vera_michele's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 Stars
While I really liked the message this book was getting across, that was pretty much where the enjoyment stopped. I liked Jasmine and Isaac, but I didn't love Chelsea. I found her to be very annoying sometimes. I didn't really love the plot. At times it could be all over the place. All in all, I just didn't love this book. I did tear up a little at the end, so I did put the rating up a .5.
While I really liked the message this book was getting across, that was pretty much where the enjoyment stopped. I liked Jasmine and Isaac, but I didn't love Chelsea. I found her to be very annoying sometimes. I didn't really love the plot. At times it could be all over the place. All in all, I just didn't love this book. I did tear up a little at the end, so I did put the rating up a .5.
itsdaytime's review against another edition
1.0
1 star.
I wish I quit this book, I only finished it because I committed to it for an English project.
The book follow two girls, Chelsea and Jasmine. Chelsea struggles with her body and feeling beautiful, has a crush on a popular boy, and is an activist. Jasmine is a fat black girl, with a crush on her friend and her father is dying. That is the entirety of their personalities. There was no substance to these characters. After the first two chapters, you know everything about them. They, Chelsea in particular, spend the whole book being hypocritical and making bad decisions.
At the end of the book, despite all of the ill advised decisions, pointless, rude, and unnecessary arguments, everything works out perfectly in a choppy, poorly written resolution. The plot was poorly thought through, with as many holes as a pasta strainer. For example, one of the best friends, after being introduced in the beginning is mentioned twice in the middle. Then nothing from her.
This book is particularly bad because the idea is that the girls are in a progressive school, but their school doesn't listen to women. The entire setting is based on contrary ideas. Furthermore, one would expect that in a progressive school, queer people would have their voices heard and would be acknowledged, if not by the school, then by the main characters. One of the teachers is mentioned to be lesbian in a passing statement, and it is never touched on again.
This book was poorly written and hypocritical. I would not recommend to anyone.
I wish I quit this book, I only finished it because I committed to it for an English project.
The book follow two girls, Chelsea and Jasmine. Chelsea struggles with her body and feeling beautiful, has a crush on a popular boy, and is an activist. Jasmine is a fat black girl, with a crush on her friend and her father is dying. That is the entirety of their personalities. There was no substance to these characters. After the first two chapters, you know everything about them. They, Chelsea in particular, spend the whole book being hypocritical and making bad decisions.
At the end of the book, despite all of the ill advised decisions, pointless, rude, and unnecessary arguments, everything works out perfectly in a choppy, poorly written resolution. The plot was poorly thought through, with as many holes as a pasta strainer. For example, one of the best friends, after being introduced in the beginning is mentioned twice in the middle. Then nothing from her.
This book is particularly bad because the idea is that the girls are in a progressive school, but their school doesn't listen to women. The entire setting is based on contrary ideas. Furthermore, one would expect that in a progressive school, queer people would have their voices heard and would be acknowledged, if not by the school, then by the main characters. One of the teachers is mentioned to be lesbian in a passing statement, and it is never touched on again.
This book was poorly written and hypocritical. I would not recommend to anyone.
ireallywantobeareader's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
0.5
sasyjenn's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
fast-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? No
5.0
caitbooks_27's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
shellihuntley4's review against another edition
4.0
Sort of a STOP TALKING (A. Clements) for the older set. Great empowering messages.
story_sanctuary's review against another edition
5.0
I loved the multi-media feel of WATCH US RISE. The descriptions of art, the poetry and blog posts, all of it created this really broad reading experience for me. I loved that Jasmine and Chelsea made mistakes along the their journey as strong women– not because I wasn’t rooting for them, but because those mistakes made them so real and made me feel like it’s okay to make my own mistakes, too, because it’s part of learning. Their passion energized me.
And if that’s all there was to this story, I’d still say it was a great book, but ohmygosh there’s actually more! Romance. Family issues. Grief, loss and mourning. And all the way through, I felt so connected to the characters and what they experienced. I love that they were strong women with passionate voices advocating for themselves and others. But I also loved that they weren’t defined by their ideals, and I felt like that was a really important part of the message, too. You can be a feminist and still be interested in fashion. You can be a feminist and still idolize a man (in this case, her dad).
I realize that’s probably obvious to a lot of people, but I feel like it’s worth repeating in a world where often we distill people down to one idea or one thing and ignore the rest. At any rate, I definitely enjoyed this book and recommend it, especially to girls looking for their place and their voice in social issues.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
And if that’s all there was to this story, I’d still say it was a great book, but ohmygosh there’s actually more! Romance. Family issues. Grief, loss and mourning. And all the way through, I felt so connected to the characters and what they experienced. I love that they were strong women with passionate voices advocating for themselves and others. But I also loved that they weren’t defined by their ideals, and I felt like that was a really important part of the message, too. You can be a feminist and still be interested in fashion. You can be a feminist and still idolize a man (in this case, her dad).
I realize that’s probably obvious to a lot of people, but I feel like it’s worth repeating in a world where often we distill people down to one idea or one thing and ignore the rest. At any rate, I definitely enjoyed this book and recommend it, especially to girls looking for their place and their voice in social issues.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.