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A review by bookph1le
The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson
4.0
4.5 stars
There is so much packed into this book that I think it will take me a long time to digest it. Yet as packed as it is, I don't think it was overstuffed, and the issues it presents feel like an organic part of the narrative.
I think what struck me the most about this book was the contrast between Corey and Midnight, and how Midnight just did not understand the implications of his actions. As a reader, his white privilege was so clear to me, but he definitely did not recognize it. It really drove home for me how much work white Americans need to do to better understand where POC are coming from, and how different their life experiences are from our own because of race. It was very chilling to me to see how Midnight's ignorance of Corey's reality often placed his friend in real peril. It drives home how virulent racism is, of course, bad, but ignorance isn't much better.
The only thing I didn't like as much about the book was the way Xavier reacted to Ruth's secret. I felt like he was judging her without trying to understand where she was coming from, and I would have liked to see this addressed more.
There is so much packed into this book that I think it will take me a long time to digest it. Yet as packed as it is, I don't think it was overstuffed, and the issues it presents feel like an organic part of the narrative.
I think what struck me the most about this book was the contrast between Corey and Midnight, and how Midnight just did not understand the implications of his actions. As a reader, his white privilege was so clear to me, but he definitely did not recognize it. It really drove home for me how much work white Americans need to do to better understand where POC are coming from, and how different their life experiences are from our own because of race. It was very chilling to me to see how Midnight's ignorance of Corey's reality often placed his friend in real peril. It drives home how virulent racism is, of course, bad, but ignorance isn't much better.
The only thing I didn't like as much about the book was the way Xavier reacted to Ruth's secret. I felt like he was judging her without trying to understand where she was coming from, and I would have liked to see this addressed more.