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tiffanis29's review
3.0
Was there to be a sequel? Did Kim get married? What happened with Warren? Did they ever come after Jah? Did the parents reconcile? Was there justice for Wentworth? What was up with the college athletes? WTH happened here?
stevia333k's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This book was the last book because the author died young from a heart attack. However, this was technically written to be the first of a series. What that means is there's a lot of slice of life moments, and there's also a very quick pace towards the end of the book than there was at the beginning. But this book does work as a standalone. By the way. I'm into institutional horror stories, and this book has that in addition to other wholesome content.
However, I will also say that since the president election of Obama was a major mood setter in this book I do wonder how the evolution of the Obama administration would've affected this book. (For example, just because we know now in 2022 how the changes got to the end of the administration, doesn't necessarily mean the rest of the would've been series would've projected it right. But seriously, the way the book ended, I suspect we could've just seen different parts of the community get used for a sense of timing.)
I could go on, but yes it was a good book & it makes see the downlow genre in a more sympathetic light. I can elaborate with that. To conclude this book is very 2009 February & I read this in 2022 November/December.
However, I will also say that since the president election of Obama was a major mood setter in this book I do wonder how the evolution of the Obama administration would've affected this book. (For example, just because we know now in 2022 how the changes got to the end of the administration, doesn't necessarily mean the rest of the would've been series would've projected it right. But seriously, the way the book ended, I suspect we could've just seen different parts of the community get used for a sense of timing.)
I could go on, but yes it was a good book & it makes see the downlow genre in a more sympathetic light. I can elaborate with that. To conclude this book is very 2009 February & I read this in 2022 November/December.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual violence, Classism, Death, Pregnancy, Violence, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking
beblackbeloved's review
3.0
This is probably my least favorite E. Lynn Harris book. I love the representation his work offers, and the issues that he raises but a bulk of this novel felt like drama building up, and up, and up—waiting for something to happen which would explain it all. Unfortunately, this didn’t occur. The ending was so…random. It almost felt like an attempt at crime fiction, which also happened in his novel Basketball Jones, but didn’t work. He soars writing about Black queer men, and their experiences. Diving into mysteries, crime, and unfortunately, politics, is not really his strong suit. He tried writing in real time, the election of the nations first Black President, and covering pop culture issues like Chris Brown and Rihanna, and I don’t know if it’s aged well. When I was younger, his main characters were seductive and I admired a few of them, now they appear to be very old-fashioned, and almost…slut-shame-y? This was an interesting read, I was invested in the drama, but completely let down.
cheesepuppy's review against another edition
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Cute story about Bentley. He’s loving and caring. I’d read more about him
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Sexual content
Moderate: Racism
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