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dragonwithapen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Death, Confinement, Police brutality, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Racism, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Racial slurs and Gun violence
Minor: Abortion
dragonwriter's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
In this "Carrie" retelling, Maddy Williams is a white-presenting half-black girl in her senior year of high school. Initially kept at home to hide her from the world, Maddy was finally allowed to go to public school when she was twelve under the condition that no one ever discover her biracial heritage. Her white father wanted her to be white, so he kept her hair straight and her out of the sun so her skin wouldn't tan. This over-protectiveness made Maddy reclusive at school--a situation not helped by a water balloon attack from her classmates, triggered by her apparent fear of water. The abuse continues into her senior year, when a rainstorm during gym reveals her dark secret, turning her straight hair into an afro. Things only get worse when her classmates begin to throw pencils into her hair, laughing when it sticks--and then someone shares a video of the bullying to social media. The video begins to circulate, casting a damning light on the small town, a town that still has segregated proms. In an attempt to recover their good reputation, white student, Wendy, suggests to combine the two proms, but that only seems to add flame to the fire. Infuriated that their traditions are being called into question, white students begin to target the girl that "started" the problems: Maddy Williams, and Maddy and Wendy both watch as the small towns' "traditions" tear their world apart.
There was a LOT going on in this book. Poor Maddy was getting racism from all sides! She was too black for her father, her black classmates were accusing her of capitalizing on her light-skin priviledge, and her white classmates said she deserved all of their bullying for lying to them--ignoring the fact that they had bullied her even when they thought she was white. The true ray of sunshine came in the form of Kendrick, the high school football star, though he only asked Maddy to the prom initially because Wendy wanted to save face to the press. and she told him to. Seeing Kendrick grow from being the "black best friend" whose silence justified the way his white friends talked about and treated Maddy (and other black kids in the school) to standing up for his people was brilliant to see, especially knowing how his own father taught him to ignore the various micro-aggressions he faced every day in order to advance in the world. I was really stressed in the back half of the book as Prom approached--and I think I would have cried if it hadn't been for the prologue. Definitely recommend!
TW: Bullying, racism, gore, mass murder, misogyny, parental abuse
There was a LOT going on in this book. Poor Maddy was getting racism from all sides! She was too black for her father, her black classmates were accusing her of capitalizing on her light-skin priviledge, and her white classmates said she deserved all of their bullying for lying to them--ignoring the fact that they had bullied her even when they thought she was white. The true ray of sunshine came in the form of Kendrick, the high school football star, though he only asked Maddy to the prom initially because Wendy wanted to save face to the press. and she told him to. Seeing Kendrick grow from being the "black best friend" whose silence justified the way his white friends talked about and treated Maddy (and other black kids in the school) to standing up for his people was brilliant to see, especially knowing how his own father taught him to ignore the various micro-aggressions he faced every day in order to advance in the world. I was really stressed in the back half of the book as Prom approached--and I think I would have cried if it hadn't been for the prologue. Definitely recommend!
TW: Bullying, racism, gore, mass murder, misogyny, parental abuse
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Racial slurs, Racism, Bullying, Gore, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Abortion
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