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persnickety_9's review against another edition
4.0
God damn. This book hurts. I understand a little about Niru’s struggle to come out as queer and be accepted since I am also the product of immigration and a homophobic culture. But this book effing hurts. I want to cry and scream and hug both Niru and Meredith and everyone else affected. I just have so many emotions after reading this. This didn’t have to happen. None of it. For either of them. I’m so mad and sad. Ugh.
megatsunami's review against another edition
Not sure how many stars to give this. The writing quality was very good but it just really failed to move me deeply.
liszt91's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
cathd80's review against another edition
4.0
When you're a teenager, relationships feel exceptionally complicated, something Niru and Meredith learn in in Speak No Evil, the new novel from Uzodinma Iweala. They are seniors at a private school in Washington D.C. where he is a track star and is set to attend Harvard in the fall. She is also a runner, but with a more rebellious side, which she can afford as her parents are high-powered D.C. insiders. They are great friends until Meredith tries to make them something more and Niru rebuffs her. This is the first of two acts on her part that will have a profound impact on him. Why? Because Niru is black and he's gay.
Iweala divides Speak No Evil cleanly into two parts: Niru and then Meredith, with both teens telling their story from their point of view. This might seem like a simple choice but it goes well beyond that. It is also the divide between each of their lives-public vs. private, black vs. white, and traditional vs. modern. Niru's parents are from Nigeria where homosexuality is a crime. He is just beginning to accept his feelings, but lives in terror of his deeply conservative father finding out. When he does, his response is extreme in its religiosity and upends Niru's life. Niru, a young man who does everything right, as he's supposed to, but wants love in a way his father believes is a sin to be punished.
The rest of this review is at: https://wp.me/p2B7gG-2Gx
Iweala divides Speak No Evil cleanly into two parts: Niru and then Meredith, with both teens telling their story from their point of view. This might seem like a simple choice but it goes well beyond that. It is also the divide between each of their lives-public vs. private, black vs. white, and traditional vs. modern. Niru's parents are from Nigeria where homosexuality is a crime. He is just beginning to accept his feelings, but lives in terror of his deeply conservative father finding out. When he does, his response is extreme in its religiosity and upends Niru's life. Niru, a young man who does everything right, as he's supposed to, but wants love in a way his father believes is a sin to be punished.
The rest of this review is at: https://wp.me/p2B7gG-2Gx
bookgirlmagic's review against another edition
4.0
**Contains Spoilers**
Not even sure how to put this book into words. The ending was unexpected to say the least.
I enjoyed this read. It was my first LGBT book and it was intriguing from beginning to end. My heart felt for the main character Niru and his struggle to come out to the world as a gay young man. I feel like so many kids aren't able to freely be themselves because of the pressure and demands put on us by family, friends and society.
Although it's not as openly discussed, many kids are sent away to be "fixed" but people of religious authority. It's truly saddening that kids can't be loved and accepted for who they are. It was interesting to see Niru battle with this as his Nigerian parents (mainly his father) was not having it any other way. Niru's father was ashamed of him for being gay and while his mother wouldn't openly say it, you could see that she empathized with her son.
I was happy that Niru had a tiny encounter with Damien so that he could live a little and enjoy being himself, even if only for a short period of time. Damien brought out a spark in Niru that had been missing for some time now. It was like Damien was comfort food. A familiar happy place that had been buried deep. Home.
And Meredith. Really disliked her in this book and found her to be extremely selfish. She was always more concerned with her need to be loved and wanted by Niru rather than helping her best friend through his mixed emotions and struggle of being a gay young man. When he was murdered (hello surprise ending), I blamed her completely for it and was actually satisfied in knowing that she would have to live with that guilt for the rest of her life. A case of another young man who's bound to be successful in life was taken away in the blink of an eye, like dust blowing in the wind. My heart aches for the pain felt by his family (especially his dad who never had the opportunity to build a proper relationship with Niru) and the fact that Niru never got to live life as an out of the closet, gay young man.
I gave this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Definitely a book that kept me on my toes. Starting to really enjoy books that are told from multiple characters perspectives.
I enjoyed this read. It was my first LGBT book and it was intriguing from beginning to end. My heart felt for the main character Niru and his struggle to come out to the world as a gay young man. I feel like so many kids aren't able to freely be themselves because of the pressure and demands put on us by family, friends and society.
