Reviews with content warning for Racism - Himmel und Hölle

Read this as part of a module on teen fiction & I'm really torn in terms of how to rate it. The plot definitely picked up near the end & became more interesting to read, but the beginning was difficult to get into.

Things I enjoyed about this book:

The concept is the most interesting part about this book, reversing the racism & discrimination black people have experienced, and instead envisioning them as the ones with the most power & influence in society. This means white characters or 'noughts' become the people who are looked down upon, or have historically been discriminated against. I think this would definitely be a good resource for teaching kids/teens about racism & the importance of listening to other peoples' experiences & showing them empathy
I think the portrayal of how trauma, stress & constant racism affects Callum is done well & how this impacts him/his decisions later in the book

Things I didn't love about this book/could be improved:

I know this is a YA book so it is targeted for a younger audience, but the writing of this book often felt v childish to the point that it took me out of the story or made me cringe. The povs were so hard to get fully invested in as the characters often came out with such strange phrases
There's a lot of telling & not showing in this book, particularly in the first 2/3s. We hear a lot from Callum & Sephy about how they feel or things that happened, but not always in the moment. A lot of it feels v summarised
The relationship as a whole just fell pretty flat for me. I feel like there wasn't enough build up or flashbacks shown to show how close they were or why they liked each other

Content Warnings

reggiereading's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

great book, i really liked it, but just dwel on this for a moment:
he's 15, she's 13/14.
(timeskip)
he's 19, she's 17.
i have no doubt that they do care about each other and their relationship is real but i just cringe when i think about it.

Content Warnings

amylovesbooksandyarn's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

I saw the BBC series of this and really liked it so have been looking to read to book for a while.

I listened to this on audio and it took me a while to get into in the younger years but as the characters got older it really started to enhance the story.

This is a YA book but it covers some very serious topics, the justice system, social inequality, racism, suicide, the death penalty to name a few.

The story is told from both Sephie and Callums perspective and we get their thoughts and emotions. The inner monologue is always something you can have in books but not as easily in TV format so this does create a more emotive read rather than watch.

There were bits I didn't see coming which is always great in a read. I would definitely get the next in the series

Content Warnings

caelfind's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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rworrall78's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I read this to my son and really appreciate how significant and important this book is and what a message it still has. The powerful bits were so powerful.

A beautiful and tragic ending stunningly written. Although it was so very heart breaking that I read on into the plot of the next books to see if there was any hope for Sephy and her child and it seems like it only gets more devastating. I know that the fight against racial injustice has been one of devastation for so many people so maybe that is right, but it just feels too bleak for teenagers.

It feels wrong to criticise but it felt over long at times and although the flipping of groups racialised as black and white was incredibly impactful it felt like the same or even greater effect could have been created with it sharper and shorter.

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dennyyy's review against another edition

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5.0

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dramagirl2003's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-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

5.0

what a crazy read!! I'd describe this book as almost a societal racism uno reverse, and it was incredibly insightful. cal and sephy made so many questionable decisions, but I couldn't stay angry with either of them for too long. they were just kids trying their best in an extremely confusing and racist world

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