A review by booktribe
Things We Couldn't Say by Jay Coles

emotional 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

4.0

I enjoyed this a lot! My favorite part about this book is that it showed the hood from a very loving pov. There’s good and bad about the hood, but it really is a community and this book showed that. 

And I really appreciated this quote in relation to the gang that runs the neighborhood: “They’re more like the Avengers of the hood. All they want to do is protect The Haven, but sometimes they make bad choices and fuck shit up. But so did Cap and Iron Man and Thor.” We never get the same grace for our bad decisions as white people do. 

I loved Gio and his relationship with Theo, his little brother. I need to see more sibling relationships like this because it was so heartwarming. I also really loved Malik, Karina, Ayesha, and Ms. Diane. There were some amazing characters in this story! I didn’t feel a lot toward the love interest though. I thought he reacted very badly to a situation within the story and I just could never get over it🤷🏽‍♀️

Overall I just really enjoyed this book and I think it deserves way more hype!🙌🏽
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