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1quillb's review
tense
slow-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
2.5
This book has a really good idea attached to it, but was executed very poorly. The editing needs some work—at one point Marco is referred to as Jamal by the narrator, and there’s a couple strange spellings of words—and the whole idea isn’t very believable. If a giant impenetrable dome surrounded a city and martial law went into affect, things like clubs and hotels wouldn’t still be open. That’s just not realistic. It would be like the Purge, not a regular Tuesday. I appreciate what Jackson was trying to do, it just wasn’t written in a way that made sense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Hate crime, Racism, and Police brutality
Moderate: Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Violence, Classism, and Blood
Minor: Classism, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Cursing, Death, and Gun violence
pey333's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Classism, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Cursing, Hate crime, and Murder
Minor: Racial slurs
taliahsbookshelf's review
adventurous
dark
informative
tense
fast-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? No
3.5
TL;DR: Ehhh. I think I would recommend this to everyone, but with the expectation to not expect anything going into it.
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. It had a powerful narrative surrounding the struggles of POC in America, particularly when faced with police violence. Starting even before the very first word of the novel itself is read, readers are forced to confront, and acknowledge, the names of Black Americans who have died at the hands of the police. Pages upon pages, written in harsh reality, this can’t, and shouldn’t be ignored.
I do think everyone and their grandma should read this book, primarily because it provides a stark view into the reality of police violence and the structures of power that make this a continuous fight. Reading from the perspective of a Black gay teenager fighting to get the truth out there was poignant and moving.
However, I think that was the end of the power of this book for me. While that part of the story felt well written, pointed, and impactful, the story itself fell flat. I didn’t find myself connecting to any of the characters except Jamal, who is telling the story from a first-person perspective. But even Jamal drove me absolutely insane. I get it. He’s a journalist. Thank you. I am aware, and I was aware the first ten times. Plus the writing wasn’t well-edited, and missing punctuation, random capitalization, and pretty glaring misspellings made immersion jumpy at best, and impossible at worst.
I think I could have gotten over my immersion issues if it weren’t the lack of believability for the ending. I’m sorry, but what? I won’t spoil it, but I’m just confused. The direction taken with three teenagers was absurd, and I just don’t see in what world that would actually happen. In a normal novel, there is some expectation you can suspend belief, at least for a little while. But this? It just felt over the top and completely outside the realm of reason. The ending could have been so much more powerful, and instead felt like it was intentionally faulty for the possibility of seeing a sequel that isn’t needed.
Overall, it was one of those reads where the reasoning behind writing it will stick with me. There’s pretty important language surrounding POC voices and the police brutality that gets excused by people in power. The story wasn’t the best, but it’s still something I would recommend to people.
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. It had a powerful narrative surrounding the struggles of POC in America, particularly when faced with police violence. Starting even before the very first word of the novel itself is read, readers are forced to confront, and acknowledge, the names of Black Americans who have died at the hands of the police. Pages upon pages, written in harsh reality, this can’t, and shouldn’t be ignored.
I do think everyone and their grandma should read this book, primarily because it provides a stark view into the reality of police violence and the structures of power that make this a continuous fight. Reading from the perspective of a Black gay teenager fighting to get the truth out there was poignant and moving.
However, I think that was the end of the power of this book for me. While that part of the story felt well written, pointed, and impactful, the story itself fell flat. I didn’t find myself connecting to any of the characters except Jamal, who is telling the story from a first-person perspective. But even Jamal drove me absolutely insane. I get it. He’s a journalist. Thank you. I am aware, and I was aware the first ten times. Plus the writing wasn’t well-edited, and missing punctuation, random capitalization, and pretty glaring misspellings made immersion jumpy at best, and impossible at worst.
I think I could have gotten over my immersion issues if it weren’t the lack of believability for the ending. I’m sorry, but what? I won’t spoil it, but I’m just confused. The direction taken with three teenagers was absurd, and I just don’t see in what world that would actually happen. In a normal novel, there is some expectation you can suspend belief, at least for a little while. But this? It just felt over the top and completely outside the realm of reason. The ending could have been so much more powerful, and instead felt like it was intentionally faulty for the possibility of seeing a sequel that isn’t needed.
Overall, it was one of those reads where the reasoning behind writing it will stick with me. There’s pretty important language surrounding POC voices and the police brutality that gets excused by people in power. The story wasn’t the best, but it’s still something I would recommend to people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality and Racism
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Blood, Abandonment, Alcohol, Hate crime, and Racial slurs
kelliejean's review
dark
informative
inspiring
tense
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? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Racism
Minor: Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Racial slurs, and Torture
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