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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
I am literally in tears right now. This book is just....HEART WRENCHING AND AWESOME. While I was reading this book it brought up feelings of when I was in high school and I had no type of connection with my parents. This brought back memories of when I felt so alone and was constantly seeking attention elsewhere because I was not getting it from my parents at the time. When I was feeling alone and depressed someone came into my life unexpectedly and that person today is now my fiance. He made me feel loved and appreciated and on top of that he was there just to listen to what I was going through because during that time my grandmother had died from lung cancer and I think to myself that when I lost her...I ended up with a person that loved me just as much as my grandmother did. This book speaks volumes and it pretty much is my life story in a book except the ending. I had a feeling that since it is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet I knew something was going to go down.
A classic yet not cliched love story about two teens from different backgrounds who fall in love. A heartwarming and heartbreaking tale that fills you with hope and crushes it by the end.
It’s one of the only books to ever have me hanging onto the edge of my seat. I couldn’t put the book down, and I ended up reading it in one sitting. Be prepared for a heartbreaking, yet timeless story.
*this review might contain some MINOR SPOILERS*
I heard about this book when the twentieth anniversary edition came out, and some booktuber that I was following back then, had just finished reading it. Since then, this book was sitting on my GR shelf under “want to desperately buy.”
I finally managed to pick this one up, after four odd years and it’s not that I am disappointed, it’s just that I’ve read better. For when it was written and the time period, it is a remarkable book that portrays some strong racial prejudices interspersed with real events that occur to this date. However, only because it is considered a Morden classic now, doesn’t mean I will like it. Don’t get me wrong, the ending broke my heart. However, the writing was so lack lustre, and the plotting did not focus enough on the romance and in building the characters together.
The story essentially follows Ellie and Miah, two high school kids who come from pretty much the same financial status (rich kids) but Ellie is white and Jewish, whereas Miah (Jeremiah) is Black. The book digs deep into stereotypical, racist boxes that African Americans are often put into. Miah’s mother is a three time best seller novelist, and his father is a famous movie director, and yet when people see him walking with a white girl, they assume that he’s a threat and is harassing her. Woodson writes race and family complexities tactfully. However, the selling point of the book is the “forbidden romance” between the two main characters, and somehow through it all I could only imagine them separately and not together at all. Their chemistry was non existent. Miah asks to kiss Ellie on the first date, and the whole thing seemed very insta-lovey. He talks about marriage and running away within the first few dates, and Ellie’s silence (which is explained as shyness) towards his advances are very uncomfortable to read. In certain earlier scenes Miah literally does not ask her a single question, without answering it himself, which really rubbed me the wrong way. How can I root for two people’s tragic love, when I don’t root for them to be together in the first place?
Again, these could all be because of the variety of literature I’ve read since this book was published, but
inconsistencies within the main romance was very off putting. I would’ve enjoyed it much better if it was exploring a friendship rather than a romance.
I heard about this book when the twentieth anniversary edition came out, and some booktuber that I was following back then, had just finished reading it. Since then, this book was sitting on my GR shelf under “want to desperately buy.”
I finally managed to pick this one up, after four odd years and it’s not that I am disappointed, it’s just that I’ve read better. For when it was written and the time period, it is a remarkable book that portrays some strong racial prejudices interspersed with real events that occur to this date. However, only because it is considered a Morden classic now, doesn’t mean I will like it. Don’t get me wrong, the ending broke my heart. However, the writing was so lack lustre, and the plotting did not focus enough on the romance and in building the characters together.
The story essentially follows Ellie and Miah, two high school kids who come from pretty much the same financial status (rich kids) but Ellie is white and Jewish, whereas Miah (Jeremiah) is Black. The book digs deep into stereotypical, racist boxes that African Americans are often put into. Miah’s mother is a three time best seller novelist, and his father is a famous movie director, and yet when people see him walking with a white girl, they assume that he’s a threat and is harassing her. Woodson writes race and family complexities tactfully. However, the selling point of the book is the “forbidden romance” between the two main characters, and somehow through it all I could only imagine them separately and not together at all. Their chemistry was non existent. Miah asks to kiss Ellie on the first date, and the whole thing seemed very insta-lovey. He talks about marriage and running away within the first few dates, and Ellie’s silence (which is explained as shyness) towards his advances are very uncomfortable to read. In certain earlier scenes Miah literally does not ask her a single question, without answering it himself, which really rubbed me the wrong way. How can I root for two people’s tragic love, when I don’t root for them to be together in the first place?
Again, these could all be because of the variety of literature I’ve read since this book was published, but
inconsistencies within the main romance was very off putting. I would’ve enjoyed it much better if it was exploring a friendship rather than a romance.
In honor of Black History Month, I have been trying to read more books written by black authors. I have seen this book on social media and decided to take a chance reading this new to me author.
I really liked Miah and Elle. They were complex but simple at the same time. They are a newly interracial couple and face several challenges. I loved the way the story was developing and just when I thought I had everything figured out, the damn rug was pulled from under my feet and I was left stunned.
Woodson shocked me to my core with this short but powerful story and even though it was written twenty years ago it still relates to issues in society today.
I really liked Miah and Elle. They were complex but simple at the same time. They are a newly interracial couple and face several challenges. I loved the way the story was developing and just when I thought I had everything figured out, the damn rug was pulled from under my feet and I was left stunned.
Woodson shocked me to my core with this short but powerful story and even though it was written twenty years ago it still relates to issues in society today.
I just had to cry after reading this book. The author did a great job foreshadowing what would happen to Jeremiah. I truly truly hate that we live in a society where our lives do not matter.
The book is a poignant and beautiful of two young people in love. However, the world does not want them together. This book elicited many emotions and ideas. The story is as relevant now as it was 20 years ago. Reading this book will challenge you.
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes