katekatiekait's review
2.0
Really a 2.5. Not a 3 because that last chapter which made a very sharp left turn somewhere and left me going "wait, how did we end up here?!?!?" but not in a good, satisfying way or in a way that makes you think deep, ponderous thoughts long after you're finished.
lindsayb's review
3.0
This was an odd one. While I enjoyed it overall, I also felt like it never really took off...as if it were one prolonged exposition. I loved the beginning of the book up until Kenya's parents' separation and once again when she goes to visit Johnbrown on his farm, but a lot of the middle I found difficult. Perhaps Bahni Turpin's teenage voices were a little too good (and while she remains my favorite reader, her Caribbean accent verged on a Russian accent) during that segment, but I found the dialogue between the girls hard to stomach. Still, it was a touching--and often heartbreaking--coming of age story with some excellent family dynamic written in, and I'll be interested to see what Asali Solomon's next step will be.
Spoiler
And I'm glad that one scene with Teddy Jaffrey didn't go any further than it did.
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