Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Black Girl Unlimited

I love the style of writing for this novel. The choice to use magic/wizardry in this universe was a perfect one. This story is full of difficult and traumatic topics, and the magical realism made it easier to process those moments. It reverses the use of literary devices such as metaphors and symbolism by turning them literal through the magic/wizardry.
The book walks the line between memoir and novelization, reminding me a bit of Capote's In Cold Blood. It was stylistically reminiscent of Toni Morrison's Beloved, in particular the tone and the use of magical realism.
I loved the way the narration of this novel played with time. There were many instances in which Echo is recounting the details of various moments at the same time, as if they are happening at the same time. The style and format reminded me of cuts in movie scenes where it jumps from one scene to another by panning similar environments or movements. Or when two different conversations are being had in a movie and the scene jumps between them smoothly by connecting their words so it is as if the dialogues complete each other whilst being completely independent of one another. The fact that Brown created that visual effect in literature is astounding and incredibly powerful.
I love this book for its style and for its content. I love that it is set up in lessons and each chapter could be a stand-alone, it could be a short story but they work together to tell Echo's story. I love that the book is not shy, the characters are not shy. It is all very real and very forward and written so beautifully.
I found myself thinking about the ways that this book could be taught in the classroom, especially because of the way it is chaptered off and written into lessons, one wouldnt have to use the whole book (because you know how some schools are mad sensitive about the content they share with their students despite their willingness to require books about white supremacy, imperialism, and the enslavement of black people).
One of the most appealing things about this book is that it dares to show the bad with the good, show that greatness can be achieved. It provides hope whilst remaining honest about the pain.

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readandfindout's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Style/writing: 5 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Plot: 5 stars
Worldbuilding: 4.5 stars

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locdbooktician's review

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adventurous dark hopeful informative sad tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow! This book was so challenging and covered so much. The lessons that were in each chapter were vital to survival and generational trauma. Learning about the plight of the black woman and it being overshadow by black men enraged me while reading this book. The sexual violence was difficult to listen to in this books listening to the author’s end remote at the end of the book broken and had me crying big girl tears.

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tanzreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

FUCK. This book was everything. Echo Brown skillfully reached inside of me and performed a miracle with every single lesson of wizard training. And taught me so, so much.

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booksteaandchocolate's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. This is a book I plan to pass on to my nieces in hopes of them gaining a smidge of the author's perseverance and strength. I think this is told in such a unique way. It can be a bit jarring at first but once you get used to the flow it's kind of mind blowing how moments just bleed in to each other.

The content is very serious. I knew what this book was about and knew it could be very difficult for me to read with the triggers in it, but felt it was a story that I needed to know. I'm glad I pushed myself even with my struggle. I had to give myself what I refer to trigger breaks to keep myself reading. If you have anxieties like me or have problems with triggers (such as, drug usage, alchoholism, abuse, rape, talks of suicide, and near death experiences) please try to push through to the end. It is genuinely worth the read.

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