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singergurl4life's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
bsmith27's review against another edition
4.0
A good novel about how black people in our country are targeted by cops. It takes place in Oakland in a struggling neighborhood. The boy, Moss, is a black gay boy in high school in high school that is failing and has trouble with finances. He meets Hispanic boy on the train named Javier. The two begin dating they're very cute together. Moss is still dealing with the trauma of his father being killed by the Oakland Police in a case of mistaken identity. Masa's mother, wanda, has been a lifelong activist although recently has taken a step back it is explained later in the novel that this is because she believes her husband was targeted because of her filming an incident. Moss's School is going through some troubles and the administration decides to bring in metal detectors. The students raise concerns about this and on the first day of the metal detectors being in Moss's friend Reggie, who has three pins in his knee is brutally hurt by the magnets inside. Because of this moss and his friends and Javier and some of his friends who go to a different School decide to protest they plan a walkout at the school. However the protest goes wrong. The police are now in a partnership with the school and pray the children with a type of pepper spray and use batons against them and Javier is killed. This makes Moss very angry and he eventually changed himself to a flagpole in front of the police headquarters in order to get Justice. And eventually they are told that they have to leave, so the police move in and brutally attack all of them. The city realizes their mistake because they kill a white woman. They apologize to Moss and sort of let the police officer off the hook. The story is a bit long-winded and some of the tactics that the police use against the students are a bit far-fetched however I understand that black people are not treated as fairly as their white counterparts. The story also highlights how important social media is to show the unfairness of cops. For the most part it portrays cops in a negative light although at the end there is one kind cop and it holds him accountable to not stopping the actions of his fellow police officers.
evanaik's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the plot concepts a lot and the characters were developed well as the story went on. I liked how main characters, as well as side characters were noticeably shaped by both events in their past, and in the book’s events. It is a great book about and for teen activists, and was quite emotionally told, which I felt enhanced the reading experience. However, I had trouble really getting started with this book. The first few chapters didn’t really draw me in the way I would have wanted them too. Yes, I felt a connection to the characters, but I wasn’t as invested in the story line until at least half way through the book.
looddle's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
3.0
mrsthakkar's review against another edition
3.0
I was excited about this book, and then I couldn’t even finish it. It is about a teenage boy who lives in West Oakland. He is starting to see the discrepancies in his school and home life. I was disappointed because there were obvious editing mistakes. I also felt like it was trying too hard and put “diversity” in your face. The main character is gay and black. His best friend is gay and Hispanic. He has a friend who is non binary, etc. I think the author could have done more showing and less telling in his writing and I wish he had given us more character development. By the time you know why Moss is so angry, I didn’t really feel emotionally invested in his story.
yarydoll's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-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
When I was looking for a book similar to The Hate U Give this was what I waws looking for. It's unfortunate that stories like this need to keep being told. This particular book adds the context of a person that also suffers from anxiety, and the under current that the anxiety was in all probability triggered by police brutality to begin with. This was exceptional, expect to cry and to rage.
kerrycat's review against another edition
1.0
so much potential . . . but clunky writing and way too much of it. this story could have been told in half the text. difficult to wade through all of it along with the predictable, flat characters. the outrage over locker searches and metal detectors seemed unrealistic in this day and age, or even in years past - I had locker searches at my suburban high school back in the eighties, and schools in my area have metal detectors; I've had to go through them myself. don't get me started on a teacher telling a student that it's okay to pirate ebooks for class . . . as a librarian, I spend quality time helping teachers get copies of books because there aren't enough to go around, ever. teachers purchase the books if they must, but no teacher I know would encourage pirating. yes, the police actions are reprehensible in this story, but what is unbelievable is the one cop's heartfelt apology at the very end. very contrived.