Scan barcode
mckinlay's review against another edition
3.0
I get why this book has meant so much to so many people. But, I feel like everyone talking about how the ending made them feel, made it pretty easy to predict what was going to happen. Especially because the first chapter is pretty telling. Also, I felt like we were TOLD Ellie and Miah were SO in love, but we weren't really shown them falling in love. So while I think it's awesome this book has meant so much to people, and how it's still super relevant today, sadly. I just didn't really connect with it, nor did I believe these two kids were truly head over heels in love... Also, in the preface the author explains this is her retelling of Romeo and Juliet, which could be a big reason why I didn't personally connect with it. I hate that play.
kingnat's review against another edition
4.0
I finished this in a day. The moment I got it at bookcon I was hooked. However, it is a story overdone and I think I’ve outgrown the typical YA romance. This bi-racial couples struggles to fit-in to each other’s lives. Although I’m a fan of a typical happy ending, I’m glad to say that Woodson leaves the reader with more than just an ending (as will I, here, at the end of my review).
reading_rachel's review against another edition
4.0
This book just broke my heart and made me cry more than anything else I’ve read recently. It’s a beautifully crafted love story with a tragic ending, that echoes such relevance today. Jacqueline Woodson is a master of storytelling.
I wish I would have read this originally in high school right after it came out — this is the kind of book I would have found so important and impactful.
I wish I would have read this originally in high school right after it came out — this is the kind of book I would have found so important and impactful.
glindaaa's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, so I don't know where to start with how to describe how I feel. The starting of this book and the meeting at the beginning between Miah and Ellie is a romance I would read a thousand pages on and be okay with. I don't like to admit it but I really like love stories and even if they are sappy. You don't hear me complaining.
I think everyone should read this, only to understand how it works, society. It might be written 20 years ago but that doesn't mean it changed. Maybe a little and maybe a lot, I don't know. It surely, in the end, made my heart stop. I don't want to think it is still like that but I am not blind.
The writing style was capturing, and this was my first book on the e-reader which is a great thing to do. It makes it very easy to read and it was highly enjoyable. I read this book thanks to the suggestion of Life's Library by John Green and can't wait to discuss it with the Cham Fam and to see the books
from the future. Which I will read on the E-reader :)
~~
After the discussion with the Cham Fam, I realized how much Marion annoys me, the fact that you as a parent are too good to call someone by a nickname even if she asks all the time and yet you are annoyed by her calling your first name. So you know the feeling? What also
The start of the book, the poem or what you call it was very beautiful, at the end it was even more beautiful and there were many things I missed when I have more time, I wouldn't mind to reread it again very soon to see perhaps more, only 181 pages is easy. But at the moment I have 4 books from the library and another 2 I need to read for an essay.
I think everyone should read this, only to understand how it works, society. It might be written 20 years ago but that doesn't mean it changed. Maybe a little and maybe a lot, I don't know. It surely, in the end, made my heart stop. I don't want to think it is still like that but I am not blind.
The writing style was capturing, and this was my first book on the e-reader which is a great thing to do. It makes it very easy to read and it was highly enjoyable. I read this book thanks to the suggestion of Life's Library by John Green and can't wait to discuss it with the Cham Fam and to see the books
from the future. Which I will read on the E-reader :)
~~
After the discussion with the Cham Fam, I realized how much Marion annoys me, the fact that you as a parent are too good to call someone by a nickname even if she asks all the time and yet you are annoyed by her calling your first name. So you know the feeling? What also
Spoiler
surprised me is how Anne reacts. You are a lesbian, you know hardship about judgmental suggestions because of your own feelings and yet you can be racist to something that might not be completely the same but that can have hardship only because of another skin colour. I expected that she would know, would understand because I understand she is careful but it is also very narrow-minded. It was really disappointing, which I understand why Ellie feels it this way.The start of the book, the poem or what you call it was very beautiful, at the end it was even more beautiful and there were many things I missed when I have more time, I wouldn't mind to reread it again very soon to see perhaps more, only 181 pages is easy. But at the moment I have 4 books from the library and another 2 I need to read for an essay.
_reedmylife_'s review against another edition
5.0
This book has been what I have been looking for. I wanted a book that talked about the truths of being in an interracial couple and this book delivered. The challenges and beauty of being a black and white couple in this society were shown perfectly. This book was filled with love, tragedy, and feelings/moments I cannot even describe.
The power of this novel is unlike most books I have ever read. In the 180 pages, Woodson created a retelling that will be long remembered.
The power of this novel is unlike most books I have ever read. In the 180 pages, Woodson created a retelling that will be long remembered.
crescent_just's review against another edition
4.0
This is so heartbreaking. Beautiful but heartbreaking. I knew something like this would happen, I just didn't expect this to be so heartless.
Good book, really sad.
Good book, really sad.
ljesica's review against another edition
5.0
This one was beautiful. Tragic, but beautiful.
