nauers_booknook's reviews
2 reviews

Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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dark emotional informative inspiring tense fast-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? No

3.5

    I would consider this book in the category of mediocre. It didn’t exactly capture my attention, but it didn’t note me either. I love how it incorporates the point of view of a person of color and the racial injustice that people of color, even a twelve year old, sometimes have to experience.

    Donte is quite the character. The fact that he gets arrested for a false accusation of throwing a pen at a student is outrageous and yet believable.  His brother, Trey, happens to possess a lighter skin tone, bringing him better consequences than his younger brother. Donte finds passion in fencing and he turns out to be a natural. I enjoy how throughout the story, we find out the fundamentals of fencing. It shows how much potential this young man truly has and how much further he has to go, even if we don’t see it.

    I wish there would have been more Zarra and Zion. I enjoyed their few appearances and I love how the author made Zarra a skilled fencer, yet still included her mistakes. I also thought it was cool when Zion brought the Boys and Girls Club Fencing Team some Jamaican jerk chicken. It presented a wonderful bonding opportunity for the team. I also wish that we could have seen Zarra and Donte’s relationship blossom into something more than just mutual attraction.

    I would say that my favorite character would be Coach or Arden Jones. I love how he has the background of an Olympian fencer, yet he works as the Boys and Girls Club Fencing team coach. One of my favorite moments of the book was when Coach showed his new found maturity towards an old teammate who he had conflict with. Donte had been Coach’s inspiration and Coach was Donte’s. He constantly expressed how much skill and potential Donte possessed and he tried his hardest to enhance it. He wanted to help Donte avoid making the same mistakes he made. The character growth of Coach was a wonderful addition to the story.

    One of the most epic scenes of the book was the final bout between Alan and Donte. Alan, who was skilled but arrogant, had been the one who had framed Donte and gotten him arrested. Donte’s original motive for learning how to fence was vengeance on Alan, but as he grew, he realized that he loved the sport itself and he wanted to play to better himself and be the best. Donte realized that revenge wasn’t the answer. The pure skill between the two fencers and the new found sight of Donte and who he truly was beyond his skin truly marked a wonderful ending to the book.
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Honeycomb by Joanne M. Harris

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I have to say, this book was one of the most intriguing that I’ve ever come across. The detail is fantastic and you’re really able to picture the sensory details.
I don’t really agree with the Lacewing King becoming blind, especially since we never find out if the Moth Kingdom was able to realize that the Clearwing Prince was his father. I understand that this led to him receiving the human eye from the beginning of the book, as well as the amber eye from his father, but I still want to know whether the Moths and the Butterflies resolved their issues.
I think my favorite characters would have to be the Harlequin, the Barefoot Princess, the Honeycomb Queen, and the Hallowe’en King.
The Harlequin literally got tricked into giving up its throne in Hel...all for the nectar of the Dream flower.
That caused it to go insane and banished it to the world of the Silken Folk. I would consider it a pretty cool assassin. The Barefoot Princess was just an ordinary Sightless Folk girl,
besides the fact that she was the Lacewing King’s granddaughter.
The Lacewing King had grown to care for the girl and she had risked her life so many times to save him,
only for him to accept the role of ruler of Death and Hel.
I love how characters continue to recur throughout the book. I also love how all the stories connect and lead to the peaceful ending that each character deserves.
I’m super happy that the Barefoot Princess (now queen) got to rule the Silken Folk with her queen (the Engine Driver) at her side.
I think that fantasy lovers would really enjoy this book.
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