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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
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:
Yes
4.5
I had a feeling that was going to happen...
This is a beautiful book, I'd definitely recommend it. It really makes you think about how society can be even in the present day, and how everyone sort of turns a blind eye.
I had a feeling that was going to happen...
This is a beautiful book, I'd definitely recommend it. It really makes you think about how society can be even in the present day, and how everyone sort of turns a blind eye.
Ellie’s mothers had abandoned the family twice before, leaving them to fend for themselves. Going to a new school does not help with her feelings of security. It was bad enough that Jeremiah’s well known parents had separated, but then his father decided to send him to a primarily white private school. Jeremiah felt like he didn’t quite fit in except in his neighborhood hanging with his childhood friends. But when he saw her, everything felt right. Would the world around them accept them as a couple? Jacqueline Woodson alternates between Jeremiah and Ellie’s views moving you quickly through this love story. If you come softly by Jacqueline Woodson explores the feelings of a couple coping with society’s views of how things ought to be.
This book will make me think about it for a long long time. Beautiful and heartbreaking. Unfortunately timeless and relevant 20 years after having been written.
Book 1 of life’s library book club.
Book 1 of life’s library book club.
I read this book over a decade ago and it remains one of the books I think about often. It’s an important read.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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:
No
As a black woman married to a white man who was not too far behind the ages of Miah and Ellie at the time this was written--and who was on the brink of my own interracial relationship--I was hit hard and heavy by the weight of this young love and the trickiness of navigating it in public where not all parties take kindly to loving who we love. I recognize there's a uniquiness that comes to every interracial couple's story, and I know it can make a difference (to our society) which sex is which race. It was really something to read that story unfold between two adolescents trying to figure out what to do with all those feelings and dynamics. My only disappointment is that I hadn't been aware of this book when I was in the thick of things in my youth.
What if Romeo was black and Juliet was white and they went to the same Private School in New York? I have joined John Green's book club (because I just can't help it): Life's library. This was the first read and it was utterly beautiful, heartbreaking and for a twenty year old book almost terrifyingly up to date. If you like YA, read this book.
“Time comes to us softly, slowly. It sits beside us for a while. Then, long before we are ready, it moves on.”
A short heartbreaking and bittersweet read about star-crossed young love. So much is explored in this regarding family dynamics, race, abandonment, and time. Beautiful writing, as well. 5 stars. ✨
A short heartbreaking and bittersweet read about star-crossed young love. So much is explored in this regarding family dynamics, race, abandonment, and time. Beautiful writing, as well. 5 stars. ✨
Both Ellie (Elisha) and Miah (Jermiah) attend Percy Academy a private high school where neither of them feel like they fit in. Miah is one of the few Black students at the school while Ellie is struggling to understand her family history now that she's older. After a first awkward meeting they meet again and start falling in love. As they start to realize they're serious about each other they struggle with no wanting to share their relationship with others. But before they can really make a choice life makes it for them.
I really enjoyed this book; the writing was well done and I liked the differences in both characters family lives. It’s a classic love story with teens in love only the way teens can be. A solid choice for someone looking for romance with depth.
I really enjoyed this book; the writing was well done and I liked the differences in both characters family lives. It’s a classic love story with teens in love only the way teens can be. A solid choice for someone looking for romance with depth.