This book was written in 1998. It was both ahead of it's time and sadly still current. Ellie is a 15 year old Jewish girl in NY. Her dad is a doctor and her mom stays at home. She's the youngest child by a long shot, so she's basically an only child. And she gets lonely sometimes.
Jeremiah or Miah is a 15 year old black man. His father is an Oscar nominated director and his mom has published 3 books. He is an only child. And he wishes for someone to talk to, someone who would just get him.
On their first day of school, they literally bump in to each other. It takes only a minute - him helping gather her books and telling her his name, and they both start falling.
They get looks when they're out together. An old lady in Central Park asks Ellie if she's ok. Ellie tells her sister about Miah and gets silence and then never tells her parents. Miah's mom embraces Ellie immediately but he never tells his dad.
It's a short read but beautiful. Ellie and Miah and true, unspoiled young love. But of course the ending is tragic.
I wish I could say these things only happened in the 90s. But we're currently watching a trial where the judge thinks it's ok to ban "Black Pastors" from the courtroom after a modern lynching. I really hope that one day Miah and Ellie's dream can come true and we can finally just see people instead of color.
This book was written in 1998. It was both ahead of it's time and sadly still current. Ellie is a 15 year old Jewish girl in NY. Her dad is a doctor and her mom stays at home. She's the youngest child by a long shot, so she's basically an only child. And she gets lonely sometimes.
Jeremiah or Miah is a 15 year old black man. His father is an Oscar nominated director and his mom has published 3 books. He is an only child. And he wishes for someone to talk to, someone who would just get him.
On their first day of school, they literally bump in to each other. It takes only a minute - him helping gather her books and telling her his name, and they both start falling.
They get looks when they're out together. An old lady in Central Park asks Ellie if she's ok. Ellie tells her sister about Miah and gets silence and then never tells her parents. Miah's mom embraces Ellie immediately but he never tells his dad.
It's a short read but beautiful. Ellie and Miah and true, unspoiled young love. But of course the ending is tragic.
I wish I could say these things only happened in the 90s. But we're currently watching a trial where the judge thinks it's ok to ban "Black Pastors" from the courtroom after a modern lynching. I really hope that one day Miah and Ellie's dream can come true and we can finally just see people instead of color.
mkgbookgirl97's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 only because the ending was so abrupt and heart crushing.... this book effectively discusses injustices that biracial couples face along with other aspects of racism. The flow of the book was lyrically stunning! I’d recommend getting a copy of the audio version of this book. I promise you will not regret it!
thewinterizzy's review against another edition
4.0
2/30 of 2019.
#31. Book recommended, but not written, by an author you love.
Also a Life's Library pick.
I knew going into it that this book would have a sad ending, and I think that sort of set me up for less of an impact? I didn't know what was going to happen, but I knew something was going to happen. I was surprised that Miah's final chapter still got to me though (truth be told I don't really cry during books/movies); it was just heartbreaking reading him running and running and being so enamored with Ellie and their relationship, and then it's all stripped away from him just because of his skin color.
It's worse knowing that genuinely happens, today, in real life, despite that this book was published twenty years ago. There were definitely some bits in this book that made me miss my childhood, like having just one phone on a cord in the kitchen, but this still felt like a story that could have been told today. It feels both magical and sad that Woodson could capture this twenty years ago and it still speaks relevancy today.
I enjoyed the focus on each of Ellie and Miah's family lives too. To borrow from discussion in Life's Library, it felt important to understand their home life to better understand how they interacted with each other or why they felt how they did.
Overall, it's a pretty quick read, and enjoyable. It's a very quiet sort of story. Considering its title, that feels appropriate. :)
#31. Book recommended, but not written, by an author you love.
Also a Life's Library pick.
I knew going into it that this book would have a sad ending, and I think that sort of set me up for less of an impact? I didn't know what was going to happen, but I knew something was going to happen. I was surprised that Miah's final chapter still got to me though (truth be told I don't really cry during books/movies); it was just heartbreaking reading him running and running and being so enamored with Ellie and their relationship, and then it's all stripped away from him just because of his skin color.
It's worse knowing that genuinely happens, today, in real life, despite that this book was published twenty years ago. There were definitely some bits in this book that made me miss my childhood, like having just one phone on a cord in the kitchen, but this still felt like a story that could have been told today. It feels both magical and sad that Woodson could capture this twenty years ago and it still speaks relevancy today.
I enjoyed the focus on each of Ellie and Miah's family lives too. To borrow from discussion in Life's Library, it felt important to understand their home life to better understand how they interacted with each other or why they felt how they did.
Overall, it's a pretty quick read, and enjoyable. It's a very quiet sort of story. Considering its title, that feels appropriate. :)
chivon's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful and Informative. Emotional and joyous and heartfelt. The issues here are still present and I recommend this to all and all ages . Great story .