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jcstokes95's review
challenging
emotional
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? Yes
4.25
This books got me our of a truly dreadful reading slump and for that, I am eternally grateful. Here's our summary. CJ is a somewhat average, aimless high schooler who's found a new hobby in arranging flowers at her family store. The store has had a difficult history, after being bought by a White family and sold back to CJ's family in a shady deal after Japanese internment ended in the US. When the same family end up making an offer on the floundering business in present day, CJ is ready to fight back, despite her mother's wishes.
I'm doing a list review (w/ spoilers) because my brain can't organize all the things I like here:
-> CJ is an excellent teenager and incredibly relatable. Both her self-doubt in her academic abilities and her feeling of aimlessness. And her self-confidence in her looks. Seriously, can you think of another YA book where the female MC is like...actually, I'm kind of hot and okay with it. I lived for this moment.
-> The abortion story line has no waffling about guilt. The decision gets made and no one is a treacherous killer or a heartbroken weakling. This feels like a rarity in any media for young people.
-> The villains are actually villains. And therefore, I can actually agree when CJ rises up against them. The McAllisters are actually dumpy shitheads. Brynn is actually the queen of micro-aggressions. CJs mom is...I mean, the worst. Controversial opinion, I actually feel like CJ could have gone further in pushing back on her mother's choices. The choices are real yikes. But I appreciated that the author gave us the nuances that CJ's aunt Hannah is not angelic either. That leads me to my favorite thing about this books:
-> This book works, how the real world works. In the real world, couples who break up because of misunderstanding, don't get back together. Billionaires don't apologize for their racism. Activist movement never get real answers for their causes. And mothers and daughters don't always connect effortlessly. It's an incredibly messy world we live in. And it feels like CJ lives in the real world.
-> This has some excellent example of microaggressions. It's showing you the larger scale issue through the McAllister's theft of Asian businesses. And then the small scale of Brynn talking over her Asian peers. I feel like this would be a great book to teach because you could bring these big issues to the small scale for young people who don't yet know what to name these experiences.
I'm doing a list review (w/ spoilers) because my brain can't organize all the things I like here:
-> CJ is an excellent teenager and incredibly relatable. Both her self-doubt in her academic abilities and her feeling of aimlessness. And her self-confidence in her looks. Seriously, can you think of another YA book where the female MC is like...actually, I'm kind of hot and okay with it. I lived for this moment.
-> The abortion story line has no waffling about guilt. The decision gets made and no one is a treacherous killer or a heartbroken weakling. This feels like a rarity in any media for young people.
-> The villains are actually villains. And therefore, I can actually agree when CJ rises up against them. The McAllisters are actually dumpy shitheads. Brynn is actually the queen of micro-aggressions. CJs mom is...I mean, the worst. Controversial opinion, I actually feel like CJ could have gone further in pushing back on her mother's choices. The choices are real yikes. But I appreciated that the author gave us the nuances that CJ's aunt Hannah is not angelic either. That leads me to my favorite thing about this books:
-> This book works, how the real world works. In the real world, couples who break up because of misunderstanding, don't get back together. Billionaires don't apologize for their racism. Activist movement never get real answers for their causes. And mothers and daughters don't always connect effortlessly. It's an incredibly messy world we live in. And it feels like CJ lives in the real world.
-> This has some excellent example of microaggressions. It's showing you the larger scale issue through the McAllister's theft of Asian businesses. And then the small scale of Brynn talking over her Asian peers. I feel like this would be a great book to teach because you could bring these big issues to the small scale for young people who don't yet know what to name these experiences.
Content Warnings
Minor: Abortion, Racism, and Confinement
deenice2819's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Pregnancy and Abortion
Minor: Confinement, Drug use, Genocide, Outing, Homophobia, and Bullying
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