Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Black Buck

This book is incredible!!!! Frustrating and inspiring and flawed, Buck’s story has you equal parts mad at him and cheering for him.
I found 90% super disturbing and hard to read, so be mindful, don’t go in for a lighthearted read.

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peachani's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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pagesfromhome's review against another edition

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challenging reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

When I tell you I flew through this book, I mean I flew through this book. It was perfection. I’m having a hard time even writing a review of it because I just straight up loved it. Askaripour perfectly encapsulates the start up tech industry, his characters are well-developed and easy to love or hate depending on which one it is, and his plot was perfectly timed. Fair warning: There is A LOT that happens in this book. It twists and takes turns that you’ve not really expecting and then makes a few that you’re totally prepared for, which to me is the sign of something being well-written.

I really loved how he developed his characters through their relationships to others and developed the plot then in relationship to those characters. I’m really surprised to hear this is a debut novel because it felt like the writing of someone who has done this many times before.

Honestly just can’t recommend it enough!

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lindsloveslit's review against another edition

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challenging dark

1.5

I don't know if this was hard to get through because I didn't like it, because of the use of the r-word, or because I was in somewhat of a book hangover after a five star read. 🤷🏽‍♀️ I do, however, know that it was not for me. 🙅🏽‍♀️

I thought I was going to get "The Office" like satire, but there was no point in time where I laughed. Instead, I was hit with microagressions and white supremacy that were believable and exhausting.

To add, I vehemently disliked the use of the r-word. I KNOW it was because the character was a racist, sexist, ableist P.O.S. but in my opinion, it is never okay. There is never a right time for it. 🙅🏽‍♀️ It also felt like a self help book to me, and unless they're research based - I'm not interested in those either. Lastly, mental health is important to me (I couldn't have gotten through 2020 or 2021 without my therapist) and I feel like this book made light of it.

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tmoore65's review against another edition

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funny reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I really liked the first and second sections of the novel, I felt like the criticism and satire about corporate America and start up culture was really clear and funny. I definitely was able to appreciate it considering I recently started my first corporate job. But, then as the book progressed there were aspects that were just so sad and hard to read. It was physically painful to read the parts where Darren/Buck was acting like a traditional tech bro and growing apart from his friends and family. Then by the time Darren/Buck started the Happy Campers, it just felt like too little too late. He had been super horrible to everybody he knew for almost a whole year and only started acting like a decent person for the last couple of chapters, like I'm glad he got a redemption arc but it was still frustrating especially since this change in character was very sudden. But, I feel like most of my frustrations with this book are towards the white characters and how none of them change or get better, but I also feel like that's one of the most realistic parts of the novel so really my frustrations are with society and not the book itself. I really liked the style of the book, at times it reminded me of a self-help/memoir crossover which I think really suited the story especially when Darren/Buck would break the fourth wall and address the reader. Definitely a fresh and fun take on the corporate world and what it's like being a minority in that space. I know the author said his next book wouldn't be anything like this but I'm still excited to read whatever he puts out next.

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divaninoor's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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beca_reads's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I've decided after reading 100 pages that this is not for me and to DNF. This book had so much potential and I liked the concept. I went into this knowing that it was satire but there were points where it just missed. I ended up giving up on this book due to the use of ableist slurs which were not challenged in the book. I'm disappointed by this as for the first time I got to read about a character with Tourettes (there are few books out there with characters with Tourette's and it's nice to be represented in a book); the representation wasn't bad it was a bit stereotypical but it was noted that not everyone with Tourette's swears which I appreciated. It annoys me as it ruined the decent disability representation for me by then going and using abelist slurs later in the book; it felt like one step forwards and two steps back. This book is definitely a love or dislike book, and unfortunately I disliked it.

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literarylion's review against another edition

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dark funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Pros:

Sharply satirical but not overly didactic
Strong character development

Cons:

The first half far outshone the second, in my opinion
Pacing seemed uneven -- very fast at some points and much slower at others, without a discernable reason

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