Although it's not as openly discussed, many kids are sent away to be "fixed" but people of religious authority. It's truly saddening that kids can't be loved and accepted for who they are. It was interesting to see Niru battle with this as his Nigerian parents (mainly his father) was not having it any other way. Niru's father was ashamed of him for being gay and while his mother wouldn't openly say it, you could see that she empathized with her son.
I was happy that Niru had a tiny encounter with Damien so that he could live a little and enjoy being himself, even if only for a short period of time. Damien brought out a spark in Niru that had been missing for some time now. It was like Damien was comfort food. A familiar happy place that had been buried deep. Home.
And Meredith. Really disliked her in this book and found her to be extremely selfish. She was always more concerned with her need to be loved and wanted by Niru rather than helping her best friend through his mixed emotions and struggle of being a gay young man. When he was murdered (hello surprise ending), I blamed her completely for it and was actually satisfied in knowing that she would have to live with that guilt for the rest of her life. A case of another young man who's bound to be successful in life was taken away in the blink of an eye, like dust blowing in the wind. My heart aches for the pain felt by his family (especially his dad who never had the opportunity to build a proper relationship with Niru) and the fact that Niru never got to live life as an out of the closet, gay young man.
I gave this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Definitely a book that kept me on my toes. Starting to really enjoy books that are told from multiple characters perspectives.
teaandlibri's review against another edition
2.0
Very surprised at the high ratings for this book. Had never read the author's previous work ('Beasts of No Nation') but the high praise of the book plus the premise seemed intriguing. And as an idea to explore I thought the story was really great. But the execution is really weird.
Niru is a young man in Washington, DC who seems to have the entire life ahead of him. Track star at his high school, soon to be going off to Harvard, etc. so it all seems good. But he has a secret. He's queer, which is completely unacceptable and is horrifying to his conservative Nigerian parents. The consequences of Niru dealing with this will have a fallout that will reverberate forever for his family and friend, Meredith.
Initially the book seemed interesting and I thought Niru was an interesting fellow with a good "voice" telling his story. But I'm not a fan of Iweala's style. The story doesn't really go anywhere (perhaps as part of a coming of age story). There are no quotation marks. The story suddenly shifts perspectives that is driven by a plot development that requires the move.
I hate it when there are different narrators and that was no exception here. As others note, how Niru's story ends is all too common. Was this ending for him necessary? Is there a reason why we then see the story through Meredith's eyes? I could understand why Iweala would choose to end Niru's story so, but it seemed like a horribly abrupt decision that didn't work for the book, almost if the change may have been made in the editorial stage or the author changed his mind. I liked Meredith as a secondary character but I wished we could have stuck with Niru.
It wasn't for me. Also won't be checking out Iweala's 'Beasts' or other works. Recommend library if it interests you.
Niru is a young man in Washington, DC who seems to have the entire life ahead of him. Track star at his high school, soon to be going off to Harvard, etc. so it all seems good. But he has a secret. He's queer, which is completely unacceptable and is horrifying to his conservative Nigerian parents. The consequences of Niru dealing with this will have a fallout that will reverberate forever for his family and friend, Meredith.
Initially the book seemed interesting and I thought Niru was an interesting fellow with a good "voice" telling his story. But I'm not a fan of Iweala's style. The story doesn't really go anywhere (perhaps as part of a coming of age story). There are no quotation marks. The story suddenly shifts perspectives that is driven by a plot development that requires the move.
I hate it when there are different narrators and that was no exception here. As others note, how Niru's story ends is all too common. Was this ending for him necessary? Is there a reason why we then see the story through Meredith's eyes? I could understand why Iweala would choose to end Niru's story so, but it seemed like a horribly abrupt decision that didn't work for the book, almost if the change may have been made in the editorial stage or the author changed his mind. I liked Meredith as a secondary character but I wished we could have stuck with Niru.
It wasn't for me. Also won't be checking out Iweala's 'Beasts' or other works. Recommend library if it interests you.
robynthesmart's review against another edition
5.0
This story resonated with me and made me feel completely. Firstly the writing style is so refreshing- it jumps to different scenes pretty randomly but it’s never confusing; it just makes sense. Also, I liked how there weren’t any use of quotation marks, made the words flow better in my opinion. Overall the story connected with you and the way the author created the world in the book was unique.
japxican's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ducksfloat's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
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? It's complicated
3.5
Good listen. Emotional, sorta fell off at the end.
magentabyfive's review against another edition
3.0
I hate loved this book. I don’t know, still processing