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niamh_p_delaney's review
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism and Violence
nhacco's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I thought this would be a love story but it’s mainly a reflection on the frailty of Black men’s lives in a white society. It’s very important to read this perspective. I just chose the wrong timing to be reading about anxiety and fear of death, personally. Aside from theme, I found the style confusing and a bit disjointed. A lot of references and images that seem out of place to the reader - almost like reading poetry without the beautiful lyricism. Just felt a bit disconnected. And the love story dragged. For such a short book, it felt super long. Now onto the positives. A really realistic approach to the start of a relationship in the modern world. Also shows great appreciation for music and art in general, in a really captivating way. Recommend reading while listening to the Spotify playlist that is comes with. As a memoir/piece dedicated to someone, it’s nice. As a poetic piece on love, leaves something to be desired.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Gun violence, and Police brutality
bricharis's review against another edition
dark
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Violence
florenceassetto's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
the way that love and blackness is talked about in this book is TRULY something special! honestly i felt so much for this characters knowing so little about them but the rawness and honestly of the emotion was something so so special. the inherent beauty of the words and feelings is brought out by the poeticism (real word?) of the writing and it is something so so special. i would recommend this book to everyone any time, it's honestly so beautiful in a kind of haunting way (i am yet to stop thinking about the tenderness of both words and feelings) and honestly this is a book i must own so next job is to buy it and have my own physical copy - perfect is a word i don't use often but this one i adore wholeheartedly
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Mental illness
alexisvana's review
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I'm SO in the minority for pretty much every part of my review, but here goes...
- I think the writing style (i.e. prioritizing poetic/lyrical prose over like... baseline plot development) actually mostly worked for me, I'm shocked! There were a couple times where I highlighted lines because I thought "hmmm... this line sounds pretty, but it doesn't make a lick of sense" but aside from that, I generally enjoyed it
- Don't care about the second person narrative in this context. For me, this very rarely works for my brain in novels/memoirs and I don't really understand what purpose it was serving here
- I think the plot of the first 70% of this read like an episode of 'Friends' in that... I feel like we were romanticizing deeply problematic/toxic behavior. I think 5-10 years ago I would've been absolutely swooning but now I'm like "damn, I would've dumped BOTH of you a long time ago" lol
- In general, I think there was far too little character development for this to be moving for me. I'm walking away knowing next to nothing about our main characters other than they are presumably very hot and drink pretty much constantly
Not mad I read it, but I think it should've just been a poem or a novella - I think the lack of character devleopment/floofy writing style would've been much more successful if it were less drawn out.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Alcohol, Violence, Sexual content, and Police brutality
ajas_bookclub's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Violence
jpdunday's review
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Violence
misslaurenreads's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Although, very important, the subject matter in this book was very heavy. The prose is absolutely stunning. I found myself repeatedly rereading just because of how beautiful the words were on the page. I wish there was more of a resolution at the end, and that impacted by score a bit. Overall, this book was beautiful, heartfelt, and well worth the read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Police brutality, and Racism
gracecutts's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Violence, and Police brutality
annick's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Highly recommend. With patience you reveal the beauty in the lyrical heartbreak of this prose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Racism, and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Police brutality, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts