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eshults11's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
eowyns_helmet's review
A lovely story that looks at the events in Tulsa in 1921 through the eyes of two young people. Pink has a lyrical hand and effectively uses 1920s Tulsa to build out her story.
muse692's review
4.0
I was happy that the book took the time to create a life and relationship before the massacre without the foreshadowing completely dominating. I was disappointed that the female lead and titular “Angel” was uninteresting overall. She was a girl convinced that she was “born to help” and has dedicated her life to doing just that. Generous and even tempered her only flaw is idolizing a too naive Booker T Washington. I wish she had been given more complexity and dimension.
Meanwhile, her Romeo counterpart—Isaiah—is her childhood bully who is changed simply by falling in love with her, and by being more mature by having already moved from Washington to Debois. One of the harshest rebukes comes when the bullies but newly courted Angel lashes out at Isaiah and is then corrected so harshly by a teacher that she cries. While the insult she used was severe it was beyond frustrating to me to see a teacher so ready to label Isaiah “good” without any sort of understanding of how he had treated Angel.
All of this quickly becomes quibble when the story reaches its heart wrenching climax. That said, the story and characters always seemed to take the back seat to the message of the book: that we, like Isaiah, must mature past Washington to the more realistic Debois.
Meanwhile, her Romeo counterpart—Isaiah—is her childhood bully who is changed simply by falling in love with her, and by being more mature by having already moved from Washington to Debois. One of the harshest rebukes comes when the bullies but newly courted Angel lashes out at Isaiah and is then corrected so harshly by a teacher that she cries. While the insult she used was severe it was beyond frustrating to me to see a teacher so ready to label Isaiah “good” without any sort of understanding of how he had treated Angel.
All of this quickly becomes quibble when the story reaches its heart wrenching climax. That said, the story and characters always seemed to take the back seat to the message of the book: that we, like Isaiah, must mature past Washington to the more realistic Debois.
thebirdofinferno's review against another edition
inspiring
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
thenovelmaura's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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
3.0
It pains me to give this a low(ish) rating, because I love historical YA fiction and the Greenwood Massacre is such a devastating and often overlooked piece of U.S. history. I really liked Isaiah and his character arc, as well as the last section of the book where the attack was described and the people of the town made heart-breaking sacrifices to try to protect one another. The build-up paid off because as a reader, you grow attached to the people of Greenwood and their tight-knit community.
Unfortunately, the initial two-thirds of the book really bored me. Basically every page was dedicated to discussing Angel's angelic qualities and how much she did for the town. I thought there was going to be some kind of twist or moment of growth where she stopped being so self-sacrificing, but that trait stayed consistent throughout. She was a full-on Mary Sue, and her characterization really ruined the rest of the story for me. Without Isaiah and the countdown to the Tulsa massacre, I don't think I would have kept reading.
Unfortunately, the initial two-thirds of the book really bored me. Basically every page was dedicated to discussing Angel's angelic qualities and how much she did for the town. I thought there was going to be some kind of twist or moment of growth where she stopped being so self-sacrificing, but that trait stayed consistent throughout. She was a full-on Mary Sue, and her characterization really ruined the rest of the story for me. Without Isaiah and the countdown to the Tulsa massacre, I don't think I would have kept reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Racism, Death of parent, and Hate crime
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Infidelity
julleah's review
4.0
Beautiful and heart wrenching story to capture spirit of what happened during the Tulsa Race Riots in May 1921. I don’t always read the acknowledgements but the author’s vision she describes is also very worth the read.
kaylaboevers's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
brandie_shanae's review
5.0
This book was mind blowing and it made me cry. This book is following two young teenagers who live in the town of Greenwood which is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This book is a ya historical fiction book but also first love is involved in this book as well. Now these two teenager who soon become in love with each other have different beliefs. Angel who is a dancer and loves to help others believes in the arguments made by Booker T. Washington about waiting your turn and being patient to when the black community may rise and live amongst the white community in unity. Though Isaiah who wants to become a poet who wholeheartedly and truly believes in the arguments made by W.E.B DuBois. He believed in his methods where the black community should take what is theirs regardless of what the white community says and to also stand up to them and take no crap. Now with Angel and Isaiah they knew each other their whole loves. I would say this book could really be a enemies to lovers type deal in my opinion because Angel could not stand Isaiah and Isaiah was pretty much pretending the entire time that he could not stand her but that was because he was trying to please his friend Muggy. Muggy was pretty much the rich kid in the community because his father owns a successful business, which mind you it is black owned. Now I have mentioned the location of this story it is located in Greenwood, which is the located of the black Wall Street where all the businesses were black owned and the black community thrived. Now as Isaiah and Angel's love progresses they faced the unthinkable of having their homes and community burned down and on top of that they witnessed seeing their loved ones burned alive. Once again this book was well written and had me in tears. It is definitely a must read.