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jessicaludden'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? No
4.5
I am a puddle of tears after reading this book. I loved it. I don’t know how the author did it but they managed to make me feel utterly hopeless and completely hopeful at the same time. This book holds a lot of power. It’s in the scenes where three generations of women are battling through their trauma and grief, whether with or against each other, that it really shows. Jas Hammonds did an amazing job of showing the complexities of trauma within a family and how that trauma can be passed on through generations. They also included the very raw and realistic histories of racism in the south. They put a face and a name to these horrors and were able to show how this history of hatred impacts actual people. Some of my favorite scenes were the conversations between Avery and Mama Letty where they were able to reminisce on Mama Lefty’s love with Ray, but also Avery was able to get bits and pieces of the awful events that resulted in Ray’s death. Jas Hammonds conveyed Avery’s desperation to know more and then her anger and helplessness when she realized there was nothing she could do. I loved Avery’s character. I love her determinedness to know more and do more for those she loved. I loved watching her grow into herself. Overall, I laughed, I cried, and I stared into space thinking. This book was beautiful.
Minor: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Grief, Lesbophobia, Racism, Hate crime, Cancer, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Murder, Outing, Police brutality, and Death of parent
solenophage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
There were a few aspects that I thought could have been done better. I was uncomfortable with how casual and dismissive Avery was towards Simone's fear of being outed to her homophobic mother in what seems to be a conservative town. I could accept this as just part of her character - not really understanding the real danger this could have for Simone - but it felt like the narrative supported this attitude or at least didn't contradict it. I didn't feel like Simone's feelings and Avery's dismissiveness weren't fully addressed and by the end Avery's 'everything will be fine, don't worry' attitude was proven correct. Simone's mother did come around and Avery's and Simone's relationship picked right back up easily.
I was kind of irritated by how useless and uninvolved Avery's dad was for a lot of the book. I get that the focus wasn't on him, but if your family's have screaming matches and breaking down crying, shouldn't you be doing something? He got better towards the end, but it was still annoying.
Those were pretty minor problems for me though, what really took this down to only 3 stars was the ending. **Spoilers ahead** Avery finds out her grandmother most likely murdered one of her best friend's, Jade's, parents in the last 20 pages and that's that, end of the book. She has no feelings or thoughts on that, we don't see it affect their friendship, she doesn't even think about breaching that subject with Jade. It's made extra off putting by the fact that Avery finding out that Jade's grandfather and great-grandfather murdered her grandfather was rightfully treated as a big deal that really messed with her. She had a big fight with Jade and had to work through a lot of anger and complex feelings before she could get to thinking about whether they could still be friends after finding out something like that. Then she discovers this and has no empathy towards Jade, doesn't want to help her find closure or decide for herself how she feels about hanging around the family of the woman who killed her mother. Avery can have that, but she'll deny it to Jade. It wasn't even a satisfying conclusion to the 'mystery' of Jade's mother's death, because that never felt like a major part of the story, just a part of Jade's backstory. It felt like a weird and unnecessary note to end an otherwise good book on.
Graphic: Racism, Cancer, and Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, and Murder
Minor: Fatphobia
marywahlmeierbracciano'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: Homophobia, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Outing
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Classism, Cancer, Hate crime, Medical content, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Terminal illness
Minor: Vomit, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Police brutality, and Sexual content