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firxtly's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book had a slow start to it. I didn’t know what to expect or how the plot would escalate, but the last half of it hits readers like a train- both intellectually and emotionally. I love how this book was written with short, stream of consciousness-esque chapters from multiple points of view. The character of Chester Clark and Myrtle were so well crafted and their storylines poked through the pain.
This is a book that should be mandatory reading for middle or high school students in America, as it speaks to the disgusting, harsh realities of lynchings and how Black Americans were treated. The author, Lesa Cline-Ransome has certainly paid tribute to the lives of Black women who were lynched in the late 19th and early 20th century.
This is a book that should be mandatory reading for middle or high school students in America, as it speaks to the disgusting, harsh realities of lynchings and how Black Americans were treated. The author, Lesa Cline-Ransome has certainly paid tribute to the lives of Black women who were lynched in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Death of parent, Rape, Murder, and Grief
strangled_stardust's review
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and Death of parent
mmrohbock's review
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.75
4.75⭐ on 🎧
The way this book destroyed me this weekend..my heart aches for Lamb, for Simeon and for their entire family and friends. Set in Mississippi during the 1950s, Lesa tells a story of Lamb, a black girl, becoming friends with a white girl and bonding over books. But what seems harmless at first turns into a whole lot of trouble because racism.
I truly loved Lamb and her thoughtfulness as she explored the world and grew into her space throughout this book. The characters Lesa created were beautiful and complex and it only made the hand so heartbreaking. Lesa was inspired to write this story based on her research on Southern lynching and so much of this book is pulled from history that this truly is a must read to understand racial issues both in the South and throughout America.
The most poignant point in this book: Americans cared more about what was happening to the Nazis in Germany than how colored people were getting killed in the South in the 1950s.
Let that sink in and sit in that uncomfortable fact. That is the legacy of the South and it has completely reframed how I think of the history I learned in school.
Content warnings for child sexual assault, racism, lynching.
The way this book destroyed me this weekend..my heart aches for Lamb, for Simeon and for their entire family and friends. Set in Mississippi during the 1950s, Lesa tells a story of Lamb, a black girl, becoming friends with a white girl and bonding over books. But what seems harmless at first turns into a whole lot of trouble because racism.
I truly loved Lamb and her thoughtfulness as she explored the world and grew into her space throughout this book. The characters Lesa created were beautiful and complex and it only made the hand so heartbreaking. Lesa was inspired to write this story based on her research on Southern lynching and so much of this book is pulled from history that this truly is a must read to understand racial issues both in the South and throughout America.
The most poignant point in this book: Americans cared more about what was happening to the Nazis in Germany than how colored people were getting killed in the South in the 1950s.
Let that sink in and sit in that uncomfortable fact. That is the legacy of the South and it has completely reframed how I think of the history I learned in school.
Content warnings for child sexual assault, racism, lynching.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, Racism, Hate crime, Death of parent, and Racial slurs
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