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lpdx's review against another edition
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Bullying, Racial slurs, and Classism
Minor: Body shaming and Vomit
greenglass67's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is a beautiful book. A little slow for me at times, but it is a very heartfelt story. Emira’s journey is one that so many of us go through in one way or another. The novel really explores how difficult it can be to choose yourself over others in your life, but how absolutely critical it can be as well. The characters in this novel feel so real, and each one is a complex network of flaws and positive traits alike.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Body shaming, Vomit, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death and Cursing
1yn23's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
very honest portrayal of whiteness, very interesting interweaving story, powerful & complex characters, loveable child
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Vomit and Police brutality
In the very first chapter, there's a pretty descriptive scene of a non physically violent interaction of a security officer and the main character, Emira. He never touches her, and she is not arrested but he is holding her in a grocery store for no reason and it is described vividly. In a date scene, there's an explanation of a racist event in a white man's past where someone says the n word, hard r. The white man,antimony's review against another edition
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
<i> emira makes most of her living babysitting for alix chamberlain, a rich white woman who teaches other women how to get what they want. sure, it is completely under the table, and there's no benefits (like health insurance .... and emira is rapidly nearing the date when she'll be taken off her parents'), but briar is such a sweet kid. one night, alix calls emira in a panic, needing her to get briar out of the house during an emergency, and while biding their time at a fancy grocery store, someone accuses emira of kidnapping briar. a bystander films it, trying to convince emira to confront the store, but she is humiliated and just wants to pretend it never happened. alix just wants to try and make everything right. but neither of them know that someone from alix's past is about to come back into her life, upending everything </i>
agh that was a bad summary and i lifted a lot from the jacket but whatever. im trying to put summaries in as many reviews as possible to make myself better at describing what im reading when people ask.
anyway this is not my typical genre, but i found it in a little free library and picked it up bc id considered reading it a couple years ago. i didn't go in with the highest of expectations — not to say i thought it would be a bad book, just that i thought i might not like it because genre — but i actually enjoyed it a lot! the writing was really good, and i flew through the whole book in just a couple hours this afternoon. the characters don't feel flat in any way — even when alix or kelley are being horrendously unlikeable, you sympathize a bit just by virtue of being in their head (alix) or on their side (kelley) (well actually that is not true. i did not like kelley. but he felt real!) i liked the last couple chapters a lot ( i was really worried that alix wouldn't face any consequences and i was ready to be mad about it ) and though I'm glad that things worked out for emira i feel really bad for briar and i wish emira had been able to give her a better goodbye or like say hi when she saw her trick or treating or something definitely recommend!
agh that was a bad summary and i lifted a lot from the jacket but whatever. im trying to put summaries in as many reviews as possible to make myself better at describing what im reading when people ask.
anyway this is not my typical genre, but i found it in a little free library and picked it up bc id considered reading it a couple years ago. i didn't go in with the highest of expectations — not to say i thought it would be a bad book, just that i thought i might not like it because genre — but i actually enjoyed it a lot! the writing was really good, and i flew through the whole book in just a couple hours this afternoon. the characters don't feel flat in any way — even when alix or kelley are being horrendously unlikeable, you sympathize a bit just by virtue of being in their head (alix) or on their side (kelley) (well actually that is not true. i did not like kelley. but he felt real!) i liked the last couple chapters a lot (
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Vomit
pointlessmoss's review
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The lesson I learned from this: white people need to stop meddling!! And they should also stop trying to outdo one another in an imaginary competition of "Who is the least racist" (unless it's for my personal amusement).
For real though, I LOVE the writing and the story and the characters. I feel like I was reading about real people, not made-up fictional characters. Emira has my heart. I enjoyed myself the whole time and I felt so satisfied with how everything came together. So glad I picked this book up :)
Part of me wants to recommend this to everyone I know, but the other part of me knows not everyone will get invested in a slice-of-life story with this type of writing. I also want to hear what other people took away from this book! I'm curious to see what other interpretations of the story might be, and what I may have missed!
For real though, I LOVE the writing and the story and the characters. I feel like I was reading about real people, not made-up fictional characters. Emira has my heart. I enjoyed myself the whole time and I felt so satisfied with how everything came together. So glad I picked this book up :)
Part of me wants to recommend this to everyone I know, but the other part of me knows not everyone will get invested in a slice-of-life story with this type of writing. I also want to hear what other people took away from this book! I'm curious to see what other interpretations of the story might be, and what I may have missed!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Vomit, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, and Stalking
agnesg's review
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Vomit
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty
freyjakemp's review
hopeful
informative
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs and Vomit
bookcaseyyy's review against another edition
challenging
funny
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
4.5
I was really expecting to not like this book because I feel like there was a lot of hype for it a couple of months ago, and I have an ✨individuality complex✨ but I absolutely loved this book!
I guess I was expecting a similar character relationship as in Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, but very intrigued by what this book turned out to be.
I think this book was a genius showcase of white fragility, white “allies”, white wokeness, and the troubles behind intention vs perception. There were so many other themes and messages within this book that’d I’d need to write a paper on it to do it justice haha. Overall, just a very expertly crafted novel that had me audibly laughing, gasping, and crying out.
I guess I was expecting a similar character relationship as in Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, but very intrigued by what this book turned out to be.
I think this book was a genius showcase of white fragility, white “allies”, white wokeness, and the troubles behind intention vs perception. There were so many other themes and messages within this book that’d I’d need to write a paper on it to do it justice haha. Overall, just a very expertly crafted novel that had me audibly laughing, gasping, and crying out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Death of parent and Alcohol
Minor: Eating disorder and Vomit
nenya's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was simply amazing. As a white person, I think it’s so important to read it and to reflect upon yourself. It’s got several very important lessons about casual as well as explicit racism and what it means to actually be anti-racist. One of the biggest topics is the fetishization of POC which is an equally disturbing and important element of the plot. What I also love is the relationship between the protagonist Emira and the child she‘s babysitting, Briar. It’s so heartwarming and yet cruel because their relationship is based on a transaction making it difficult to define the difference of professionalism/a job well done and family love. Over all, this book will leave you with so many wow moments and opportunities to rethink your views on race. It’s an easy five stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Vomit, and Gaslighting