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A review by froon
When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen
2.0
the writing style *really* didn’t work for me. there was a particular scene on page 64 that pissed me off, where mira asks one of the bartenders her name⏤which she gives to mira despite the workers being told not to⏤and then the narration continues to call her “the girl at the bar.” imagine how much more impactful that could’ve been if the narrative gave her a name, instead of just relegating her to her job.
also so much was deeply underdeveloped. the emotions, other than the obvious horror the reader feels at the descriptions of slavery, were shallow. i didn’t believe jesse and mira really loved each other. i didn’t believe that there was any world where celine’s wedding invitation would have been accepted by either mira or jesse because i didn’t believe in their friendship.
the way the sentences and scenes moved together also felt a bit disjointed and clumsy. for example, jesse will stop walking then he will start walking again. the act of jesse stopping added nothing to the story, so i struggle to see the relevance of mentioning it. of course, this happening once or twice wouldn’t mean anything, but⏤especially towards the end of the book⏤it felt like every paragraph had an extra sentence that was immediately walked back.
and don’t get me started on i never saw the mob/the ghosts in the first place?? silly.
also so much was deeply underdeveloped. the emotions, other than the obvious horror the reader feels at the descriptions of slavery, were shallow. i didn’t believe jesse and mira really loved each other. i didn’t believe that there was any world where celine’s wedding invitation would have been accepted by either mira or jesse because i didn’t believe in their friendship.
the way the sentences and scenes moved together also felt a bit disjointed and clumsy. for example, jesse will stop walking then he will start walking again. the act of jesse stopping added nothing to the story, so i struggle to see the relevance of mentioning it. of course, this happening once or twice wouldn’t mean anything, but⏤especially towards the end of the book⏤it felt like every paragraph had an extra sentence that was immediately walked back.
and don’t get me started on
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Rape