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introvertinterrupted's Reviews (1.08k)
I read this book way too young, but I absolutely loved the coming of age story of the main character, Winter Santiago. Sista Souljah prepped me as young girl to look at Winter's life story as a cautionary tale about how life in the fast lane could leave you high and dry in a matter of seconds. She was the first author who I ever met first hand and the first author to ever personalize a copy of a book for em with her signature. Therefore it was only right I added her in my BEYONCÉ Book Tag.
If you like this book, I'd recommend going ahead and reading Omar Tyree's [b: Flyy Girl|290039|Flyy Girl (Flyy Girl, #1)|Omar Tyree|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415677404s/290039.jpg|281390] Trilogy. However, I will say that the first book of this trilogy is the best book and is most similar to Sista Souljah's book, [b:The Coldest Winter Ever|106393|The Coldest Winter Ever|Sister Souljah|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347600573s/106393.jpg|1241552], but that's just my personal preference. Both books are really good regardless.
If you like this book, I'd recommend going ahead and reading Omar Tyree's [b: Flyy Girl|290039|Flyy Girl (Flyy Girl, #1)|Omar Tyree|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415677404s/290039.jpg|281390] Trilogy. However, I will say that the first book of this trilogy is the best book and is most similar to Sista Souljah's book, [b:The Coldest Winter Ever|106393|The Coldest Winter Ever|Sister Souljah|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347600573s/106393.jpg|1241552], but that's just my personal preference. Both books are really good regardless.
I gave this book 3.5 stars.
Update: I talked about this book in a video for the Beyoncé Book Tag I filmed on my BookTube channel.
I randomly found this book through an Amazon book search and knew I had to have it immediately. Allyson Hobbs' book looks at the history of racial "passing," which is the shedding of the one's black identity by a racially ambiguous (i.e., light-skin African-American) person lieu of being "white" so that you can better navigate through life during historical times of high racial conflict (i.e., Jim Crow, Restoration, etc.). This book covered the history of passing from American Slavery all the way until the present day.
While it was obvious that Allyson Hobbs did her research to the best of her ability, I did feel that the narrative and points of her thesis were somewhat repetitive in places. Yet, I did give her leeway on some accounts since it is natural that if a black person was constantly in danger of being discovered to be lying about their race in previous times, there is no way to accurately track how many people passed or what their true experiences were so the book itself is built on a uneven cornerstone, but Hobbs makes it work by using well-known political and historical African-American figures and drawing on the works of other sociologist and anthropologist who have studied this same topic. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book in terms of learning about black historical figures I didn't know of before, finding books to read from the ones Hobbs quoted in her research, and just learning about how the psyche of those who passed worked. Yet, I must point out that my mediocre rating of this book is spurred on by the fact that I do think that Hobbs reiterated her points too often and seemed to go in a circular tangent to present the books ideas to readers.
If you enjoyed Isabel Wilkerson's book, [b: The Warmth of Other Suns|8171378|The Warmth of Other Suns The Epic Story of America's Great Migration|Isabel Wilkerson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1433354252s/8171378.jpg|13341052], you'll more than likely love this book as well since Hobbs' book focuses on the scant few who chose to seek their freedom by going one step further than their brethren who migrated North during the Great Migration.
Update: I talked about this book in a video for the Beyoncé Book Tag I filmed on my BookTube channel.
I randomly found this book through an Amazon book search and knew I had to have it immediately. Allyson Hobbs' book looks at the history of racial "passing," which is the shedding of the one's black identity by a racially ambiguous (i.e., light-skin African-American) person lieu of being "white" so that you can better navigate through life during historical times of high racial conflict (i.e., Jim Crow, Restoration, etc.). This book covered the history of passing from American Slavery all the way until the present day.
While it was obvious that Allyson Hobbs did her research to the best of her ability, I did feel that the narrative and points of her thesis were somewhat repetitive in places. Yet, I did give her leeway on some accounts since it is natural that if a black person was constantly in danger of being discovered to be lying about their race in previous times, there is no way to accurately track how many people passed or what their true experiences were so the book itself is built on a uneven cornerstone, but Hobbs makes it work by using well-known political and historical African-American figures and drawing on the works of other sociologist and anthropologist who have studied this same topic. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book in terms of learning about black historical figures I didn't know of before, finding books to read from the ones Hobbs quoted in her research, and just learning about how the psyche of those who passed worked. Yet, I must point out that my mediocre rating of this book is spurred on by the fact that I do think that Hobbs reiterated her points too often and seemed to go in a circular tangent to present the books ideas to readers.
If you enjoyed Isabel Wilkerson's book, [b: The Warmth of Other Suns|8171378|The Warmth of Other Suns The Epic Story of America's Great Migration|Isabel Wilkerson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1433354252s/8171378.jpg|13341052], you'll more than likely love this book as well since Hobbs' book focuses on the scant few who chose to seek their freedom by going one step further than their brethren who migrated North during the Great Migration.
