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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ah it pains me to rate such a beloved and well renowned book such as this quite a low rating, but please hear me out!
Firstly, I do want to say that I really did value the aspect of this book’s discussion about how systemic racism is permeated throughout justice and legal systems, such as by the Nickel Boys Academy aka the reform school that was depicted about in this book. It was really an eye opening subject to read about, and a heartbreaking one at that! The fact that this fictional novel is based upon true events of a real life reformatory school that once existed makes this book’s premise all the more chilling.
However, I personally didn’t feel connected to the characters within this book at all, which makes me quite sad honestly. They were written in a one dimensional manner where they lacked a lot of depth to them, which may have just been the overall writing style of the author’s, but it just didn’t click with me.
I also felt that, since I was so disconnected with the characters, that whenever anything objectively very heart-wrenching occurred inside this book I didn’t feel many emotions while reading about it, which I know was not the intended purpose of this novel. This could have also occurred because, similarly to the characters, the writing style was quite basic and lacked emotional depth and hard hitting metaphors (which typically I eat up in books, so when a book is lacking in good writing I kinda become a little pretentious about it, oopsy.)
And lastly, the overall sporadic time jumps in this book about the during and after period of the main character’s experience at the reformatory was not explicitly stated by the author, so I got quite confused about what timeline and who I was reading about at certain sections within the book.
I would say that this book is quite an important read showcasing the horrific normalization and dismissal of how systemic racism is a major facet of making within the US, but unfortunately the writing and overall turn of this book’s plot were not for me, but some people may love it/resonate with it, which in that case I am happy for them (:
Firstly, I do want to say that I really did value the aspect of this book’s discussion about how systemic racism is permeated throughout justice and legal systems, such as by the Nickel Boys Academy aka the reform school that was depicted about in this book. It was really an eye opening subject to read about, and a heartbreaking one at that! The fact that this fictional novel is based upon true events of a real life reformatory school that once existed makes this book’s premise all the more chilling.
However, I personally didn’t feel connected to the characters within this book at all, which makes me quite sad honestly. They were written in a one dimensional manner where they lacked a lot of depth to them, which may have just been the overall writing style of the author’s, but it just didn’t click with me.
I also felt that, since I was so disconnected with the characters, that whenever anything objectively very heart-wrenching occurred inside this book I didn’t feel many emotions while reading about it, which I know was not the intended purpose of this novel. This could have also occurred because, similarly to the characters, the writing style was quite basic and lacked emotional depth and hard hitting metaphors (which typically I eat up in books, so when a book is lacking in good writing I kinda become a little pretentious about it, oopsy.)
And lastly, the overall sporadic time jumps in this book about the during and after period of the main character’s experience at the reformatory was not explicitly stated by the author, so I got quite confused about what timeline and who I was reading about at certain sections within the book.
I would say that this book is quite an important read showcasing the horrific normalization and dismissal of how systemic racism is a major facet of making within the US, but unfortunately the writing and overall turn of this book’s plot were not for me, but some people may love it/resonate with it, which in that case I am happy for them (:
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Brutal, heartbreaking, especially as it is based on true stories. Colson Whitehead is a wonderful writer, though I didn’t find this as compelling as The Underground Railroad. Nevertheless, it is an important story to tell, as we try to understand the depth of injustice suffered in every area of our society.
I can't honestly review this since I kept zoning out. Maybe because it is too similar to what's currently going on with cops killing innocent black people right now & my brain cannot process any more violence.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced