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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
The topic of this book is fantastic, but sadly the author wasn't able to touch me. It was all too rushed in my opinion. Elie is 14, knows Miah for like a month and talks about marrying him and stuff. Was a little over the top for my taste
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
4/5 - Short but sad book.
Some of the dialogue was a bit odd, like both characters calling their dad "daddy" which is different than what most kids would call their dads today.
The story was SUPER short which makes it a good read but can be bad for understanding the characters. I felt like I didn't understand the characters that well and I definitely knew nothing about them.
The ending was SO sad and I wish that wasn't how it ended but I get that author wanted to make a statement with it, so I appreciate it. I just wish we knew what happened though, like who shot him and the implications of that for Miah's family and Ellie and also for police brutality, etc.
Some of the dialogue was a bit odd, like both characters calling their dad "daddy" which is different than what most kids would call their dads today.
The story was SUPER short which makes it a good read but can be bad for understanding the characters. I felt like I didn't understand the characters that well and I definitely knew nothing about them.
The ending was SO sad and I wish that wasn't how it ended but I get that author wanted to make a statement with it, so I appreciate it. I just wish we knew what happened though, like who shot him and the implications of that for Miah's family and Ellie and also for police brutality, etc.
It's bonkers how a story written 22 years ago could still be so applicable today. This book was important then. This book is important now.
I didn't know about Jacqueline Woodson. I don't even remember where I got the recommendation to read her books.
But I'm glad I know now.
If You Come Softly is about a Jewish girl and Black boy at a mostly white New York prep school who come together in love.
No, it's not what you think. There are some obvious ways this story could have been addressed, but Woodson chose a more lyrical, complex route than what I've come across before.
Their coming together is portrayed as a love that just is; no particular reason but that they recognize something familiar in each other. (I love how Woodson has the boy describe how he feels like the girl is wrapped inside him, inside his eyes and chest, it sounds better in the book than here, believe me)
And the parents of the two never deal with the race issue because they don't know until the very end of the book. But the portrayal of how the two love eachother as individuals while feeling confused about how they can do so while having complicated feelings for an entire race is so very poignant and true.
And much like I feel sometimes, thinking about my own husband. How is it possible for us to only love and be familiar with and treat as human in their own right one at a time from any group of people? Why, if I'm married to a Japanese man, does that make me not racist or guilty of stereotyping any subsequent Japanese men I meet?
And Woodson doesn't pull punches. The boy, does have some difficult realizations about how people treat him when he's with the girl, and realizes as well that when they're together and she stops noticing race as an issue, it isn't the same thing at all as when he stops noticing race as an issue. (She tells him that she feels 'no color' when they're together, but he realizes that he always feels 'black' and then realizes she doesn't quite understand her own whiteness)
And Woodson addressed layers of issue related to the race issue. She has a rift develop between the girl and the girl's gay sister when the sister finds out the boy she's dating is black. And in the phone conversation they have, Woodson brings up issues of how minorities can fall into the trap of propagating the mainstream prejudice eventhough they "understand" what prejudice is when directed towards themselves.
But most of all, the writing is lovely. And accessible. And compelling.
Definitely recommended for anyone who might have an interest in how race issues in relationships might be addressed by a non-white writer.
But I'm glad I know now.
If You Come Softly is about a Jewish girl and Black boy at a mostly white New York prep school who come together in love.
No, it's not what you think. There are some obvious ways this story could have been addressed, but Woodson chose a more lyrical, complex route than what I've come across before.
Their coming together is portrayed as a love that just is; no particular reason but that they recognize something familiar in each other. (I love how Woodson has the boy describe how he feels like the girl is wrapped inside him, inside his eyes and chest, it sounds better in the book than here, believe me)
And the parents of the two never deal with the race issue because they don't know until the very end of the book. But the portrayal of how the two love eachother as individuals while feeling confused about how they can do so while having complicated feelings for an entire race is so very poignant and true.
And much like I feel sometimes, thinking about my own husband. How is it possible for us to only love and be familiar with and treat as human in their own right one at a time from any group of people? Why, if I'm married to a Japanese man, does that make me not racist or guilty of stereotyping any subsequent Japanese men I meet?
And Woodson doesn't pull punches. The boy, does have some difficult realizations about how people treat him when he's with the girl, and realizes as well that when they're together and she stops noticing race as an issue, it isn't the same thing at all as when he stops noticing race as an issue. (She tells him that she feels 'no color' when they're together, but he realizes that he always feels 'black' and then realizes she doesn't quite understand her own whiteness)
And Woodson addressed layers of issue related to the race issue. She has a rift develop between the girl and the girl's gay sister when the sister finds out the boy she's dating is black. And in the phone conversation they have, Woodson brings up issues of how minorities can fall into the trap of propagating the mainstream prejudice eventhough they "understand" what prejudice is when directed towards themselves.
