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wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
sweetsanchia's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Police brutality
mikeymara's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Starts slow but moves quite fast after we get into it. Short chapters, easy read. Ending wasn’t my favorite but still a good book that I recommend for a quick read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
!Spoiler/ part of the main plot comes from a shooting involving police, it also involves rioting and violence of many kinds/Spoiler!momoreadz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
The book was very anti-climatic. It lacked substance. I could see the potential, but the potential was not reached in its entirety.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality
Moderate: Violence
calamitywindpetal's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
halesbookshelf's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Violence
kingrosereads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
YA literary drama that takes place over an evening of riots in Atlanta. The book follows two POVs: Lena and Campbell. Lena is a black senior that grew up in Atlanta and Campbell is a white girl who is new to the area. Both have their own biases against one another but they have to work together to survive a night of chaos.
Campbell has moved from PA to Atlanta after her mom gets a job in Venezuela and she leaves her with her dad to do her last year of high school. She’s cornered by a teacher at her new school into helping at the concession stand at the football game that night. Campbell’s dad drops her off at the game and leaves for the weekend. Her dad stopped paying child support years before resulting in her mother losing their house, thus her desperation for this Venezuelan job when her current job laid her off.
Then we have Lena who is self assured, independent, and has a big personality. Next to timid and shy Campbell, she’s the sun. But she’s dating this 20 year old man nicknamed Black who is really just trash. He ignores her calls and texts. Her friend, cousin, and grandfather all tell her she’s too good for this man and she is. She and her friend, LaShunda are attending the game. LaShunda leaves and Lena goes to the concession stand to kill time before meeting with Black. That’s when she notices Campbell is working the stand alone when there’s a crowd of people pushing in and rushing her. They’re all rude to her, even Lena at first, but then a fight breaks out when a white fan from the visiting school calls a student from the home school a racial slur. Then everyone in the crowd starts fighting.
Lena enters the stand to get away and clean up when the cops show up. The fight escalates further. Then there’s gun fire. Lena and Campbell drop to the floor and realize they need to get out of there. They fight through the crowd and Lena’s phone is dead so she uses Campbell’s to call Black to pick them up. He comes up with an excuse and says if they meet him across town he’ll drive them home. Campbell has no one to call and Lena refuses to call her grandfather or cousin to avoid drama or getting into trouble. Now the girls have to go through the dangerous part of town to get to essentially the Main Street where the restaurants are open. They run into a few obstacles, but they get to Seventh Avenue where protesters have gathered peacefully until a white man hits a black woman with his car by accident and it incites an already on edge crowd. A few white men wearing confederate flags join the fight and an all out riot blooms.
The girls find that Black and his friends have left and Campbell’s dad’s store has been looted. Campbell is angry and upset at the loss of her family’s livelihood that was barely keeping them afloat. The cops show up in riot gear and Lena’s cousin gets beaten by police. Black finally shows up and acts all worried for Lena. Then they get to a car with his friends and take Campbell home. It’s revealed that Black’s friends looted Campbell’s family store and Black confronts them about it because he has morals now. And Lena and Campbell start taking the stuff when one of Black pulls a gun. They fight and eventually the friends leave. Campbell’s dad returns and Black takes Lena home.
In the bonus chapters we see that Marcus (Lena’s cousin) has been injured and charged which violates his probation. He’s struggling to come up with a plan to avoid jail time. Campbell is unable to leave for college in PA like she wants and applies to Georgia State. It’s clear she’s suffering from some PTSD. And Lena graduates as valedictorian with a scholarship to make her dreams of attending a fashion program at the local art institute a reality.
Okay, there’s a bit to unpack. To start, Black is a whole ass adult dating a child. Which is disturbing alone, but then the authors tried to give him some kind of moral code in the end? Suddenly he’s worried about his “queen” and sticks up for her and Campbell to his friends, and is morally opposed to theft? Do not try to redeem this 20 year old man when he is “dating” this 16/17 year old child. And at first glance it seems odd that such a powerhouse like Lena is caught up with a pedophile who is neglectful, emotionally manipulative and gaslights the hell out of her. But I’ve seen many strong, independent women get caught up with some abusive guy like this. I hate they tried to redeem him. The age difference alone was unacceptable. But one with the toxic relationship, it’s definitely realistic.
