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fernweh85's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
missamandamae's review against another edition
3.0
What a sad book. It's not exceptionally tragic, but there's just a cloud of sadness over the whole thing. We meet Kenya as a young girl in the 80s, living with her parents - her long-suffering mother a librarian, her father a black rights activist who has an obsession with Frank Lloyd Wright's butler who set fire to his house and killed anyone who tried to escape the blaze. We follow Kenya as she grows up, experiences different worlds, and tries to evolve into her own person. Quite a bit of heartbreak entails, too. A very real story of growing up.
mitabird's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
remigves's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-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
3.25
bartak20's review
dark
reflective
sad
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
3.5
teachergirl89's review against another edition
4.0
Would have given it a five, but that ending though.
casehouse's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars. The plot didn't go much of anywhere, and there was very little resolution in the end.
crankylibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Kenya, the daughter of an Afrocentric intellectual and a class conscious librarian in 1980s and 90s Philadelphia, struggles to find a sense of self as she negotiates race and class divisions, and her disintegrating family. Solomon provides a strong sense of place and time to the novel, and an intriguing cast of unpredictable characters.