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A review by howard
The Free People's Village by Sim Kern
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really wanted to like this, and I did like most of it.
The most impressive thing this book does is have political conversations in real time between characters with different political opinions. This is a great way to cover these topics and gives the reader different viewpoints to consider, though there is usually a character who the text clearly thinks is "right".
I also really liked the characters. Everyone felt really fleshed out and real, even the characters who were assholes or I didn't like I felt like I understood where they were coming from/why they are the way they are. Gestas is a gem I love him.
I'm not sure how the narrator Maddie reads to BIPOC. As a white person who has been on a journey of anti-racist awakening, I sometimes related to and found Maddie sympathetic. I liked her, and I think a lot of white people will see themselves in her, problematic though she is.
The way this book is told is really weird. It's told as a memoir retelling of the events 5 years after they happened. In part 1 it bounces back and forth between timelines 6 months apart, but it also reminds you that it's being told from the future. This whole device felt really clunky to me and every time we were reminded of this narrative device I kind of rolled my eyes.
The last 40 pages are where it really fell off for me. The story of the Free People's Village as a character ends pretty abruptly and the rest of the book is wrapped up in Maddie's personal life and a "where are they now" montage of all the rest of the characters. While Maddie's personal life was present throughout the book, it definitely took a backseat to what I though of as the main plot; the Free People's Village and it's legacy (although thinking about this now maybe that's not fair because part 1 is mostly about Maddie? idk it just felt like a really abrupt tone change)
The final pages are basically a manifesto about activism and why it is important to continue doing the work even though it can feel hopeless. Unlike the earlier conversations with multiple POVs this felt more like a force fed moral of the story with no room for the reader to use their own critical thinking. While this isn't unimportant, I think there could have been a better way to handle the ending.
The most impressive thing this book does is have political conversations in real time between characters with different political opinions. This is a great way to cover these topics and gives the reader different viewpoints to consider, though there is usually a character who the text clearly thinks is "right".
I also really liked the characters. Everyone felt really fleshed out and real, even the characters who were assholes or I didn't like I felt like I understood where they were coming from/why they are the way they are. Gestas is a gem I love him.
I'm not sure how the narrator Maddie reads to BIPOC. As a white person who has been on a journey of anti-racist awakening, I sometimes related to and found Maddie sympathetic. I liked her, and I think a lot of white people will see themselves in her, problematic though she is.
The way this book is told is really weird. It's told as a memoir retelling of the events 5 years after they happened. In part 1 it bounces back and forth between timelines 6 months apart, but it also reminds you that it's being told from the future. This whole device felt really clunky to me and every time we were reminded of this narrative device I kind of rolled my eyes.
The last 40 pages are where it really fell off for me. The story of the Free People's Village as a character ends pretty abruptly and the rest of the book is wrapped up in Maddie's personal life and a "where are they now" montage of all the rest of the characters. While Maddie's personal life was present throughout the book, it definitely took a backseat to what I though of as the main plot; the Free People's Village and it's legacy (although thinking about this now maybe that's not fair because part 1 is mostly about Maddie? idk it just felt like a really abrupt tone change)
The final pages are basically a manifesto about activism and why it is important to continue doing the work even though it can feel hopeless. Unlike the earlier conversations with multiple POVs this felt more like a force fed moral of the story with no room for the reader to use their own critical thinking. While this isn't unimportant, I think there could have been a better way to handle the ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, and Police brutality
Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Animal death, Classism, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, and War