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cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
I have such mixed feelings about this book. It touches so many important things but half way through book lost me. Tilla is passive heroine, I really didn't like how things get brushed off so fast.
What I liked the most about this book is setting and her relationship with her father because it's so complex.
I have such mixed feelings about this book. It touches so many important things but half way through book lost me. Tilla is passive heroine, I really didn't like how things get brushed off so fast.
What I liked the most about this book is setting and her relationship with her father because it's so complex.
minamina's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
You could feel the passion the author put in her words. I could identify myself in a lot of matters Tilla dealt with and the first half, I really liked how the author portrayed Tilla‘s processing of thoughts. The torn feeling of belonging to a place you’re not familiar with realllyyyy got elaborated perfectly here. Tilla doesn’t have a place to call home yet and she tries and tries and TRIES to find it in a country that seems to reject her. I get that.
Still, many things became irritating.
First of all, the dialogue seemed unnatural. And I do not mean by the local people, but by the protagonist herself. If teenagers talked like that, you’d laugh into their face. Additionally, the sentences began to feel so dramatic that I had to scrunch my noise. There is a thin line between poetic and cheesy, and sadly I think this book hit the latter one. Plus, the word beautiful was used many times as something significant, and it was cool at first but felt bland after the forth time.
Not one of the characters were redeemable and I had to ask myself countless times if there is anything good in Tilla‘s stay.
Severe and fragile issues such as rape were incredibly overlooked.
Spoiler:
Tilla didn’t even process what has happened. I’m not telling the character how to handle it since it’s individual, but at least one paragraph to digest what has happened would be better than add rape merely for the plot.
Many things happened for the plot, actually. A certain death to the end, for example. It crushed me and broke the single speck of hope for the ending of the book. I repeat, nothing was redeemable in this book. Everything was irreversible. And still, Tilla concludes it like it’s a positive thing, which sounds like an extreme amount of denial here.
All the characters that did her wrong still didn’t get what they deserve. Only the good ones got the worst fates. And I wonder why? You can’t call this „life“ by putting all the hard ship in a few pages and gloss over them, and process them as „beautiful destructions“.
And Hessan. I had a bad feeling throughout, their love quickened and seemed imbalanced. There was no space to second guess his intentions with her. Since the narrator, Tilla, fell head over heels for him I started to enjoy their relationship, until—guess what—it got destructed to its core.
Again, this isn’t „life“, this is just something that has been added to spice up the plot.
At least she didn’t forgive him.
Still, many things became irritating.
First of all, the dialogue seemed unnatural. And I do not mean by the local people, but by the protagonist herself. If teenagers talked like that, you’d laugh into their face. Additionally, the sentences began to feel so dramatic that I had to scrunch my noise. There is a thin line between poetic and cheesy, and sadly I think this book hit the latter one. Plus, the word beautiful was used many times as something significant, and it was cool at first but felt bland after the forth time.
Not one of the characters were redeemable and I had to ask myself countless times if there is anything good in Tilla‘s stay.
Severe and fragile issues such as rape were incredibly overlooked.
Spoiler:
Tilla didn’t even process what has happened. I’m not telling the character how to handle it since it’s individual, but at least one paragraph to digest what has happened would be better than add rape merely for the plot.
Many things happened for the plot, actually. A certain death to the end, for example. It crushed me and broke the single speck of hope for the ending of the book. I repeat, nothing was redeemable in this book. Everything was irreversible. And still, Tilla concludes it like it’s a positive thing, which sounds like an extreme amount of denial here.
All the characters that did her wrong still didn’t get what they deserve. Only the good ones got the worst fates. And I wonder why? You can’t call this „life“ by putting all the hard ship in a few pages and gloss over them, and process them as „beautiful destructions“.
And Hessan. I had a bad feeling throughout, their love quickened and seemed imbalanced. There was no space to second guess his intentions with her. Since the narrator, Tilla, fell head over heels for him I started to enjoy their relationship, until—guess what—it got destructed to its core.
Again, this isn’t „life“, this is just something that has been added to spice up the plot.
At least she didn’t forgive him.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Bullying, and Misogyny
jess_mango's review against another edition
4.0
Review coming soon!
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
bookedupkid's review against another edition
5.0
This book gave me all the feels. Maybe it's because of my Jamaican heritage why I could really picture everything that happened. My heart broke for Andre and fractured for Tilla. I felt rage for Aunt Herma, stinking Diana and Javan and I was in awe of Hesssan. Mas Tyson was a complex character and although I didn’t agree with all of his actions I had understanding of his behaviours.
Ohhh this book touched on so many serous topics.
As I could see I was nearing the end of the book, I wanted to slow down because I wasn’t ready for it to finish but it was so gripping that I just had to keep reading more.
Every now and then I read a book and I am left with an empty feeling, not quite sure what to read next, because what can compare? - This is definitely one of those books for me.
Ohhh this book touched on so many serous topics.
As I could see I was nearing the end of the book, I wanted to slow down because I wasn’t ready for it to finish but it was so gripping that I just had to keep reading more.
Every now and then I read a book and I am left with an empty feeling, not quite sure what to read next, because what can compare? - This is definitely one of those books for me.
the_bookish_nurse's review
emotional
inspiring
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
3.75
halfocused's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book wow....the ending had me crying genuine tears and it didnt feel predictable. It was heartfelt and inspiring and worth every second.
readsbycassandra's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
rachele29's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book so much (it was probably too relatable) It definitely got tense and pretty heavy at some points but the writing style made me feel like I was feeling every emotion the characters were. I love how it wasn’t predictable and how much character growth I saw! I also loved Tila’s last conversation with her dad and just how by the end of the book hurricane summer meant so many different things!
tamcdonnough's review against another edition
Transformative , Amazing
Dealt with colorism and sexism.
Dealt with colorism and sexism.