But most of all, the writing is lovely. And accessible. And compelling.
Definitely recommended for anyone who might have an interest in how race issues in relationships might be addressed by a non-white writer.
I was surprised how much the ending of this book affected me emotionally, since 1) I was already 98% sure how the book would end, 2) I didn't feel like we had enough time to get to know the characters very well, and 3) their relationship was very, very insta-love. But the book's quiet, understated tone and quick pace made it a bit easier to accept the lack of details in either plot or character development; it's more enjoyable if you accept it for what it is rather than focusing on what it's not.
I didn't realize until I finished that this book is 20 years old, but that explains a lot, like why Ellie's sister and her partner were having a "commitment ceremony" and why no one had cell phones. (This latter point actually didn't strike me until I was done, I think because there are no plot points that hinge on whether or not the main characters can communicate when they aren't together.) The fact that the larger issues — the drama in their families, the racism they face, the lack of diversity at their prep school — aren't much different today allowed the book to still feel (unfortunately) timely.
I thought it was interesting, and wise, that Woodson chose to make Jeremiah the son of wealthy, famous parents. It allows there to be a separation of the issues of class and race, so that it's clear what it is a consequence of racism and nothing else and we can also see where others are conflating class and race. I liked that Ellie was Jewish, and that that's a genuine part of her character — there are discussions of keeping kosher and whether her siblings are coming to visit for particular holidays — while also never being made into one of the book's Issues. I'm not sure if this was Woodson's intent, but it kind of shows that while our country does place Christianity on a pedestal, Ellie benefits from white privilege far more than Jeremiah benefits from the privilege of not being Jewish. (Or maybe I'm wrong and it's just that it's set in New York City, where being Jewish is more common than in other parts of the country.)
I do really wish that we'd gotten to see more of a relationship develop between Ellie and Jeremiah. Once they actually get together, I enjoyed the way that their feelings for each other were described — particularly how the other person made them feel safe and listened to — but everything leading up to that was like... you bumped into each other one for 5 seconds and now neither of you can stop thinking about the other? And not just like, "Huh, I can't get my mind off this person," but like, "I am going to mention to my sister/friend that there's someone I have a serious crush on even though I have only spoken to them for 5 seconds." There were enough pages and pages of daydreaming that Woodson could have used some of them to have Ellie and Jeremiah have actual, flirty, getting-to-know-you conversations before they went all in to cut class for each other.
I want to believe that the ending is unrealistic,that a police officer would shoot someone dead for nothing more than not stopping when he said "Stop," but I honestly don't think that it is... even today. Which is terrible and sad and I guess kind of the point of the book.
All in all, this was a well done book, even with the insta-love that made me roll my eyes :)
I didn't realize until I finished that this book is 20 years old, but that explains a lot, like why Ellie's sister and her partner were having a "commitment ceremony" and why no one had cell phones. (This latter point actually didn't strike me until I was done, I think because there are no plot points that hinge on whether or not the main characters can communicate when they aren't together.) The fact that the larger issues — the drama in their families, the racism they face, the lack of diversity at their prep school — aren't much different today allowed the book to still feel (unfortunately) timely.
I thought it was interesting, and wise, that Woodson chose to make Jeremiah the son of wealthy, famous parents. It allows there to be a separation of the issues of class and race, so that it's clear what it is a consequence of racism and nothing else and we can also see where others are conflating class and race. I liked that Ellie was Jewish, and that that's a genuine part of her character — there are discussions of keeping kosher and whether her siblings are coming to visit for particular holidays — while also never being made into one of the book's Issues. I'm not sure if this was Woodson's intent, but it kind of shows that while our country does place Christianity on a pedestal, Ellie benefits from white privilege far more than Jeremiah benefits from the privilege of not being Jewish. (Or maybe I'm wrong and it's just that it's set in New York City, where being Jewish is more common than in other parts of the country.)
I do really wish that we'd gotten to see more of a relationship develop between Ellie and Jeremiah. Once they actually get together, I enjoyed the way that their feelings for each other were described — particularly how the other person made them feel safe and listened to — but everything leading up to that was like... you bumped into each other one for 5 seconds and now neither of you can stop thinking about the other? And not just like, "Huh, I can't get my mind off this person," but like, "I am going to mention to my sister/friend that there's someone I have a serious crush on even though I have only spoken to them for 5 seconds." There were enough pages and pages of daydreaming that Woodson could have used some of them to have Ellie and Jeremiah have actual, flirty, getting-to-know-you conversations before they went all in to cut class for each other.
I want to believe that the ending is unrealistic,
All in all, this was a well done book, even with the insta-love that made me roll my eyes :)
emotional
reflective
sad
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
A great and important young adult novel! Written in simplicity but with great deep meaning!