Reviews with content warning for Rape - Black Girl Unlimited

thinks i disliked:
- the concept of echo being a wizard (the magic system and the idea wasn’t fully executed
- a lot of ideas and things mentioned in the story did not add to the plot line and felt very watered down. other goodreads reviews does a good job at explaining it so i would direct you to @BangBangBooks review on goodreads
- it often felt confusing at times and it was hard to keep up

things i liked:
- that it was an own voices novel
- the narration done by the author. i highly recommend the audiobook
- the bravery it takes to share a story like this
- the discussions of how often Black women are left out in the community by Black men
- discussions on rape culture and how it can be perpetuated by the Black community

Content Warnings

renee_reads_books's review

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emotional hopeful informative 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

5.0

There's a lot going on in this book and it sometimes feels chaotic for that reason, but I didn't mind that. I think that actually played into what the book is representing, which is, to me, that black girls and women are wizards, performing acts of magic to help them survive in a world that is against them. Of course, they aren't *really* wizards, but the elements of magical realism help to show how they cope with all the unfair and cruel cards they're dealt.

Echo grows up in a poor black community in which her stepfather is frequently drunk and her mother is always strung out on "the white rocks" (crack cocaine). Echo works to overcome the odds that are stacked against her: the disadvantage, the addiction, the access to quality education, the sexual abuse -- all things that affect black communities more than white people often feel comfortable acknowledging -- and she thrives.

I'm certain there are own-voices reviews of this book that are more useful than my review here, and I encourage you to read them. I found this book to be very moving and also thought-provoking because it isn't often that the focus is placed on black women in society (what I mean is, even though it's something we hear about, it's not something I've often seen in books). This had me learning a lot more about all the ways that systemic racism exists and all of the hardships people endure because of it. As a former teacher, I was particularly interested in the education angle and how Echo was able to piece her education together, as well as how she saw school as her safe space.

This book was really well done and I'm surprised that I haven't seen more people talking about it.

Content Warnings

unicornsky's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

whatsjessreading's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

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beauty_andbooks's review against another edition

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4.0

Written as a fiction-like memoir, you read this thinking it’s complete fiction, when in actuality, this is the author’s own story. With fantasy mixed in, this memoir is such an important read about racial injustices, religion, addiction, and abuse.

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locdbooktician's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful informative sad tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow! This book was so challenging and covered so much. The lessons that were in each chapter were vital to survival and generational trauma. Learning about the plight of the black woman and it being overshadow by black men enraged me while reading this book. The sexual violence was difficult to listen to in this books listening to the author’s end remote at the end of the book broken and had me crying big girl tears.

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akthackray's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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