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bookishandlegal's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Wooooowwwww...how I have never read this book?!?!?! This book was SO good and everyone should read it. I'm not a huge romance lover, but gosh this was just so sweet and adorable and I absolutely loved it! The themes of young love and interracial relationships, and being a Black man in America, and family dynamics, and so much more were so well done and so easily integrated into a short book. When I saw the length of the audio I never thought the book would get as deep or as into the characters as it did, but this book was complex and the themes and lessons that came through were deep and profound and just so impactful.
The author has said that this is a Romeo and Juliet retelling and I knew that and saw a lot of nods to that throughout the book. Even knowing this going in, the ending absolutely gutted me and I did not see it coming until it was on top of me. The way grief was summed up and displayed in about 10 minutes at the end of this book was phenomenal. If you've also somehow missed this book for the past 22 years like I had, please go read it asap!!
The author has said that this is a Romeo and Juliet retelling and I knew that and saw a lot of nods to that throughout the book. Even knowing this going in, the ending absolutely gutted me and I did not see it coming until it was on top of me. The way grief was summed up and displayed in about 10 minutes at the end of this book was phenomenal. If you've also somehow missed this book for the past 22 years like I had, please go read it asap!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Violence
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