Reviews with content warning for Racism - It's Not Like It's a Secret

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

It's Not Like It's a Secret by Misa Sugiura

54 reviews

mickey__'s review against another edition

tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

what can i say….. just please don’t read this if you don’t want to get a headache about the following things (ahem):

- how a book that’s meant to be dismantling stereotypes makes them seem true and even plays into them
- how cheating is glorified and deemed ‘okay’ if it has a good enough reason behind it
- why the main character does everything she does

+0.5 stars because I liked the poems

Content Warnings

wisteriaearl's review against another edition

Go to review page

1.0

1/3 of the book is really enjoyable and fun to read.
the insta-love was something i overlooked because i assumed this was book was just a cheesy sapphic love story
Bad:
theres several cheating subplots from multiple characters that feel so random and out of place.
the mc acts in such an unbelievable and unlikeable way that is never resolved. she never really redeems herself or atones for her mistakes.
her casual racism is never addressed and things resolve in such a smooth way that it doesn't make sense.
the conflict of the story hinges on "never communicating with eachother ever" and its more frustrating than entertaining

Content Warnings

dalmavatai's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional 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

3.5

Content Warnings

wynterwonderland's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

eeriewater's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful reflective

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

4.5

I went into reading this book expecting a cliché love story, and it did not disappoint, but at the same time it managed to take up issues like internalized racism in something I found to be a very thought provoking way. Going through your life, it can be easy to think "I'm not racist," just because you don't use the n word, and that you speak up for black people. But racism is, as this book shows, about so much more than that. Racism is also those small, seemingly "innocent," stereotypes or expectations most people have for people of different ethnicities, and this is something you have to take a moment with yourself and think about. Which one of these stereotypes have you internalized? This is one of the topics this book, in my opinion, tackles very well. As a white person, who feels she's quite woke, and very much not a racist, this book made me realize that I should take a moment and think through what sorts of stereotypes I may have internalized and never challenged over the years of my life. I can't say weather this books representation of "casual" racism was accurate or not, I'm not the right judge of that, but, I think the authors goal was making people take a sec to consider these internalized stereotypes etc, and do something to remove them from your life, and in my case, this book definitely did just that. Now, this is in no way the absolute main thing of the book, firstly It's not like it's a secret is about a young girl experiencing love for the first time, with all the complicated and messy things that comes with it.

LGBTQ+ rep: Lesbian mc (mentioned with word), Lesbian love interest

Content Warnings

houndoflove1985's review

Go to review page

emotional medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I have strong distaste for books where everyone's problems could be prevented and solved if they spoke to each other. For the love of god please just talk to each other. It's not that hard. I do not miss high school.

Content Warnings

ottiliareads's review

Go to review page

challenging lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

Content Warnings

kahleesi14's review

Go to review page

reflective 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

4.25

This book is poetry. It's real and painful and beautiful.

Content Warnings

natalie_gnr's review

Go to review page

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

Content Warnings

venkaism's review

Go to review page

emotional reflective fast-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

2.75

the casual racism and the

cheating

just really ruined this for me. I'm also not a fan of instalove so the romance didn't entirely work for me (but the poetry was very cute).

most importantly, sana was obsessed with emily dickinson how did she not know she was a lesbian

Content Warnings

More...