A review by dominiq_ec
Lark & ​​Kasim Start a Revolution by Kacen Callender

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense slow-paced
  • 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

3.5

As a non-binary, Black, neurodivergent adult, I think that I had high hopes for this book because the main cast of characters shared a lot of identities with me. Despite this, I didn't feel like I could identify with this book much, and I'm glad I was able to finish it in two days. If it took me any longer, I was sure that I would have DNF'd it.

Unfortunately Lark's take on leftist ideology was very frustrating, and it didn't really develop alongside their personality development. Yes, they learned to love themselves and value themselves,. but they never really apologized about their cop tweet (which was entirely separate from
how they lied about the unrequited love Twitter thread
, and at the end of the book, when they finally delete their Twitter account, still claims that they're being torn apart. That's not to say that some of those tweeters weren't being unreasonably mean, but some of them were telling Lark that they were being very hurtful, and they still had to take accountability for it, which they never did. 

Kasim ... was just kind of an ass, which I was disappointed to read. Aside from him
liking / loving Lark
, he's just a kid with a complicated family situation, a complicated friend situation, and sat by while his friends bullied Lark for waaaay too long, in my opinion. 

I felt that Sable and Jamal were a bit ignored. Perhaps I'm biased because they are my favorite characters, along with Birdie, but Jamal isn't really addressed outside of Lark causing and then resolving conflict. Sable
becomes a love interest
in the last 60ish pages of the book, and I think that considering Lark's frustrating aspects/conflicts takes up almost half of the book, I don't think that Sable and Lark's relationship had proper development when it should have.

The Big Red Rally seemed unnecessary. Sure, its an opportunity for Lark to understand how they can put their politics into action, but it just kinda ... hovers. It disrupts the queer Black utopia the setting has. And now that I've mentioned it ...

The entire community center being tolerant of queer / polyam folks never read as realistic to me. Now, I don't live in West Philadelphia (I just realized that's where Fresh Prince takes place), but I can assume that it's probably like the rest of the country in that there's diversity in ideology. Queer insular friend groups makes sense. Queer Black insular friend groups makes sense! A queer...community center...that I assume is open to the public? Less believable. Of course, the community center could have a no-tolerance policy, but considering the amount of public and one-on-one bullying that Lark experienced, the students obviously don't care too much about it.

I'm not even marginally obsessed with social media, nor do I have issues with how others perceive me. I'm very Kasim in that way, so the majority of Lark's issues I didn't relate to. The entire time, I kept thinking "delete your Twitter account," or "Why the hell do you care?" I definitely understand why Lark thought and acted the way that they did, and how their identities fed into their thoughts and actions, but it just...didn't resonate. Like Jamal, I like streamlining my time doing things I like to do, and if social media was that much of a trouble from me, I'd delete it and move on. 

Now, to what I loved.

The writing style was magnificent! I feel a certain type of way about modern slang being forced into young adult books, but it felt really natural in this novel! I also think that the long sentences and random topic changes accurately reflect how my own anxiety and hyperverbal autism works. It was wonderful to feel seen in that way. 

Jamal and Sable. My favorite characters, hands down. Enough said. 

Despite becoming increasingly disinterested in Lark's perspective (I'd quite prefer it had been in Kasim's perspective), I do think that their process in changing and adjusting their behaviors into being less harmful and more assertive was wonderful to read. I think that this was what made me want to finish the book, and I'm so glad it ended this way (it could've been quicker though, but I'm generally impatient). 

The cover art??? It's why I picked it up at my local library, despite the fact that the summary was ... confusing. Wow, love. Will be buying some of the artist's pieces when I can. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings