone. I think everyone can learn a little something from this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Homophobia
lifewithjoce's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
When I tell you this book wrecked me, that is a complete understatement
read the full review on Write Through the Night: https://writethroughthenight.com/2023/01/23/we-deserve-monuments-and-the-beauty-of-intergenerational-relationships/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Racism, Vomit, Death, and Homophobia
katieritoch's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Homophobia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Murder, and Child abuse
libscote's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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? Yes
4.25
This is a powerful book about intergenerational trauma. Avery and her family move to Bardell, Georgia, to take care of her maternal grandmother, who is dying of cancer. Avery doesn't know much about why her mother and grandmother won't speak, and she gets determined to find out. There are other mysteries in Bardell: who killed her new friend Jade's mother? Are the answers to all secrets meant to be found?
It's dark, but there is joy too. It's about reconnecting with family, through the traumatic events of your past, and attempting to forgive. It's about loving yourself.
It's dark, but there is joy too. It's about reconnecting with family, through the traumatic events of your past, and attempting to forgive. It's about loving yourself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Emotional abuse, and Racism
Moderate: Homophobia and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism
aflaine's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.5
I fell in love with each character and the complexity they carried. The theme of loneliness, and how that rooted in each person in unique ways, was present. The teenage queer romance was adorable, and it made me nostalgic for an adolescence I never experienced. I was so proud of each character by the end of the narrative.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Terminal illness, Death of parent, Death, and Homophobia
antonique_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Homophobia, and Racism
Minor: Death of parent