thona's review
4.0
It took a realistic twist and it was layered on beautifully, Instead of white-on-black prejudice it s black-on-black which has never been quite mentioned before
jwill583's review
2.0
i feel like i was finally understanding the charters and what they were going through but then it left me hanging at the end. i was like....."what?!?!?"
mimomoss's review
2.0
Although it is a great storyline, it was not as good as I wanted it to be. So it was just okay. If your a nonreader looking for a good quick read, this is not the book for you.
arisbookcorner's review
2.0
This novel reads like a work in progress. I honestly couldn't believe the book ended where it did, I flipped back and forth a few times. The ending isn't suspenseful, it's a solid and cute ending but it seemed so abrupt. The transitions from chapter to chapter were awkward and not a single character is well developed. The story is told in third person but I still expected to learn more about Wendy. Off the top of my head all I can tell you is that she's the only black girl at her school, doesn't really get along with her father, is a tutor and wants to attend a HBCU (I had to go back and look up what HBCU because I couldn't remember if it was Howard or Spelman). Hakiam came a little closer to being two dimensional, but the book ended before he could fully manifest. I wanted to know more about Wendy's likes, Hakiam's likes (we learned a good deal about their dislikes), more details about growing up in Philly, etc. Why did Leesa (Hakiam's cousin) have such an attitude? Why is Wendy's dad so against poor Black people? Furthermore, there is no romantic chemistry. I'm not an expert, but there was absolutely no indication that they would like each other except for the obvious 'opposites attract'. It's only after they've started to hook up that I could sort of understand why they liked each other, but again, I needed MORE.
Mostly I can only commend the author on what she tried to do. Although I loved the scene when Wendy and Hakiam go on their first date and Wendy has an entire conversation with herself. I also enjoyed some of the banter between Wendy and Hakiam. At times it was sharp, both of them being quick on their feet. At other times, it fell flat. I'm glad the author tried to write a YA romance about Black people that wasn't street lit (not knocking street lit but I like having options). I like that the author wrote about Black prejudice towards other Blacks. I like that the author tried to address the positives and the negatives of going to a HBCU.
Tutored has potential. I firmly believe that if it was longer (the ARC is 179 pages) and the romance slowed down, there would be more obvious chemistry between Wendy and Hakiam and the characters would be more fleshed out. It's not just the characters that need fleshing out though, it's also the issues the author tries to address. I appreciate her discussing Black prejudice, use of the 'n' word and HBCUs but she only touches on these for the briefest of moments. There's no gradual change in attitudes, instead it's a rather dramatic shift. I was hoping Wendy and Hakiam would talk more because when they did, they had interesting discussions. Hakiam opened Wendy's eyes to a new world and she did the same for him, they are good for each other but as a reader, the palpable connection just wasn't there. Ultimately I not only WANTED more, I NEEDED more from the book in order for it to be a success
Mostly I can only commend the author on what she tried to do. Although I loved the scene when Wendy and Hakiam go on their first date and Wendy has an entire conversation with herself. I also enjoyed some of the banter between Wendy and Hakiam. At times it was sharp, both of them being quick on their feet. At other times, it fell flat. I'm glad the author tried to write a YA romance about Black people that wasn't street lit (not knocking street lit but I like having options). I like that the author wrote about Black prejudice towards other Blacks. I like that the author tried to address the positives and the negatives of going to a HBCU.
Tutored has potential. I firmly believe that if it was longer (the ARC is 179 pages) and the romance slowed down, there would be more obvious chemistry between Wendy and Hakiam and the characters would be more fleshed out. It's not just the characters that need fleshing out though, it's also the issues the author tries to address. I appreciate her discussing Black prejudice, use of the 'n' word and HBCUs but she only touches on these for the briefest of moments. There's no gradual change in attitudes, instead it's a rather dramatic shift. I was hoping Wendy and Hakiam would talk more because when they did, they had interesting discussions. Hakiam opened Wendy's eyes to a new world and she did the same for him, they are good for each other but as a reader, the palpable connection just wasn't there. Ultimately I not only WANTED more, I NEEDED more from the book in order for it to be a success
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