Reviews with content warning for Racism - Blackout

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Blackout by Angie Thomas, Dhonielle Clayton, Ashley Woodfolk, Nic Stone, Nicola Yoon, Tiffany D. Jackson

11 reviews

kshertz's review

challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

5.0

I loved this one. Loved. It. A ton of short stories with a thread of everyone being in the same city during a blackout? That’s so amazing. The stories were poignant and fantastic. Some stories are still sticking with me. Excellent.

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tigger89's review

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.0

This was another read for work, and definitely not my preferred genre. However, I was surprised by what I was able to find to enjoy. I think if you're someone who enjoys short, sweet, YA love stories, this book would be perfect for you. I will caution that these aren't romances, as not every one ends in a happily-ever-after or happy-for-now. But I will say that the main character in each story winds up fulfilled, whatever that might mean in their situation, so there are no bad endings in this book.

Aside from the obvious not-my-genre situation, the other thing I didn't like about this book was how inconsistently well anxiety was portrayed. Contrasting Mask Off with The Long Walk, I found the depiction of Tremaine's claustrophobia very relatable, and while at first Tammi's anxiety over the impending bridge situation was also spot-on, at the end it evaporated in a puff of plot resolution. True love doesn't overcome crippling anxiety! That's like everybody cheering as the guy in the wheelchair gets up and starts walking at the end of the movie. It just…doesn't work like that. Sure would be nice if it did!

There's some LGB content in this book, for those who look for that. Mask Off is about two boys, and Made to Fit is sapphic(also ownvoices, or close enough — Ashley Woodfolk is bi). T+ content is limited to the background, however.

If rating just off my own opinion, I would probably give this a 3.5, based largely off of how much I (unexpectedly!) genuinely enjoyed No Sleep Till Brooklyn. However, because I have few constructive complaints and mostly just feel that it was Not For Me, I'm going to be generous and bump it up to a 4.

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calamitywindpetal's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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mxbluet18's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted slow-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

One style of book I enjoy reading is queer stories, and books with diverse characters (in every sense). While I'm not one of the people being represented in these stories, I still like reading them because it feels good knowing that the people who don't get representation often are in this book.
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It's a combination of several stories, with several characters of various ethnicities and queer identities. And that's something that unfortunately isn't seen too often in literature, especially the intersection of queer and POC.
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I liked how the various characters from the stories featured all come together at the end of the book, even if they're not all mentioned you get snapshots of them.
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One small thing that annoyed me a little bit is how some stories didn't get a complete ending. They didn't get a clear resolution to the issue they had. However, that's not life, and not all stories will have that, so it's a very minor thing.

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ameliaflint's review

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hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This collection of intertwined stories was okay. I liked the diversity and the idea of telling Black love stories, but I wasn’t incredibly engaged by much of the writing or romances, though I enjoyed some of the stories. Overall, it held my attention but I didn’t love it.

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