Reviews

Such a powerful lens into the experience of black communities in a time of increasing gun violence and cultural, socio-economic ostracism. The young-adult perspective makes this story relatable for all ages.

steffski's review against another edition

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4.0

Very good novel format of a lot of the race problems happening right now.

peaknit's review against another edition

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5.0

The book offered me perspective, and is relevant to the world we live in now. I feel that it showed me a bigger picture of the Black Lives Matter movement, in a way that was interesting, thought and empathy provoking. I felt it offered a realistic view of what life may look like for black teens in urban areas. The main character, Starr Carter, is trying to balance her life at private school and her life in a poor, crime ridden neighborhood. She bears witness to something that changes her community, done so very well but also, a hard pill to swallow. I think the book also does a good job of giving the reader a glimpse into The kids' lives, that in spite of the war zone it seems they endure they are kids, just kids with normal growing pains. It was very relatable. I would encourage my teenager to read this with the warning there is a fair amount of cursing, but I expect swearing is pretty commonplace for teens everywhere, my 17 year old would not be offended...:) lastly, the narrator was amazing!

yketh's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

aromanticass's review

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adventurous emotional inspiring sad 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? No

4.5

meleficent929's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

vyhurz's review against another edition

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3.0

I can't really say I enjoyed this story, and that's for a number of reasons. The plot of this book focuses on Starr, who was with a black boy named Khalil when he is murdered by a white police officer. Throughout the book, she has to deal with the trauma of that and with, basically, living in a racist society and bringing together two different worlds - she goes to a wealthy, all-white school yet lives in an all-black "hood." Starr goes through a lot, and it's tough and dark and unpleasant. She has good times with friends and family, of course, but there's a lot of darkness here. I guess I had two main issues with this book. One would be that the darkness, the trauma, is handled almost casually, and when Starr does have outbursts, it feels over-the-top. This book is taking on a very complex issue that is intertwined in our culture in more ways than can be described, and yet there's little nuance or subtlety reflected in this story. I think the reason for that is due to my second issue with the book: I really disliked the writing. It felt stilted, unedited, shallow, amateur. In creative writing classes I've taken, professors would always say, "Show, don't tell." All this book does is tell. The language is clunky and unpolished. It was seriously a chore to read this book, and every time I went to pick it up, I was not excited due solely to the poor writing. I feel bad saying this because I think this story is important and should be told and should be published and should be read, but this may be some of the worst writing I've encountered.

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