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michaelion's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
tense
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
4.0
I'd like to reiterate what I said in my review of Pet. Which I will not repeat here but it still stands. I liked, nay, LOVED Vengeance. And the worldbuilding in this sequel / prequel is just so rich. Not that they have to, but Emezi could run wild with this world alone and never be broke again. It's so beautiful, it's so refreshing. Pet was so warm and sweet and this was so dark and sultry... Bitter if I may. But both books, despite how different they feel, smell, sound, despite how different the in-universe world is barely a generation later, both taste like eating really good dark chocolate. For me. I say this because I love dark chocolate. And I did eat a few while reading, but because the world already made me think of the flavor! What I mean is the world itself is rich, flavorful, colorful, and even though the books are different they have the same heart.
Emezi has a real talent, a real beauty in absorbing me into these words. There was one page I gasped at least 10 times, just one page! And throughout the whole book I was so giddy. But can you blame me? A straight (presenting(?)) couple so gay they grow to have a trans daughter? I love it here! We have no choice but to stan! If there's a third book I'm sending Emezi my paycheck the day the book is announced.
Emezi has a real talent, a real beauty in absorbing me into these words. There was one page I gasped at least 10 times, just one page! And throughout the whole book I was so giddy. But can you blame me? A straight (presenting(?)) couple so gay they grow to have a trans daughter? I love it here! We have no choice but to stan! If there's a third book I'm sending Emezi my paycheck the day the book is announced.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Classism, Death, and Police brutality
Moderate: Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Violence, and War
Minor: Homophobia
bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
4.0
Glad I picked this one back up when I did!
Bitter is a strange, somewhat biblical, beautiful little book about revolution and the power of art. Unsurprisingly, it was right up my alley. I knew I would enjoy it because I loved Pet and because everything Akwaeke Emezi writes has a little bit of magic in it, but this one really came through. I loved the characters and their relationships and all of the conversations about what it means to be an activist and the different roles that different people play in revolution. All of that was stunning.
The actual depictions of activism were definitely kind of lacking. Why were all of the organizers teenagers? Why weren’t they more informed? My activist organizer friend was very annoyed by this, and now I am also annoyed.
The pacing was also kind of off, especially at the end.
Honestly I enjoyed this book a lot when I first read it, but in retrospect, I want a lot more. Of course the story is focused on Bitter and her personal growth, but after reading Pet, I definitely expected the prequel to show how society actually got to that more utopian state. Instead, all of the changes happen at the very end, very quickly, off-page. And of course change is still a process, but generally I’m not convinced that this book did an amazing job of either portraying activism or setting up the book it’s a prequel for.
I still enjoyed the story and loved the characters, though. I’m especially glad that Bitter had Blessing and Aloe in her life.
Bitter is a strange, somewhat biblical, beautiful little book about revolution and the power of art. Unsurprisingly, it was right up my alley. I knew I would enjoy it because I loved Pet and because everything Akwaeke Emezi writes has a little bit of magic in it, but this one really came through. I loved the characters and their relationships and all of the conversations about what it means to be an activist and the different roles that different people play in revolution. All of that was stunning.
The actual depictions of activism were definitely kind of lacking. Why were all of the organizers teenagers? Why weren’t they more informed? My activist organizer friend was very annoyed by this, and now I am also annoyed.
The pacing was also kind of off, especially at the end.
Honestly I enjoyed this book a lot when I first read it, but in retrospect, I want a lot more. Of course the story is focused on Bitter and her personal growth, but after reading Pet, I definitely expected the prequel to show how society actually got to that more utopian state. Instead, all of the changes happen at the very end, very quickly, off-page. And of course change is still a process, but generally I’m not convinced that this book did an amazing job of either portraying activism or setting up the book it’s a prequel for.
I still enjoyed the story and loved the characters, though. I’m especially glad that Bitter had Blessing and Aloe in her life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Racism, Gun violence, Homophobia, Police brutality, and Child abuse
sarah984's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
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? It's complicated
4.5
I liked this a lot, but it suffered a bit from inevitably being compared to Pet, which I loved. The writing style in Bitter is a little more grounded, a kind of standard YA writing where the lessons in the text are stated outright. Because this is set in pre (and during) revolution Lucille there are more real-world parallels. Some of these worked for me and some didn't. I liked the characters and the basic outline of the story but things got a bit muddled toward the end for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Police brutality
Minor: Racism, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Infidelity, Child abuse, Bullying, Cursing, and Death of parent
calamitywindpetal's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death
Moderate: Self harm, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Police brutality, Blood, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Murder, and Drug use
Minor: Mass/school shootings, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Bullying
beforeviolets's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-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? Yes
4.0
Thank you Random House Childrens Books and Team Underlined for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review!
Akwaeke Emezi writes modern day bible stories. Simultaneously a mirror of our own society and a warning sign of a future that could be, this book is the voice of a revolution.
CW: police brutality, self harm (for magic), blood, gore, death, violence, gun violence, domestic child abuse (past), homophobia (past, mention)
Akwaeke Emezi writes modern day bible stories. Simultaneously a mirror of our own society and a warning sign of a future that could be, this book is the voice of a revolution.
CW: police brutality, self harm (for magic), blood, gore, death, violence, gun violence, domestic child abuse (past), homophobia (past, mention)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, Self harm, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Death and Child abuse
Minor: Homophobia
sonaea's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
One of the best descriptions of activism and activists I've yet read. Also, awesome representation, strong women and even a bit critical of the system (a lot, but only a bit is really mentioned).
My only critical points are of the storytelling-kind: Some of the conflicts between the characters that first seem huge are suddenly not important at all anymore. They forgive and forget and while they do talk about it, it's easily solved (especially thinking aboutthe last conflict between Bitter and Aloe - first they don't seem to even care about the others feelings, being all angry with each other and stuff, not listening to each other, then suddenly they're all reflected and make up again - that's not healthy, and honestly I don't think that's how it works for long irl. Please reflect before you start accusing each other of things ). Also, the writing style could have been better, but it was a good read nonetheless.
My only critical points are of the storytelling-kind: Some of the conflicts between the characters that first seem huge are suddenly not important at all anymore. They forgive and forget and while they do talk about it, it's easily solved (especially thinking about
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Gun violence, War, Racism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder
Minor: Homophobia, Violence, Ableism, and Death of parent
caidyn's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.0
I loved how this book touched on Jam's parents and how Lucille came to be. It also felt so much like what we're going through now. The civil unrest, the police brutality, and the monopoly of Jeff Bezos. While I didn't enjoy this as much as Pet, this was still a great read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Medical trauma, Police brutality, and Violence
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