I gave this graphic novel 3.5 stars
I've been wanting to read this graphic novel ever since I saw it on FrenchieDee's YouTube channel. I found it at my college's library and read it in one sitting. I really enjoyed the storyline for the most part, but was left iunsatisfied by the end. To me, it seemed as if Yang ran out of steam before he had finished all the characters' stories. In short, the story was going good until it abruptly ended.
Nevertheless, the artwork in the book was really eye catching. The pictures were drawn in a manner that sort of reminded me of the cartoon character, Astroboy. They weren't too extravagant in look however, they were befitting of the story that Yang was trying to tell. All in all, I'd recommend this graphic novel for anyone who wants a good read that's quick and comical. But be warned, one of the characters do display exaggerated stereotypical characteristics.
I've been wanting to read this graphic novel ever since I saw it on FrenchieDee's YouTube channel. I found it at my college's library and read it in one sitting. I really enjoyed the storyline for the most part, but was left iunsatisfied by the end. To me, it seemed as if Yang ran out of steam before he had finished all the characters' stories. In short, the story was going good until it abruptly ended.
Nevertheless, the artwork in the book was really eye catching. The pictures were drawn in a manner that sort of reminded me of the cartoon character, Astroboy. They weren't too extravagant in look however, they were befitting of the story that Yang was trying to tell. All in all, I'd recommend this graphic novel for anyone who wants a good read that's quick and comical. But be warned, one of the characters do display exaggerated stereotypical characteristics.
I just did a mini-review of this book on my YouTube channel. You can watch it here: Top 5 Required Reading
I seriously don't know how to rate this book. The back cover and blurbs offered by various authors repeatedly state that this novel contains a world that is similar to Harry Potter in some way. However, I am here to tell you that this is the biggest pile of cow dung you will ever come into contact with in terms of high profile fantasy books. This book falls more on the side of the Chronicles of Narnia series than Harry Potter. Grossman just seems to add a magical school for wizards to round things out in terms of plot.
Therefore, when reading this book, you must throw away all preconceived notions of magic as a somewhat "bubbly" and "light hearted" endeavor and must instead reshape your idea of magic to include depressed wizards who are self-absorbed and only wish to use magic to placate their low self-esteem. While none of the characters are really likable, most are interesting enough to keep you reading for awhile. Yet, your interest will most likely wane after a 100 pages or so just because it feels like Grossman is packing so much into the formative years of his characters' storyline that you want to fast forward to what you think is the actual story.
I seriously tried to keep reading this book the old-fashioned way, but after a 100 pages, I had to resort to an audiobook to finish the book. I wanted to give this book 3 stars, but by the last section of the book (this novel is divided into five parts), I was fed up with the characters and wanted nothing more than to shake them for being so stupid and childish. Grossman's characters never seem to grow up and when they do, it's only temporarily. No character is truly made to pay for their actions in full and instead, they treat life as if it is a form of magical Russian Roulette. I wanted to like this book since I love all things magic, but the characters in this book were severely damaged and Grossman didn't make matters any better by not giving his cast of characters a solid direction to go in. I can't think of any one to recommend this book to without feeling guilty, yet I will say that after reading this book, I want to reread the Chronicles of Narnia series.
Addendum: After listening to Grossman in a panel at Leaky Con in 2014, I came to the conclusion that his main objective was for people to actually come away from the book disliking the characters so maybe me not liking this book was all a part of his plan. I still rank this as one of my least favorite/top five books I absolutely hate. Take this how you like.
Therefore, when reading this book, you must throw away all preconceived notions of magic as a somewhat "bubbly" and "light hearted" endeavor and must instead reshape your idea of magic to include depressed wizards who are self-absorbed and only wish to use magic to placate their low self-esteem. While none of the characters are really likable, most are interesting enough to keep you reading for awhile. Yet, your interest will most likely wane after a 100 pages or so just because it feels like Grossman is packing so much into the formative years of his characters' storyline that you want to fast forward to what you think is the actual story.
I seriously tried to keep reading this book the old-fashioned way, but after a 100 pages, I had to resort to an audiobook to finish the book. I wanted to give this book 3 stars, but by the last section of the book (this novel is divided into five parts), I was fed up with the characters and wanted nothing more than to shake them for being so stupid and childish. Grossman's characters never seem to grow up and when they do, it's only temporarily. No character is truly made to pay for their actions in full and instead, they treat life as if it is a form of magical Russian Roulette. I wanted to like this book since I love all things magic, but the characters in this book were severely damaged and Grossman didn't make matters any better by not giving his cast of characters a solid direction to go in. I can't think of any one to recommend this book to without feeling guilty, yet I will say that after reading this book, I want to reread the Chronicles of Narnia series.
Addendum: After listening to Grossman in a panel at Leaky Con in 2014, I came to the conclusion that his main objective was for people to actually come away from the book disliking the characters so maybe me not liking this book was all a part of his plan. I still rank this as one of my least favorite/top five books I absolutely hate. Take this how you like.