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peachidreams's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual harassment, Police brutality, Sexual assault, and Racism
Moderate: Hate crime, Slavery, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
scorpstar77's review
3.0
Ivoe Williams, growing up in the early twentieth century in Texas, dreams of a better future for herself, her family, and all African Americans. She is intelligent and bookish, and her family sacrifices a lot to send her to college. There she discovers her love of writing and journalism as well as the key to her sexuality. After college, she sticks with her family through increasingly hard times before she finally convinces them to move to Kansas City for better opportunities. There she is finally able to re-unite with the love of her life and start her own newspaper focused on African American issues.
I wanted to love this book. It has so many things that I love in a good story - a fight against racism, strong female characters and strong family relationships, an earnest bookish girl pursuing her dream... But ultimately, I found the constantly shifting perspectives too distracting (one paragraph in one character's voice, the next in another), and the story itself too meandering to win my heart. The novel is titled for the newspaper that Ivoe eventually starts in Kansas City - which happens with just 50 pages left in the story. It seems too late in the book for the seminal event to occur. With a strong editorial hand, this book could be great; as it is, it's just OK.
I wanted to love this book. It has so many things that I love in a good story - a fight against racism, strong female characters and strong family relationships, an earnest bookish girl pursuing her dream... But ultimately, I found the constantly shifting perspectives too distracting (one paragraph in one character's voice, the next in another), and the story itself too meandering to win my heart. The novel is titled for the newspaper that Ivoe eventually starts in Kansas City - which happens with just 50 pages left in the story. It seems too late in the book for the seminal event to occur. With a strong editorial hand, this book could be great; as it is, it's just OK.
floristseatfree's review
5.0
LaShonda Katrice Barnett reckons with the fictional and the past to help us grapple with the tangible and the present. Ivoe presents us with the same news she shared with the black community of Kansas city-- the beginning of mass incarceration, slavery reborn from the ashes of reconstruction. This book is in turns infuriating, terrifying and joyful. 10/10 everybody read it right now.
ksoanes's review against another edition
4.0
A wonderful book. Set in early 20th century it is disheartening that so many parallels still exist and this seems quite relevant still. While historical fiction, there is much I learned about the Jim Crow south and its spread into Missouri.
lilaceous's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? No
3.0
characters - ⭐️
plot - ⭐️
engaging overall - .5⭐️
would recommend - .5⭐️
would read again -
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Police brutality, and Racism
mackinseyjoy's review
4.0
Jam on the Vine was haunting and sensual. A great study in Black queer feminist politics in a time period of rapid change for Black Americans. The story doesn't have the best pacing, but it was a great glimpse into the life of a young woman who simply loved to read and share stories.