It’s very one par for teenagers, or anyone in an actively traumatic event, to worry about things that don’t matter. Lena with her clothes and being afraid of getting into trouble, and Campbell getting over the top upset about her father’s store. I’m angry that given their life or death situation, Lena should’ve called for help. Campbell literally had no one to call. And Lena shouldn’t have chosen Black over her cousin. Campbell shouldn’t have said some problematic things to Lena either. But Lena’s decisions could’ve gotten them both killed. Campbell’s blinders over the store could’ve gotten them killed too.
Now let’s talk about Campbell’s parents. Her mom couldn’t get any OTHER job? She worked for the government and the only job available was on another continent? And Campbell’s right, there would’ve been an international school for her to attend, so her mom’s arguments on her not coming were flimsy and selfish. Now to her dad: What kind of parent just leaves his kid in the care of some stranger? Regardless if they’re a teacher. After hearing how he views the people of the community, it seems he was willing to risk it to get the weekend to fish.
There wasn’t a lot of character development and personality with the characters. Like I was so emotionally detached from everyone in this book. And there’s no real evidence that a lesson was learned.
This book is supposed to take place in like 2019ish time, yet Campbell is this ignorant and dense about the world around her? She’s never heard of Black Lives Matter or seen protests and riots on the news? It’s so unbelievable. I get being white and not understanding the plights of POC, but to be this ignorant of what’s going on?? It just irritated the hell out of me. And Lena is right about people being pushed to a breaking point so they do whatever they can to get some sense of power, but she was just immediately rude to Campbell, and yeah they both had their assumptions based on stereotypes about one another, but that’s not an excuse to be mean right from the jump. Also, why assume Campbell is rich when she goes to your school and lives in the same neighborhood?
I think it does start a conversation, but it’s not developed enough and I’m not sure enough happened for Lena and Campbell to bond and put aside their differences. And they shouldn’t be putting them aside, it should a discussion.
Campbell has moved from PA to Atlanta after her mom gets a job in Venezuela and she leaves her with her dad to do her last year of high school. She’s cornered by a teacher at her new school into helping at the concession stand at the football game that night. Campbell’s dad drops her off at the game and leaves for the weekend. Her dad stopped paying child support years before resulting in her mother losing their house, thus her desperation for this Venezuelan job when her current job laid her off.
Then we have Lena who is self assured, independent, and has a big personality. Next to timid and shy Campbell, she’s the sun. But she’s dating this 20 year old man nicknamed Black who is really just trash. He ignores her calls and texts. Her friend, cousin, and grandfather all tell her she’s too good for this man and she is. She and her friend, LaShunda are attending the game. LaShunda leaves and Lena goes to the concession stand to kill time before meeting with Black. That’s when she notices Campbell is working the stand alone when there’s a crowd of people pushing in and rushing her. They’re all rude to her, even Lena at first, but then a fight breaks out when a white fan from the visiting school calls a student from the home school a racial slur. Then everyone in the crowd starts fighting.
Lena enters the stand to get away and clean up when the cops show up. The fight escalates further. Then there’s gun fire. Lena and Campbell drop to the floor and realize they need to get out of there. They fight through the crowd and Lena’s phone is dead so she uses Campbell’s to call Black to pick them up. He comes up with an excuse and says if they meet him across town he’ll drive them home. Campbell has no one to call and Lena refuses to call her grandfather or cousin to avoid drama or getting into trouble. Now the girls have to go through the dangerous part of town to get to essentially the Main Street where the restaurants are open. They run into a few obstacles, but they get to Seventh Avenue where protesters have gathered peacefully until a white man hits a black woman with his car by accident and it incites an already on edge crowd. A few white men wearing confederate flags join the fight and an all out riot blooms.
The girls find that Black and his friends have left and Campbell’s dad’s store has been looted. Campbell is angry and upset at the loss of her family’s livelihood that was barely keeping them afloat. The cops show up in riot gear and Lena’s cousin gets beaten by police. Black finally shows up and acts all worried for Lena. Then they get to a car with his friends and take Campbell home. It’s revealed that Black’s friends looted Campbell’s family store and Black confronts them about it because he has morals now. And Lena and Campbell start taking the stuff when one of Black pulls a gun. They fight and eventually the friends leave. Campbell’s dad returns and Black takes Lena home.
