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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
Ms. Angie Thomas never misses. This book was filled to the brim with personality, wit, and truth. I have read both this and The Hate U Give and both books are eye opening. I don't have the words to quite articulate why this book is so good, but it's grounded in reality. Bri could be any black girl in the "wrong neighborhood". It touches down on police brutality with so much tact and smarts. Ugh. This was a very good book.
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book more than I expected. When I first started, I was unsure if this was the type of book I was wanting to read next, but I was quickly engaged. It’s also the first book of its kind that I’ve read.
It centers around a teenager who lost her father to gun violence. He was an underground rap legend in the community and she, equally talented, wants to follow in his foot steps. After she gets pinned down by a security officer at school for selling candy bars, she writes a rap about her experience and how no matter what, she’s perceived as a drug dealer because of her skin. After uploading it to a SoundCloud type website, bits and pieces of her lyrics are taken out of context, which then upsets the White parents causing a divide in the school. All while she’s navigating the other aspects of being a 16 year old girl.
It centers around a teenager who lost her father to gun violence. He was an underground rap legend in the community and she, equally talented, wants to follow in his foot steps. After she gets pinned down by a security officer at school for selling candy bars, she writes a rap about her experience and how no matter what, she’s perceived as a drug dealer because of her skin. After uploading it to a SoundCloud type website, bits and pieces of her lyrics are taken out of context, which then upsets the White parents causing a divide in the school. All while she’s navigating the other aspects of being a 16 year old girl.
This was good, but for me, far less powerful than The Hate U Give. While THUG made me empathize and feel a bit of what it might be like to be a young black woman caught in circumstances so far outside of the world I know, this one just served to continually remind me of how much of an outsider I was. I think it wanted to make me feel uncomfortable, and not to understand all the cultural references, and make me question what I was doing reading such a book. Almost like shaming me for being a voyeur and being privileged rather than drawing me in and sharing something with me to add to my knowledge of the world... maybe Thomas didn’t write this one for me. (It almost feels like it could have actually been her debut - something she wrote for herself, years ago, when still trying to find her voice.)
This was good, but for me, far less powerful than The Hate U Give. While THUG made me empathize and feel a bit of what it might be like to be a young black woman caught in circumstances so far outside of the world I know, this one just served to continually remind me of how much of an outsider I was. I think it wanted to make me feel uncomfortable, and not to understand all the cultural references, and make me question what I was doing reading such a book. Almost like shaming me for being a voyeur and being privileged rather than drawing me in and sharing something with me to add to my knowledge of the world... maybe Thomas didn’t write this one for me. (It almost feels like it could have actually been her debut - something she wrote for herself, years ago, when still trying to find her voice.)
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Throughout this book, I kept thinking about how it had a good message and was cool because it was written with AAVE, giving a look straight into the brain of our main character Bri. However, I also thought that the writing style was too simplistic for me to give it three stars. It wasn't until near the end of the book that I realized that the simplistic writing style makes the book more accessible to people who aren't total book worms. I was hoping for something more Toni Morrison-esque, but I then realized that it wouldn't have the same contemporary social effect because fewer people can relate to the beauty in those prose. This book, however, was easy to read and understand. I like that Bri wasn't perfect. I like that characters had retribution and good lessons were taught. Overall, I think that this book is a great book giving modern commentary on modern social issues.
5/5 stars.
QUICK THOUGHTS:
• This book was amazing and it’s exactly what I expect from Angie Thomas.
•She does a wonderful job tackling tough issues and making you FEEL something.
• I liked Bri as a main character. She was strong and she felt on the same level as Star.
• I appreciated the inclusion of addiction and mental health themes in this, as they’re important to talk about.
• The narrator was the same as THUG and I love her!
QUICK THOUGHTS:
• This book was amazing and it’s exactly what I expect from Angie Thomas.
•She does a wonderful job tackling tough issues and making you FEEL something.
• I liked Bri as a main character. She was strong and she felt on the same level as Star.
• I appreciated the inclusion of addiction and mental health themes in this, as they’re important to talk about.
• The narrator was the same as THUG and I love her!