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chapstickdealer's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
thatenbyisisreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The constant battle of allowing oneself to be vulnerable in a world that hates you was written poetically in a way that made me take several moments to process. This book was so raw and honest, I highly recommend everyone to read this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, Murder, Racism, Violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Death
Moderate: Mental illness
fynn_jls's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality and Racism
Moderate: Death
ktkeps's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
jijireads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Maybe I should've shelved this for another time or maybe it just wasn't for me. Idk! There were things I appreciated about this book but also other aspects turned me off completely. For example, I like how the book emphasized that words failed when it came to feelings. As a reader, the MCs feel isolated from the rest of the world, like they’re not supposed to be real people but vessels for the author’s poetry. Because of this, the dialogue is almost always hard to follow.
It's incredibly tense. There was a sharp feeling in my stomach after finishing but some parts lack clarity. I didn't like the "you" pronoun in the beginning but got used to it after a bit.
Towards the end it was really straying away from the main plot and was just plain boring. After only a few months I actually can't even remember how it ends 😅. Aspects of the Black experience were scattered throughout but came together in the end. It really grabs you by the neck and confronts you with police brutality and the condition of the Black body in a society that others them.
But it was nice to see the Black community and our synergy represented in a book. It was cute how the characters found safety in one another.
Sometimes I felt myself fighting to put the book down, being entranced by the writing style. Other times, the repetitiveness was annoying and I was just trying to see the end.
Overall, mixed emotions.
Towards the end it was really straying away from the main plot and was just plain boring. After only a few months I actually can't even remember how it ends 😅. Aspects of the Black experience were scattered throughout but came together in the end. It really grabs you by the neck and confronts you with police brutality and the condition of the Black body in a society that others them.
But it was nice to see the Black community and our synergy represented in a book. It was cute how the characters found safety in one another.
Sometimes I felt myself fighting to put the book down, being entranced by the writing style. Other times, the repetitiveness was annoying and I was just trying to see the end.
Overall, mixed emotions.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Death
laurataylor's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Police brutality, Blood, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual content, Alcohol, Animal death, Death, Grief, and Murder
lhodgson26's review against another edition
emotional
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? No
4.0
This was a truly beautiful yet heartbreaking book. Set as a tail between two young lovers who remain Untamed through the book, told from a second person perspective of how the photographer fell in love with Dancer who lived in Dublin. More importantly the book explores what it is like to be Black in London, identify and mental illness. It is such a raw book which reads more like poetry with the details of the book yet we never know if they end up together or not. This book is an important read which is really powerful and one that will stay with you in your mind and your heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Death
orezevida's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A lyrical and poetic story about love, but not a love story.
This story is set in South-East London and follows the main character (which I assume is partly based on Nelson) in his day-to-day life after meeting a woman at a party. The book doesn’t really have a plot, as it revolves mostly around the main character and the developement of this new relationship (more like a situationship at first). I loved Nelson’s deep exploration of his main character’s emotions, thoughts and motivations. He explored grief, imposter syndrome, black manhood, masculinity, parentification, love, friendship and so many more topics with immense tenderness and insight. His prose is so beautiful and poetic that I found myself feeling emotional even when he described something as mundane as walking home from a bar. However, I did knock off half a star as I felt it became a bit too flowery at times and I had to re-read the sentence once or twice to grasp what the author was trying to convey.
Nelson writes this book in second person, and without naming the main character or the love interest; they are known to the reader by ‘you’ and ‘she’ only. It was strange at first to read from this perspective, but I quickly grew used to, and even fond of it. The namelessness of the characters helped me feel closer to them, as I could easily insert myself into the story whenever I felt the their experiences, emotions, actions etc closely aligned with mine. And after spending so long reading about characters I could only relate to at a distance, it was refreshing and extremely cathartic to finally read a story in which not only the characters’ skin colours and appearances matched mine, but their education, upbringing, thought patterns etc.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a short but reflective piece with a bittersweet tone and ending which explores love and all its complications, as well as grief, friendship and race (to name a few).
(P.S. For anyone who likes listening to instrumental music whilst reading, the song ‘Abusey Junction’ by Kokoroko from the Open Water playlist is perfect, and captures mood so well.)
This story is set in South-East London and follows the main character (which I assume is partly based on Nelson) in his day-to-day life after meeting a woman at a party. The book doesn’t really have a plot, as it revolves mostly around the main character and the developement of this new relationship (more like a situationship at first). I loved Nelson’s deep exploration of his main character’s emotions, thoughts and motivations. He explored grief, imposter syndrome, black manhood, masculinity, parentification, love, friendship and so many more topics with immense tenderness and insight. His prose is so beautiful and poetic that I found myself feeling emotional even when he described something as mundane as walking home from a bar. However, I did knock off half a star as I felt it became a bit too flowery at times and I had to re-read the sentence once or twice to grasp what the author was trying to convey.
Nelson writes this book in second person, and without naming the main character or the love interest; they are known to the reader by ‘you’ and ‘she’ only. It was strange at first to read from this perspective, but I quickly grew used to, and even fond of it. The namelessness of the characters helped me feel closer to them, as I could easily insert myself into the story whenever I felt the their experiences, emotions, actions etc closely aligned with mine. And after spending so long reading about characters I could only relate to at a distance, it was refreshing and extremely cathartic to finally read a story in which not only the characters’ skin colours and appearances matched mine, but their education, upbringing, thought patterns etc.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a short but reflective piece with a bittersweet tone and ending which explores love and all its complications, as well as grief, friendship and race (to name a few).
(P.S. For anyone who likes listening to instrumental music whilst reading, the song ‘Abusey Junction’ by Kokoroko from the Open Water playlist is perfect, and captures mood so well.)
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Police brutality, Death, and Grief
likerealpeople's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death, and Police brutality
Minor: Death
juliaa03's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality and Racism
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Grief