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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
⭐ 3/5
♡ THIS BOOK WAS WHOLE ENTIRE JOURNEY ♡
✩°｡⋆ 98th Review of 2024 ⋆｡°✩
♡ MY REVIEW:
I felt very weird categorizing this book as a mystery thriller because it read more like a literary/realistic fiction novel while reading...
Although I did enjoy the writing, the constant need to drive home the "Black woman struggle" rhetoric was quite repetitive. It was annoying reading about Nella (our main character) and how she wasn't this perfect character, which is great to see in books, but it was hard to root for her at all. I'm not shocked by the ending, and dare I say, I saw it coming just because of how Nella is as an underdeveloped character. She doesn't have any character development, which bothered me the most. Following her throughout the book, she goes through a downward spiral caused by her own shortcomings and other unforeseen circumstances.
All in all, I personally probably wouldn't pick up another Zakiya Dalila Harris book, but I know this book would be jaw-dropping for someone else, but I saw it as a slow-burn, literal/realistic fiction novel about a girl that doesn't stand on business and who is easily swayed into becoming a follower rather than a leader.
♡ THIS BOOK WAS WHOLE ENTIRE JOURNEY ♡
✩°｡⋆ 98th Review of 2024 ⋆｡°✩
♡ MY REVIEW:
I felt very weird categorizing this book as a mystery thriller because it read more like a literary/realistic fiction novel while reading...
Although I did enjoy the writing, the constant need to drive home the "Black woman struggle" rhetoric was quite repetitive. It was annoying reading about Nella (our main character) and how she wasn't this perfect character, which is great to see in books, but it was hard to root for her at all. I'm not shocked by the ending, and dare I say, I saw it coming just because of how Nella is as an underdeveloped character. She doesn't have any character development, which bothered me the most. Following her throughout the book, she goes through a downward spiral caused by her own shortcomings and other unforeseen circumstances.
All in all, I personally probably wouldn't pick up another Zakiya Dalila Harris book, but I know this book would be jaw-dropping for someone else, but I saw it as a slow-burn, literal/realistic fiction novel about a girl that doesn't stand on business and who is easily swayed into becoming a follower rather than a leader.
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
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:
No
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a good book, just not my genre.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
damn, I really wanted to like this but it was just… not super thrilling?? I wanted more action and I felt like it was a slow burn that was too drawn out
that being said it did a really good job showcasing the everyday fears and impacts of microaggressions in a PWI
that being said it did a really good job showcasing the everyday fears and impacts of microaggressions in a PWI
I feel like some parts of this weren't answered completely, but overall I kind of liked it a lot?? Idk man!! The world Harris built in this book feels so subtly sinister and I really think it's cool.
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An outstanding idea with only so-so execution. A lot of things felt unanswered or insufficiently explained — not in the sense that they inspire you to create your own explanations, but in a way that it just seems like they forgot to include the pages with the answers when the book went to print. (EG: was Hazel her real name or wasn’t it? Who kidnapped Shani? What are Lynne and Kendra actually trying to achieve with their movement? If Richard is in cahoots with Diana, why hasn’t Wagner publishing been central to the whole experiment instead of apparently not hiring any black editors between 1983 and 2018?)
I wish I’d read reviews from the Black women on here before I’d invested so much time. I enjoyed the writing, but the plot twist felt really uncomfortable/problematic to me & after reading the reviews, it seems like a lot of others felt the same.