cyberbullet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
tender, heartbreaking, poetic
———
i could’ve highlighted absolutely everything from this book, but doing so would be like not retaining anything at all.
i have never read such perfect articulation of words — mastery of expression. no line was wasted, which ended up being this book’s greatest strength and only weakness:
sometimes, my reading flow was interrupted or simply not quite /there/ because everything was so perfectly calculated.
in the last few pages, i rushed to finish it even. so it would’ve been great if there was a bit less “concreteness” to this text — and i don’t mean the writing style should change, but more the structure of the story because GOD. i have never FELT so much through words
AND THE FACT THAT THIS IS A DEBUT ???? i can not wait to read more of Nelson’s work
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and Police brutality
charity_ix's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
With that being said, I couldn't give this 5 stars because, in the last quarter or so, it fell flat.
Spoiler
I think their separation was not as high stakes as I imagined it and while the topics discussed were important, it felt like the book was steering in a new direction that had nothing to do with the main plot. I also just hate the classic miscommunication trope so maybe that was it.Regardless, I would recommend this book for its amazing writing and storytelling!
Graphic: Police brutality, Death, Grief, Gun violence, and Racism
jasminrain's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Police brutality, and Gun violence
Moderate: Violence, Grief, and Murder
james1star's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Racism and Police brutality
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, and Death
Minor: Grief, Alcohol, and Drug use
kaleighbasso's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Gun violence and Police brutality
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Drug use, Murder, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Violence
mirireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Gun violence, Medical content, and Murder
emi_ly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Gun violence and Hate crime
nebraskanwriter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The way Caleb writes is incredible, the way he is able to put words to trauma and raw emotion is unmatched. This is a story about two people who love each other but Caleb also talks a lot about police brutality, how that has affected the main character and how it affects the Black community on a daily basis.
This is such an important book for everyone to read as it deals with internalizing trauma, racial profiling, police brutality, learning to love yourself even when the society you live in doesn’t love you/care about you. So, so important for everyone to read this so that the Black community can be seen, they can be heard and we can put an end to violence against their community and people of color in general.
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Drug use, Blood, Body shaming, Classism, Cursing, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual content, and Violence
garynoplastie's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Death, Grief, Police brutality, and Racism
Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, and Sexual content