Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - The Other Black Girl

I really loved the synopsis and concept for this book, and thought the author had some really creative and interesting ideas that with more editing could totally transform this book into a genre-defying mindfuck. Once the plot started moving, it was really engaging and thrilling but it took a while to get to that point. Overall, not a bad book, but didn’t hit as hard as I wish it could’ve.

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hayleyholliday's review against another edition

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2.75

Interesting plot. Some of the themes about micro aggressions, tokenism, colourism, white fragility etc seemed really well written. However, I think the conclusion of this novel was unsatisfying; the additional perspectives were unnecessary and I am still left with lots of unanswered questions.

The political conversations had in this book, particularly at the end - although important and relevant - didn’t feel very fluid. It came across as unnatural rather than aiding the storyline.

Had the ending been better and the other perspectives cut short, I think this book could have been a 3.5-4 stars.

I think the plot of this book was an interesting idea and had so much potential but unfortunately it was a bit disappointing and underwhelming.

the ending felt like the equivalent to “and then they woke up and it had all been a dream”. It was almost as if it ended with the mystery being solved by a little bit of magical realism when there was absolutely no other elements of magical realism throughout the book? Like there was a scary thing happening throughout the book and mysterious characters and what’s going to have happened for it to be answered with “it was the magic hair product all along!” I kind of feel like maybe the author just really rushed the ending.

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cassielaj's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

3.5

This book was not at all what I expected, but sometimes in a good way. What started out as concerning became confusing and then downright eerie… it definitely kept me on my toes.
However, by the time things really felt like they were ramping up, it was ending.

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krys_kilz's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

2.0

This novel was more social horror than thriller. Normally I enjoy social horror, but this didn’t quite work for me. The pacing was too slow, the characters felt flat, and the premise wasn’t fleshed out nor did it make much sense.

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forrestalexander's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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mswarning's review

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mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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andrewhatesham's review against another edition

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The plot moved way too slowly, and I felt that the writing style was bland, the plot felt contrived as well. It's not that bad, there are just other books I'm more interested in so I decided to prioritize them over this. I will be returning this to the library. I love the cover though :)

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