Reviews

Wow loved this so much. Zadie Smith’s writing of interior life and family dynamics is just so good, and the early 2000s setting was a great backdrop. Brilliant and so so so well written as ever.

jordankennington's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional funny 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

4.25

baileybooks007's review against another edition

Go to review page

I was reading it for college, but we did not have to finish the book. I was going to try and finish it on my own, but there was a scene that I thought was problematic. Since I had hundreds of more pages to read and I did not care about some of the characters, I decided to not finish it and read something else.

biolexicon's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I'm not quite sure how to review this one. It was really emotionally exhausting to read because I identified with Kiki so strongly. And by emotionally exhausting I mean painful. No book has affected me in this way in quite some time, I think I'm too close to the narrative to be able to step back and rate it properly.

bridgetwalsh's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Kiki is everything and Howard is just there :|

shannon_shields's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

nellyycurrie's review against another edition

Go to review page

medium-paced

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

3.25

Ok, but didn’t love it. None of the characters are loveable, and some of the plot lines are just random and go nowhere, it seems as though she tries to bring them together, e.g., linking Levi’s arc with Zora’s, Zora’s with Howard’s, Howard’s with Jerome’s - but some of them miss.

More...