misslezlee's review against another edition
This should have been a short story. In the end, I felt like it was going nowhere, so I left the protagonist stranded somewhere on the coast... I never felt like the characters developed enough for me to care about what happened to them. Several of them had the potential to be really interesting.
bgg616's review against another edition
3.0
I was intrigued by the premise - South Boston (Southie) during busing. But the story didn't seem very realistic or possible in the early 70's.
stenaros's review against another edition
3.0
Lovely (and short) fictional story of a girl (who likes girls) from Southie during the busing crisis of the 1970s.
kjvelz's review against another edition
4.0
The ending was entirely unsatisfying, because it was not at all what I wanted.
But it was realistic. More than that, it's what would have happened in this imperfect world. Sometimes, the protagonist does not learn her lesson in the course of 197 pages, but she might get a little bit closer to understanding. Just the tiniest bit.
Ann Ahearn is a frustrating protagonist - she is crafted perfectly to represent the racist Irish Catholic of 1970s Boston. As an Irish Catholic Bostonian in the 2010s, I saw so much of myself and my community in Ann, especially our most prominent flaws that are rarely recognized.
Map of Ireland was an excellent exploration of busing and desegregation in the North, where racism was supposedly solved long before Martin Luther King, Jr. Anyone who has lived in Boston knows that's not true. And this book is a testament to what people experienced in the 70s in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement and what many continue to experience in our imperfect community of racists and bigots. More than anything, this book frustrated me, because the character of Ann Ahearn was real. Her actions - though cowardly - were exactly what so many Bostonians would have done and did.
The book was true. In so many ways. And the writing? What golden nuggets there were. And, of course, a queer character? Thank God. I need more of those in my historical fiction.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. It will frustrate you. It will bother you. It will make you want to dive into its pages and explain racism to Ann Ahearn. But if you are white and you are from Boston and you want to know the tiniest sliver of history about our Town and race relations, then this is the book for you. If you like queer historical fiction, then this is for you. If you want to understand the inner-workings of a racist sixteen year old lesbian, then this is for you.
But it was realistic. More than that, it's what would have happened in this imperfect world. Sometimes, the protagonist does not learn her lesson in the course of 197 pages, but she might get a little bit closer to understanding. Just the tiniest bit.
Ann Ahearn is a frustrating protagonist - she is crafted perfectly to represent the racist Irish Catholic of 1970s Boston. As an Irish Catholic Bostonian in the 2010s, I saw so much of myself and my community in Ann, especially our most prominent flaws that are rarely recognized.
Map of Ireland was an excellent exploration of busing and desegregation in the North, where racism was supposedly solved long before Martin Luther King, Jr. Anyone who has lived in Boston knows that's not true. And this book is a testament to what people experienced in the 70s in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement and what many continue to experience in our imperfect community of racists and bigots. More than anything, this book frustrated me, because the character of Ann Ahearn was real. Her actions - though cowardly - were exactly what so many Bostonians would have done and did.
The book was true. In so many ways. And the writing? What golden nuggets there were. And, of course, a queer character? Thank God. I need more of those in my historical fiction.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. It will frustrate you. It will bother you. It will make you want to dive into its pages and explain racism to Ann Ahearn. But if you are white and you are from Boston and you want to know the tiniest sliver of history about our Town and race relations, then this is the book for you. If you like queer historical fiction, then this is for you. If you want to understand the inner-workings of a racist sixteen year old lesbian, then this is for you.
lisa_casey's review against another edition
2.0
Not a book I would have finished had it not been for the book club I am in. I felt there were many issues that could have been addressed in deeper detail yet the author skimmed over the top of many.
More discussion around racial issues, sexuality, adolescence, finding your voice, standing for justice, etc. could have been had to really tie in this story.
More discussion around racial issues, sexuality, adolescence, finding your voice, standing for justice, etc. could have been had to really tie in this story.
naitasia's review against another edition
1.0
Setting 1974. Copyright 2008. This book did not need to be written.
I hate this book.
It’s extremely offensive and racially insensitive. I read the acknowledgments, did this author consult any black people or any non-white resources? Her portrayal of black people is abysmal & myopic. The MC is a tragic case of white savior complex wrapped in white privilege and selfishness and filled with excuses. This book didn’t need to be written. It’s just the author’s excuse to be racist and ignorant under the guise of “historical fiction.” Her heart probably skipped a beat every time she got to use the “n-word.” Every time she got to peg Jean as “one of those blacks.” Every time the MC, Ann Ahern, described Rochelle and used “black” as a modifier to depict the disgusting fetishization of black bodies - “black belly,” “little black breasts,” “that black skin,” “that black smell,” etc.
Furthermore, this didn’t need to be written because the author drops the plot in favor of her fetishization. It has very little to do with busing in Southie. Ann Ahern is obsessed with her new black French teacher and then suddenly she isn’t. She’s obsessed with Rochelle and the whole story about Jean becomes a side story and then Jean is gone. Ann gets so in her feelings that the black women don’t acquiesce to her, she burns their house down and gets them in trouble with the police. She refuses to repent in church or seek forgiveness and still reaches out to Rochelle who had to relocate as a result of Ann’s pyrotechnics and is mad Rochelle won’t give in. There has to be something wrong with those blacks for their subgroup and not wanting to forgive Ann, of course. Ugh. They spent all that time driving to The Cape and peeking into black lives and Ann didn’t develop as a person. The plot didn’t come to a close. It’s just some story about a whiny white girl not getting her way set in 1974 so she can use the “n-word.”
I hate this book.
It’s extremely offensive and racially insensitive. I read the acknowledgments, did this author consult any black people or any non-white resources? Her portrayal of black people is abysmal & myopic. The MC is a tragic case of white savior complex wrapped in white privilege and selfishness and filled with excuses. This book didn’t need to be written. It’s just the author’s excuse to be racist and ignorant under the guise of “historical fiction.” Her heart probably skipped a beat every time she got to use the “n-word.” Every time she got to peg Jean as “one of those blacks.” Every time the MC, Ann Ahern, described Rochelle and used “black” as a modifier to depict the disgusting fetishization of black bodies - “black belly,” “little black breasts,” “that black skin,” “that black smell,” etc.
Furthermore, this didn’t need to be written because the author drops the plot in favor of her fetishization. It has very little to do with busing in Southie. Ann Ahern is obsessed with her new black French teacher and then suddenly she isn’t. She’s obsessed with Rochelle and the whole story about Jean becomes a side story and then Jean is gone. Ann gets so in her feelings that the black women don’t acquiesce to her, she burns their house down and gets them in trouble with the police. She refuses to repent in church or seek forgiveness and still reaches out to Rochelle who had to relocate as a result of Ann’s pyrotechnics and is mad Rochelle won’t give in. There has to be something wrong with those blacks for their subgroup and not wanting to forgive Ann, of course. Ugh. They spent all that time driving to The Cape and peeking into black lives and Ann didn’t develop as a person. The plot didn’t come to a close. It’s just some story about a whiny white girl not getting her way set in 1974 so she can use the “n-word.”
jkilmer's review
3.0
3.5, really. It was quite an interesting read, plus it was my professor, so I'm not entirely sure what to say about it.
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