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slflorence99's review
4.0
I'm going with 4.5 on this one. I've read plenty of reviews, and I get how they are split. I also would love to read more reviews from Black and Brown readers. So here are some thoughts:
Is Jen annoying at times? For sure. Is their friendship underdeveloped? Ok, maybe. However, I'm wondering if that sentiment is comes from people who have never had a childhood friendship with someone vastly different than they are? Jen was enveloped into Riley's family, her culture, and I can completely understand how she likely took that for granted. I also understand how maneuvering/maintaining childhood friendships in adulthood can be tricky.
Ultimately, Riley's perspective was what won me over. The topic tackled here is not easy. Obviously there are a lot of talking points that would start good book club discussions, but I didn't see them as trite in this case. So many current novels breech a wide range of controversial topics and feel like the author is preaching to you the entire time. This is not one of those books. It does challenge us to be willing to listen to our BIPOC friends and uplift their voices. It demonstrates that honesty in our relationships is incredibly important. Share your pain with someone. Share your joy with someone. Move through uncomfortable moments and build trust.
Is Jen annoying at times? For sure. Is their friendship underdeveloped? Ok, maybe. However, I'm wondering if that sentiment is comes from people who have never had a childhood friendship with someone vastly different than they are? Jen was enveloped into Riley's family, her culture, and I can completely understand how she likely took that for granted. I also understand how maneuvering/maintaining childhood friendships in adulthood can be tricky.
Ultimately, Riley's perspective was what won me over. The topic tackled here is not easy. Obviously there are a lot of talking points that would start good book club discussions, but I didn't see them as trite in this case. So many current novels breech a wide range of controversial topics and feel like the author is preaching to you the entire time. This is not one of those books. It does challenge us to be willing to listen to our BIPOC friends and uplift their voices. It demonstrates that honesty in our relationships is incredibly important. Share your pain with someone. Share your joy with someone. Move through uncomfortable moments and build trust.
brownbooknerd's review
4.0
Took me forever to finish this one but I’m glad I decided to come back to it and finish it. Even though I feel like in some parts it dragged a bit I enjoyed the story and the characters overall.
jansbookcorner's review
3.0
Perhaps my expectations were too high. It felt agenda driven and shallow when I wanted more of the story of the friendship and the deeper parts of it.
valeriedittrich's review
challenging
emotional
informative
fast-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? Yes
3.25
veganheathen's review
5.0
This book is basically the conversations we all need to be having with each other. The first pages were heart-wrenching and the story dove right into how various people are thrust into and deal with such tragedy. I felt so many things while reading this, which is the marker of a great book if it can elicit such emotion. Such a great premise and a great book.
I feel like Jen is so many white women who think they are woke and don’t feel they’re racist, while simultaneously holding racist beliefs. Society has ingrained that into so many without us realizing it. Choosing to listen and learn and become allies is important, especially if it makes one uncomfortable. Through discomfort, we can grow if we remain open.
I received this book for free from a Goodreads giveaway. The review is still my honest and unbiased opinion.
I feel like Jen is so many white women who think they are woke and don’t feel they’re racist, while simultaneously holding racist beliefs. Society has ingrained that into so many without us realizing it. Choosing to listen and learn and become allies is important, especially if it makes one uncomfortable. Through discomfort, we can grow if we remain open.
Spoiler
I really disliked Jen for most of the book and found her to be a very poor friend to Riley. Right at the end of the book she starts the baby steps of trying. I’m not sure why Riley put up with so many micro-aggressions and I find it hard to believe conversations about race never happened while Jen was growing up immersed in Riley’s family world.I received this book for free from a Goodreads giveaway. The review is still my honest and unbiased opinion.
riinahahko's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
Taking sides, examining loyalties: how deep is a friendship?
My liking for this was strongest in the first half of the book. The drama and tension surrounding the shooting of a 14-year-old black student by two white police officers, and the story surrounding the wife of one and her lifelong friendship with a reporter covering the story - it did wrap itself around you.
Jen is pregnant, with Riley's help paying for the IVF, when her husband sends her that unforgettable text message. It's a child that's been shot... but it's her husband's career and life now being decided. Riley's own feelings and choices are pulling at her too - Jen is her best friend, but she's worked hard to try and become a news anchor and this story could be the break she needs to show what she's capable of.
Moving from one to the other, the two sides of this debate descend on two characters. Riley takes on the side of Justin, interviewing his mother, while Jen exemplifies the consequences on the shooter. Neither themselves are morally faultless.
Riley is more interesting than her best friend I felt, with secrets long hidden from Jen about her own experiences with race, it's no wonder Jen is oblivious to alternative narratives. Riley has changed her name, her hair, hidden racist incidents from Jen, not pulled her up on comments over the years. But Jen too seems naive in a way that seems unrealistic and selfish.
The powder keg of emotion that simmers following the shooting seems familiar after events of the last few years, and this book certainly reminds us of faults in the system, of prejudices and blindness and what's in need of debate and change.
The ending felt like a let-down, while there is resolution, I didn't feel the women got the finale they could have.
There are some minor characters I would have liked developed more - Riley's brother has his own backstory that could have been made much more of, and her grandmother is a wonderful creation as well. Jen's own mother is a horrorshow, and the men in their lives feel very much minor bit parts.
A good one for discussions. Worked well as an audiobook with the voices of each heard as one narrates, the two-handed story flows well and easily as you listen.
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing an Audible copy.
My liking for this was strongest in the first half of the book. The drama and tension surrounding the shooting of a 14-year-old black student by two white police officers, and the story surrounding the wife of one and her lifelong friendship with a reporter covering the story - it did wrap itself around you.
Jen is pregnant, with Riley's help paying for the IVF, when her husband sends her that unforgettable text message. It's a child that's been shot... but it's her husband's career and life now being decided. Riley's own feelings and choices are pulling at her too - Jen is her best friend, but she's worked hard to try and become a news anchor and this story could be the break she needs to show what she's capable of.
Moving from one to the other, the two sides of this debate descend on two characters. Riley takes on the side of Justin, interviewing his mother, while Jen exemplifies the consequences on the shooter. Neither themselves are morally faultless.
Riley is more interesting than her best friend I felt, with secrets long hidden from Jen about her own experiences with race, it's no wonder Jen is oblivious to alternative narratives. Riley has changed her name, her hair, hidden racist incidents from Jen, not pulled her up on comments over the years. But Jen too seems naive in a way that seems unrealistic and selfish.
The powder keg of emotion that simmers following the shooting seems familiar after events of the last few years, and this book certainly reminds us of faults in the system, of prejudices and blindness and what's in need of debate and change.
The ending felt like a let-down, while there is resolution, I didn't feel the women got the finale they could have.
There are some minor characters I would have liked developed more - Riley's brother has his own backstory that could have been made much more of, and her grandmother is a wonderful creation as well. Jen's own mother is a horrorshow, and the men in their lives feel very much minor bit parts.
A good one for discussions. Worked well as an audiobook with the voices of each heard as one narrates, the two-handed story flows well and easily as you listen.
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing an Audible copy.
stark1974's review
2.0
This book left me feeling heartbroken for Justin’s family. I really felt very little sympathy for Jen or her husband. He came across as a spoiled brat to me. I will give him credit for testifying against a fellow police officer, but that’s it. Riley was simply a means by which I learned more about Justin and the circumstances of the story. The epilogue and the prologue were the most powerful parts of the book for me.
alekathrash's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0