In the bonus chapters we see that Marcus (Lena’s cousin) has been injured and charged which violates his probation. He’s struggling to come up with a plan to avoid jail time. Campbell is unable to leave for college in PA like she wants and applies to Georgia State. It’s clear she’s suffering from some PTSD. And Lena graduates as valedictorian with a scholarship to make her dreams of attending a fashion program at the local art institute a reality.
Okay, there’s a bit to unpack. To start, Black is a whole ass adult dating a child. Which is disturbing alone, but then the authors tried to give him some kind of moral code in the end? Suddenly he’s worried about his “queen” and sticks up for her and Campbell to his friends, and is morally opposed to theft? Do not try to redeem this 20 year old man when he is “dating” this 16/17 year old child. And at first glance it seems odd that such a powerhouse like Lena is caught up with a pedophile who is neglectful, emotionally manipulative and gaslights the hell out of her. But I’ve seen many strong, independent women get caught up with some abusive guy like this. I hate they tried to redeem him. The age difference alone was unacceptable. But one with the toxic relationship, it’s definitely realistic.
It’s very one par for teenagers, or anyone in an actively traumatic event, to worry about things that don’t matter. Lena with her clothes and being afraid of getting into trouble, and Campbell getting over the top upset about her father’s store. I’m angry that given their life or death situation, Lena should’ve called for help. Campbell literally had no one to call. And Lena shouldn’t have chosen Black over her cousin. Campbell shouldn’t have said some problematic things to Lena either. But Lena’s decisions could’ve gotten them both killed. Campbell’s blinders over the store could’ve gotten them killed too.
Now let’s talk about Campbell’s parents. Her mom couldn’t get any OTHER job? She worked for the government and the only job available was on another continent? And Campbell’s right, there would’ve been an international school for her to attend, so her mom’s arguments on her not coming were flimsy and selfish. Now to her dad: What kind of parent just leaves his kid in the care of some stranger? Regardless if they’re a teacher. After hearing how he views the people of the community, it seems he was willing to risk it to get the weekend to fish.
There wasn’t a lot of character development and personality with the characters. Like I was so emotionally detached from everyone in this book. And there’s no real evidence that a lesson was learned.
This book is supposed to take place in like 2019ish time, yet Campbell is this ignorant and dense about the world around her? She’s never heard of Black Lives Matter or seen protests and riots on the news? It’s so unbelievable. I get being white and not understanding the plights of POC, but to be this ignorant of what’s going on?? It just irritated the hell out of me. And Lena is right about people being pushed to a breaking point so they do whatever they can to get some sense of power, but she was just immediately rude to Campbell, and yeah they both had their assumptions based on stereotypes about one another, but that’s not an excuse to be mean right from the jump. Also, why assume Campbell is rich when she goes to your school and lives in the same neighborhood?
I think it does start a conversation, but it’s not developed enough and I’m not sure enough happened for Lena and Campbell to bond and put aside their differences. And they shouldn’t be putting them aside, it should a discussion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, and Violence
shoshin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I found out about this book after a video of co-author Kimberly Jones went viral during the George Floyd uprising in Minneapolis. It is fast-paced, thought-provoking, and beautifully written. Highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality
Moderate: Racism and Violence
Minor: Gun violence
mayareadsxo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Violence, and Police brutality
Minor: Racism, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
britreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This was another disappointing read for the year. While the premise was interesting, the execution could have been better. I think the shortness of the story worked against it since the characters were always on the move with little time to reflect over what happened. I did enjoy the connection between the two main characters and I could excuse some of their poor decisions during the story. But I think there should have been some major event that caused Atlanta to experience the upheaval and riots. We're told in the beginning that the two football teams were at odds because one team wore blackface before the story and the members faced no consequences. But what caused the larger riot? The book never makes it clear. .
I did like the ending and the ambiguity over the future of Campbell and Lena's connection. I just wish the exploration of heavy themes like white privilege, class, racism, police brutality, etc was a bit more complex.
I did like the ending and the ambiguity over the future of Campbell and Lena's connection. I just wish the exploration of heavy themes like white privilege, class, racism, police brutality, etc was a bit more complex.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Violence, and Police brutality