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meleficent929's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
vyhurz's review against another edition
3.0
I can't really say I enjoyed this story, and that's for a number of reasons. The plot of this book focuses on Starr, who was with a black boy named Khalil when he is murdered by a white police officer. Throughout the book, she has to deal with the trauma of that and with, basically, living in a racist society and bringing together two different worlds - she goes to a wealthy, all-white school yet lives in an all-black "hood." Starr goes through a lot, and it's tough and dark and unpleasant. She has good times with friends and family, of course, but there's a lot of darkness here. I guess I had two main issues with this book. One would be that the darkness, the trauma, is handled almost casually, and when Starr does have outbursts, it feels over-the-top. This book is taking on a very complex issue that is intertwined in our culture in more ways than can be described, and yet there's little nuance or subtlety reflected in this story. I think the reason for that is due to my second issue with the book: I really disliked the writing. It felt stilted, unedited, shallow, amateur. In creative writing classes I've taken, professors would always say, "Show, don't tell." All this book does is tell. The language is clunky and unpolished. It was seriously a chore to read this book, and every time I went to pick it up, I was not excited due solely to the poor writing. I feel bad saying this because I think this story is important and should be told and should be published and should be read, but this may be some of the worst writing I've encountered.
kaikai1618's review against another edition
4.5 stars. Great audio book with such a well written and inspirational story. This portrays great insight through the eyes of realistic characters and the way they live their lives. So many emotion, so many sides we don't know.
desichelle's review against another edition
5.0
It was amazing! Angie did a great job with this historical fiction. It brought light to the reality people of color deal with and face in today’s society.
nicswanson's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
jampsonn16's review against another edition
5.0
This is a story that we've seen time and time again in the news and in movies. However, what Thomas does is bring that story right to our front doors and encourages us to live it for about 460 pages. While that's not nearly enough time to personally understand the severity and depth of the issues mentioned in this book, it is what we need to continue the conversation and ignite a fire within to fight for justice and change. Without giving anything anyway, I 100% recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
autumnehart's review against another edition
5.0
Listened to this on audio. It was fantastic! One of the best audio performances I've listened to!
lynnepinn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
sam_hartwig's review against another edition
5.0
I love when books live up to the hype. This book deserves ALL the awards!!
I listened to this on audio book, which made Starr come alive. All the attitude and slang felt perfect thanks to the amazing voice acting.
This book had so much heart, and I don't care what Starr says, I think she is so brave. So are all the people who have to go through such terrible times. It's the kind of book the world needs right now, and I can't wait to discuss it at book club next week.
I listened to this on audio book, which made Starr come alive. All the attitude and slang felt perfect thanks to the amazing voice acting.
This book had so much heart, and I don't care what Starr says, I think she is so brave. So are all the people who have to go through such terrible times. It's the kind of book the world needs right now, and I can't wait to discuss it at book club next week.
laurasauras's review against another edition
5.0
This book dealt with very complex, emotional, political issues in a really wonderful way, without ever getting too preachy. It expertly showed the humanity of the characters and the struggles that they faced, both within and outside of their community. I liked it better than the movie by a long way, but the movie was still quite good. The book was just less showy in some places and had the time for nuances.