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bahareads's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
4.5 stars
"'Yes, yu' corner dark,' she said"
Your Corner Dark is a book I could not put down. From the first few pages I was hooked!! It legitimately made me start tearing up within the first ten pages. Desmond Hall writes a book with characters you are invested in. They are complex and contradictory- human in every way. Frankie is my heart; I was cheering for him throughout the whole book. I laughed for him and I cried for him. AUNT JENNY IS MY GIRL; I WON'T HEAR ANY SLANDER PERIOD. Samson and Uncle Joe both cared for Frankie in their own way and it was interesting to see how the choices they pushed Frankie to do played out.
Your Corner Dark showed how politics and gang life in Jamaica are interconnected. "It wasn't about who had the better plan or better idea; it was all about connections. He had guessed at this before but now it was bone-chillingly clear." Frankie as a dark-skinned young man does face some discrimination from some of the other characters in the story. He is "black boy" and sneered at. Your Corner Dark shows the struggle for international students when it comes to going off to college. There are some dark scenes in this book that are very vivid and tense. It shows the dark side of inner-city life to the full extent.
quotes I liked from the book
"Jamaica was like a messed-up parent: You loved it, but at the same time you wanted to leave it. You said bad things about it, but you'd get mad if anyone else said anything bad about it."
"Exhaling, he was oddly proud of Aunt Jenny, the way he had been of his mother. They were Jamaican women, hips forward."
"...The sweet mountain breeze caressed his face. He could smell the positivity. All Jamaicans breathed it. Out of many, one people."
Thanks to Hear Our Voices Book tour and Atheneum for the ARC.
*Quotes taken are from an ARC; may not match with final copy.
"'Yes, yu' corner dark,' she said"
Your Corner Dark is a book I could not put down. From the first few pages I was hooked!! It legitimately made me start tearing up within the first ten pages. Desmond Hall writes a book with characters you are invested in. They are complex and contradictory- human in every way. Frankie is my heart; I was cheering for him throughout the whole book. I laughed for him and I cried for him. AUNT JENNY IS MY GIRL; I WON'T HEAR ANY SLANDER PERIOD. Samson and Uncle Joe both cared for Frankie in their own way and it was interesting to see how the choices they pushed Frankie to do played out.
Your Corner Dark showed how politics and gang life in Jamaica are interconnected. "It wasn't about who had the better plan or better idea; it was all about connections. He had guessed at this before but now it was bone-chillingly clear." Frankie as a dark-skinned young man does face some discrimination from some of the other characters in the story. He is "black boy" and sneered at. Your Corner Dark shows the struggle for international students when it comes to going off to college. There are some dark scenes in this book that are very vivid and tense. It shows the dark side of inner-city life to the full extent.
quotes I liked from the book
"Jamaica was like a messed-up parent: You loved it, but at the same time you wanted to leave it. You said bad things about it, but you'd get mad if anyone else said anything bad about it."
"Exhaling, he was oddly proud of Aunt Jenny, the way he had been of his mother. They were Jamaican women, hips forward."
"...The sweet mountain breeze caressed his face. He could smell the positivity. All Jamaicans breathed it. Out of many, one people."
Thanks to Hear Our Voices Book tour and Atheneum for the ARC.
*Quotes taken are from an ARC; may not match with final copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Gun violence
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