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julesadventurezone's review
- 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
Graphic: Police brutality, Blood, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Vomit, Child death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Body horror, and Blood
kell_xavi's review against another edition
4.0
We are each other’s harvest. We are each other’s business. We are each other’s magnitude and bond.
Bitter tries to explain how Jam’s parents, Bitter and Aloe, were made familiar with the capacity for creatures to be brought forth from her paintings. It also tries to explain how a city somewhere close to ours in white supremacist capitalist politics, but in the fight for equality, came to be the haven of Pet.
The history is, in some ways, disappointing, because it turns out that as much divine intervention as hard work goes into the answer; this novel doesn’t give hope like a bold of lightning, but in a trickle (but still there). There are moments, in willingness to talk after anger—in refusing the cure for a disability, in Bitter’s ability to find a safe space—that look like hope, monsters or not.
It was mostly resolved by the end, but parts of this book after Bitter brings something from a painting didn’t seem to quite fit with the first book. The roles Hibiscus and Ube inhabit, the way Bitter and others talk about change, the personality of the creature. It’s cohesive, such that I expect Emezi knew the whole timeline from the start, but some of the pieces didn’t line up for me.
Here’s what I loved: Aloe’s romance. Bitter’s art. The casual queerness. The way art is discussed as valuable. The phrasing around Bitter’s childhood. How true anxiety felt. Disability! How true anger and hopelessness felt.
Here’s what I wasn’t sure about: Assata. Eucalyptus. The utopic institutions were vague in ways, which was fine, but some of what was described felt a bit wonky, or else hollow. Population count for Lucille?
Here’s what I didn’t like: Perhaps necessary for the continuity, but I didn’t like how present the guilty party from Pet was here. Blessing’s outfits. The homogenous reaction the the scene in the public square: there’s a reductiveness to the immediate change everyone undergoes, and the discussion of punishment, anger, and terrorism ends up being sorely limited and ineffective as a result. I wanted concrete descriptions of what Assata is doing, a framework of what we’re fighting against: use of allegory would have strengthened Emezi’s ability to create a call to action through this work.
Moderate: Gun violence, Murder, Self harm, Grief, Police brutality, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Child abuse, Rape, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent
cookiecat73's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Self harm, War, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Classism, and Mental illness
Minor: Drug use and Rape
penofpossibilities's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Police brutality, Murder, Death, Self harm, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
overbooked207's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
1st book of July 2022 and 15th book of the year:
This was such a powerful, fantastic, and relevant book and prequel to one of my all-time favorites, Pet. You don’t have to read Pet in order to understand this book, but I highly recommend doing so anyway because it's also such an amazing and important book. I loved that we got to go back in time to see the events talked about in Pet in this book and follow Bitter’s story this time, and it felt more mature and heavier than Pet. The writing and world-building are always phenomenal in Akwaeke Emezi’s books, and this time was no different. The themes/topics that the book brings up including revolution, healing, generational trauma, mental health, found family/coming together as a community to help each other, using art as activism, the cycle of violence, and more are all super important to talk about nowadays and always, the making it a book that I think absolutely everybody should pick up. The audiobook was also done beautifully, and it felt more mature and heavier than Pet, which was already dealing with very heavy subject matter. I highly recommend reading this and everything by Akwaeke Emezi, and I am absolutely in love with all of their book covers! TW for blood, death, self-harm/cutting, police brutality, racism, homophobia, war, hate crimes, dissociation, panic attacks, gun violence, gore, fire/fire injury, vomit, ableism, injuries/injury description, abuse, abandonment, mention of the death of a parent, mention of rape, medical content/trauma, eye mutilation, body horror, mental illness, child abuse, and grief📚🎨
Graphic: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racism, Grief, Gun violence, Self harm, Vomit, War, Child abuse, Death, Ableism, Rape, and Violence
ashleycmms's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Violence, Death, Abandonment, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, War, Homophobia, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent, Ableism, Body horror, and Infidelity
karcitis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Murder, Self harm, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Bullying, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Classism, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
Minor: Infidelity, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Excrement
anonymous_k's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Good book! I go back and forth on whether I like Bitter more than Pet, but both were good and important reads! All educators need to read these books (Pet and Bitter), and I would argue that any teens who are able to read such traumatic topics should read them too. I gave it a 4.5 because reading such heavy and traumatic topics is hard for me. I am very happy to have learned more, but it took me a long time to read this book because of the severity of the trauma talked about in this book. Overall, I loved this book as it did a great job illustrating the trauma people of color (specifically black youth) face in America and it prepares me to create a safe haven and provide support in my future classroom for these traumatized students.
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality
Minor: Child abuse
cyrinw98's review
- 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
4.75
Trigger Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, mentions of the life of an adult abuser(Hibiscus), mentions of child abuse, blood, fire
In this sequel to Emezi’s young adult novel Pet, we follow a seventeen-year-old Bitter( Jam’s mother) back as a former foster care child and queer artist attending the mysterious Eucalyptus Academy back in a time when the monsters in Lucille very much existed. Bitter has built a bubble around herself for protection. Protection from the monsters that are turning her home into a warzone and protection from the memories of “the lost years.” Bitter has no interest in the revolution. She isn't like the Assata kids who fight on the frontlines, but when tragedy strikes closer to home Bitter must make a decision that may have a rippling effect.
Emezi is such a master with their prose and is talented at creating very human characters that jump off of the page. I think the way Bitter feels is how many of us feel about injustice, but maybe are too afraid to voice. I liked seeing Bitter’s character progression and getting to know the origins of many of the characters we met in Pet.
This book touches on two important questions: In the face of injustice, am I doing enough?
How can I help/where is my place?
I liked how Emezi constantly reiterated that every person has a role in the revolution: the organizers, artists, historians, and the front-liners. Everyone has a purpose. It also touches on the importance of self-care for activists, art as activism, and the importance of community. There was also a commentary on ableism and the idea of being useful. There are nods to prominent figures: Assata Shakur, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Mariam Kabe and their contributions to their respective movements.
The pacing in the novel was off at times and there were certain parts of the novel that I think needed to be explored more. This is my second Akweake Emezi novel and it solidified them as one of my favorite authors.
Graphic: Death of parent, Child abuse, Blood, Ableism, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence
emzhay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Self harm, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, War, Blood, Police brutality, Violence, Death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Ableism