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nickbluth's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun and interesting coming-of-age book that I really enjoyed until about 3/4ths of the way to the end when it went downhill. I don't want to give anything away, but it wasn't what I expected.
brendynnpetty's review against another edition
4.0
After Daniel Musgrove and his family move from Indiana to “Jim Crow” Mississippi in the late 1970s, Daniel finds a fellow outsider in his new best friend Tim. The two navigate normal high school experiences until their lives become intertwined with Arnita Beecham in a complicated, scandalous, and foreboding way.
This book was one of the first that I had to sit and think on before I could sort out my feelings about it. The story has seemingly endless and scattered plot points, many of which are shocking and unbelievable. What I found in Mark Childress’s “One Mississippi” was a bold and unique take on the southern gothic genre (one of my very favorites). The story thoroughly embodies the genre - sporting deeply flawed characters, irrational thought processes and events, angst, and alienation. While to many, this book loses its appeal as a result of its many “out of left field” plot points and failure to tidy up the loose ends, I was impressed by the fearless approach to giving us southern gothic fanatics a good taste of the unpleasant and eerie notes we’re looking for.
This book was one of the first that I had to sit and think on before I could sort out my feelings about it. The story has seemingly endless and scattered plot points, many of which are shocking and unbelievable. What I found in Mark Childress’s “One Mississippi” was a bold and unique take on the southern gothic genre (one of my very favorites). The story thoroughly embodies the genre - sporting deeply flawed characters, irrational thought processes and events, angst, and alienation. While to many, this book loses its appeal as a result of its many “out of left field” plot points and failure to tidy up the loose ends, I was impressed by the fearless approach to giving us southern gothic fanatics a good taste of the unpleasant and eerie notes we’re looking for.
reasie's review against another edition
3.0
A slow, sly look at high school in the south in the 70s. Sonny and Cher are almost as prevalent as race relations. There's some controversial ground with a black girl who after a concussion declares that she's really white, and our hero's relationship with her despite (because?) of her head trauma and his own guilt over the part he played in her accident.
But here's the real spoiler - there's a school shooting at the end, and I'm a little disappointed that this is the second book I've read with a mass school shooting where the perpetrator's reasons for doing so are related to hidden homosexuality and abuse. I mean... in fiction we do prefer there to BE a reason, but it makes me wonder why this is what two very different modern authors picked. I'm thinking of "Vernon God Little" as the other book, which is different in that the school shooting takes place before the very beginning of the narrative and is the primary impetus of the plot. "One Mississippi" deals with much more mundane dramas and trials of high school life before ending in the climactic shooting. You'd think it was the exact wrong way to go about it, but it's not. There's plenty of tension from the beginning just with a young man being pulled away from his home in Indiana to move to rural Mississippi.
But here's the real spoiler - there's a school shooting at the end, and I'm a little disappointed that this is the second book I've read with a mass school shooting where the perpetrator's reasons for doing so are related to hidden homosexuality and abuse. I mean... in fiction we do prefer there to BE a reason, but it makes me wonder why this is what two very different modern authors picked. I'm thinking of "Vernon God Little" as the other book, which is different in that the school shooting takes place before the very beginning of the narrative and is the primary impetus of the plot. "One Mississippi" deals with much more mundane dramas and trials of high school life before ending in the climactic shooting. You'd think it was the exact wrong way to go about it, but it's not. There's plenty of tension from the beginning just with a young man being pulled away from his home in Indiana to move to rural Mississippi.
boleary30's review against another edition
3.0
started off as a good coming of age story, but got trashy at the end
dmahanty's review against another edition
4.0
Great read. Kind of a coming of age story for a teenage boy from Illinois who has to move to Alamama in 1970. The characters are interesting and the plot keeps you turning pages.
lesliebossey's review against another edition
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
3.0
elvenavari's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent book. The characters were really likable and easy to connect to.
suvata's review against another edition
4.0
A great coming-of-age story that takes place in the early 1970s. I enjoyed the book and could relate to a lot of the time period references.