Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Himmel und Hölle

I can see where the praise for this book comes from. As a way to introduce a younger audience to racism, privilege and unjust societal structures, it is straight to the point. Potentially a revelation, happening among a setting with characters who still have problems a younger audience can relate to, like homework and complicated feelings for your friends. However, I did not enjoy the book.

Every relationship was so aggressive, often times to the point of physical violence. There wasn't a single healthy, consistently loving family or friendship. Combined with a plot which never let up on anyone, it made for unlikable characters. I didn't believe in the main couples on again/off again romance, which lacked any tenderness. Blackman consistently gave us the narrative that they hated one another, their "love" felt based entirely on guilt and familiarity. On top of this, I felt that in an attempt to make the message apparent to the young teen audience, all the nuance had been stripped from the plot. There was no subtlety, which I found killed the atmosphere. While I can totally appreciate what it was trying to do, it fell really flat for me.

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jennaaaa's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

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audc's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.0

(READ as a recommendation from a Friend)
I think the last 200 pages were written first because of the quality of the writing.

The premise of this book is SOOO interesting and the world SOO intriguing, but the author does little to even scratch the surface of this iceberg and decides instead to focus on the melodrama and break neck, choke-full plot twists.

The characters were TOO young! The thoughts and series of events that the author needed a certain age to process causes a disconnect between their age (13 and 14/15) and their voice. The author put them through So much and the impossibility that these children handle something that would even cause adults multiple breakdowns; they were more than in over their heads with the MULTIPLE conflicts they faced in one lifetime. It also felt a little rushed as the ramifications and significance of certain events weren’t allowed to sink in or explored.

The character changes gave me a WHIPLASH!! One moment Magaret is hopeful for change and the next she’s spiteful. Minerva is horrid and written as a villain for the entire book and not in a way where we could relate.
And I really felt like there were there only to advance the story. Exhibit A: Lynette

I don’t know if it was just me but I found it really difficult to read in Callum’s perspective. He goes back and forth through a lot of emotions and is not only unsure what he wants but doesn’t have a fixed identity. (I appreciate how he was written as he was going through A LOT, however, his emotions would take sudden quantum leaps.)

I didn’t feel any connection to the characters.

To the point where I wasn’t invested in Mr. McGregor’s trial or Lynette’s suicide.

The characters were never really given good motive and that made them feel one dimensional.

I find it really hard to believe that Callum falls in love with Sephy simply for the reason that they grew up together…because she acts like a child (ofcourse) a majority of the book!

Like, only Mr.Hadley remains in character.

Perhaps because of Sephy’s age, but fir a lot of the book -except when convenient- Sephy is not able to get even a fraction if the stuff Callum is going through (maybe this was done on purpose) but that was frustrating.

This is supposed to be a reality where Africa colonises, however, for a large portion of the story (descriptions, religion, clothes, food, buildings, government etc.) has a very Western glasses over it… This disappointed me the most. Some concepts or things (like hanging) were included but not explored or explained and may have gone unnoticed to the inexperienced.

Though it is once implied that Crosses are as violent as Noughts - Callum’s thoughts on discrimination in court rulings-, we only read them committing justice system crimes/ mundane harassment/ segregation etc. while Noughts LITERALLY bombed A Mall! I don’t know if the author did this subconsciously or on purpose…

A nice quote
“And the fear I felt then was like a moment spent dying.”

Content Warnings

laurataylor's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective tense medium-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

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ells_shelves's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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rchristine11's review against another edition

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2.75

I genuinely disliked this book and I’m very disappointed. I had higher hopes. The only part I liked at all was the last 30 minutes. I think, perhaps, i am not the target audience for this book. It offered me no new perspective on what receiving racism may look like. I felt that it (unintentionally) belittled the experiences of the Little Rock Nine, Sonnie Hereford, Patricia Marcus, and every other brave child who had to face the angry masses. The book referenced MLK along with other notable figures and events from American history. It’s like this alternate reality is if you took 1960s American race relations and plopped it into modern day (2001) England, minus the KKK, plus the death penalty, and swapped races. And that’s it.
It’s clear the author had good intentions but this was just a huge miss for me.

Content Warnings

gemmacateshort's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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