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stellahadz's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Alcohol, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, and Racism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia
Minor: Eating disorder
room334's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Suicidal thoughts
nstyner's review
- 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
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Self harm
Moderate: Racism and Mental illness
Minor: Sexual assault
karemark's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Moderate: Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, Racism, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Drug use, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
breanneporter's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
I haven’t read a book quite like it. I think the format made it a bit of a struggle to read via audiobook, as some of the narrative was clearly meant to be read with eyes instead of ears (I’m thinking of a chapter where she takes a science multiple choice test - having the narrator read out several multiple choice answers that were all just strings of letters wasn’t ideal). The main character is also struggling very hard for much the book and not doing the things you as the reader want her to do to take care of herself, which is frustrating (and probably part of the point). I also really didn’t like
Overall it was a quick and thought-provoking read, forcing the reader to contend with the reality of racial inequity and structural racism present at elite institutions like the unnamed Chicago university of this novel. And its depiction of mental health was fresh and interesting. And fun fact for me personally - Sahara was a sophomore in college during the exact year that I was!
Graphic: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts
aishallnot's review
- 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
3.75
This was such an interesting novel following sahara and her journey as a 20 something in college. There were moments (to a certain extent) i definitely related to her of being "halfrican" (half african and half african-american) and feeling this disconnect from our culture to being in our head a lot and not being present in the moment. While this is a dark comedy, this could also be classified as dark academia where we see black characters go through challenges at a pwi in the midwest (the main one being that black students are dying) There are some heavy moments in this book (the mc is suicidal, deals w/ self-harm, and sometimes ed in addition to institutionlized racism), so id be mindful of that.
Seeing how the story ends honestly puts into perspective of how much sahara has grown as a character. At the beginning, she was very depressed and constantly relied on bad coping mechanism, but >spoiler< after experiencing the loss of her friend/crush, she almost feels hopeless. /
What I wish we saw from the story was that we see sahara at the end of the school her and how she is doing especially with her family. It wasn't until around 80-85% where we see her development and I kind feel like an epilogue would be nice to see more of her progress. Another thing that kinda gives me this rating was that there were a lot of abbreviations which can get confusing at times. I listened to this one audio majority of the time (which I honestly LOVED the narration), but I think reading the physical at the beginning would have been helpful.
Overall, this was a great story and definitely deals with real life issues that unfortunately continue to happen. I'd say I recommend this book and would be interested to see what the author writes next.
Graphic: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, and Racism
Minor: Blood, Body shaming, and Racial slurs
midnightmarauder's review
- 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
There are many characters within the book that are unnamed, besides Sahara herself and Mariah, one of her close friends and also the girl she has a crush on. Everyone else is referred to by a pseudonym, like her best friend, ROD (which stands for Ride Or Die), her parents (only referred to as Mother and Father), and her brothers (aptly called B1, for Brother 1; and B2, for Brother 2), which I thought was interesting.
The book tackles many issues, one of the most prominent being mental illness in black people. Sahara suffers from depression (who she refers to as her "Life Partner", or LP, for short). LP constantly drags her down and convinces her that no one cares about her, and aids in her self-destruction throughout the novel. One of the things Sahara does to cope is drink and self-harm. Both LP and one of Sahara's friends, C1, help enable her addictions.
C1 is basically the human personification of LP. She is negative, self-hating, and a terrible influence on Sahara. She constantly encourages her to drink and do drugs with little regard to how it affects her. Once, as the pair are changing for a party, C1 notices
Another issue that was tackled in the book was how black people (and people of color in general) often have a hard time finding community and support at primarily-white institutions. Sahara is one of many students at the university she attends that struggle with mental health issues. There is offered support for the students, but it is not enough and tends to be focused on the needs of white people. One of the people that fight to change the discriminatory practices at the institution is Mariah, who spent a lot of time at the head of different organizations on campus built to uplift and support other black students on campus whose voices were often ignored. Later in the book,
Overall, I really loved this book. Sahara and I are very similar; we're both black women who struggle with depression and attended PWIs. I experienced very similar isolation and pain while I was on campus, with little to no support. I wished I had read this book while living on campus in order to be reminded that I wasn't alone and that there were other people out there dealing with the same issues.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Racism and Eating disorder
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Blood, Body shaming, and Misogyny
blakeandbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Drug use, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, and Body shaming
Moderate: Death, Vomit, and Sexual content
bookrecsondeck's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Mental illness, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Self harm, Eating disorder, and Death
tjminus's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Drug use, and Mental illness
Moderate: Grief, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Alcoholism, and Addiction
Minor: Racism, Death, and Classism