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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great characters with an important message to tell. I think some subplots could have been carried out further but the main plot and character interactions were done very well.
This book had my blood BOILING so many times, which was its intended purpose. The themes in this novel are so relevant (unfortunately). There were so many moments I wanted to toss this across the room and scream. Every member of the family was faced with so many different situations of racism and classism, and it was harrowing to read the emotions every character felt
This would have been five stars, but I feel like the story kind of just quickly wrapped up, and Ashok, usually so stuck in his ways, rapidly changed his mind.
This would have been five stars, but I feel like the story kind of just quickly wrapped up, and Ashok, usually so stuck in his ways, rapidly changed his mind.
emotional
reflective
tense
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:
Complicated
medium-paced
Terrible writing so cliche so stereotypical. It felt like more of a PSA or HR training than a novel. I’m totally in favor of books exploring intersectionality, racial justice, social justice but this one fell so flat and felt like ChatGPT was asked to write a book after reading a bunch of sociology textbooks. She totally hits you over the head with every theme and idea, tells but never shows. The finale scene where everyone is scattered across the house felt like it tried so hard to be some gripping, shocking, chaotic crescendo but was so predictable from the start. Also you have every stereotypical character, like rich white people who are good at bougie sports and Indian people who work in tech and Latino people in construction. I thought the best writing was the stuff about the parents’ life when they moved here and the intro scene. But after that everything felt so overly emotional and weepy. Also why did Maya have to tell her parents about the pic? I’m an older sister and I thought that obsession with rote honesty was so lame and reflects the book’s overly simplistic moral view. Also the ending where the moms give a press conference was so cheesy and boring and predictable. It felt like this book was written in the hopes of becoming some Oscar bait movie; it felt more like scene notes for a show than a piece of literature.
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Listened as an audio book. I’m really grateful for the last 8% because I was quite concerned they were going to tie up the story with an unrealistically nice bow. It was great to see the mom’s switch. Coming to terms not only with what happened to her son but what could have happened, as well as the many different (and all to common) stories with much worse outcomes.