Reviews

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds

edshara's review

3.0

This is my first Jason Reynolds book and I enjoyed it. It's a quick read with some depth to it. I enjoyed the characters, they seemed like people you might know and the storyline had some understandable and relatable parts. I gave the book 3 stars because, while it was good, it just wasn't Amazing.

ashleykayejournals's review

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

shareen17's review against another edition

3.0

Fairly realistic book about a high school boy in New York dealing with the death of his mother and a difficult father. He gets to know an older man next door and a girl his age who are also dealing with problems and help him work through his feelings and engage with life. It's told in the first person in a breezy, slang-filled narration.

jessbank10's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.0

cpinon's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds is about a boy named Matt who is dealing with the recent death of his mother. The death of Matt's mother greatly changed Matt, and made his focus on life to be more mature. Matt develops relationships with other characters throughout the story and tries to find ways to cope with his mother's death. My favorite character was Mr. Ray. This is because he became a sort of father figure for Matt after his dad relapsed into alcohol and was hospitalized after an accident. Mr. Ray mentors Matt and helps him cope with the death of his mother, and teaches him how to deal with the troubles of life. The characters felt very real to me. Matt is portrayed as a normal teenager who is forced to grow up and deal with the hardships of life, which a lot of readers can relate to. The story definitly brought me closer to tears of sadness than to tears of laughter. I think that the ending should have been slightly changed, to not make it seem like a perfect ending. Overall, I thouroughly enjoyed this novel and it made me reflect on my own life. I would suggest this book to teenagers, because it gives a character that is very relatable to adolescent life and allows teenagers to reflect on their own lives.

jess_orjess's review against another edition

4.0

Wow. This book was very heartfelt. It deals with grief and love and everything in between. The ending was emotional - it made me shed a tear - and the botanic garden scene was probably one of my favourites (so cute!). The only critique I have is that it was a little boring at times.

mollywetta's review against another edition

4.0

This was good. Very accessible writing, authentic voice. I think I have a personal struggle reading books about teenagers who have recently lost their parents.

charlotteg's review against another edition

4.0

4.5

larryanton22's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

debandleo's review against another edition

3.0

I liked this book, liked the messages and the positivity.