Reviews with content warning for Violence - When I Was the Greatest

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds

3 reviews

vreadsalot's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

CAWPILE: 6.07/3*

Voor mijn smaak was er een beetje weinig plot voor de lengte van het boek. Ali was een leuk personage om het perspectief van te lezen, though.

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brookey8888's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-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

4.25

This was super good and moving. I didn’t know what this was about so I was nervous about the turn it might take, but thankfully it didn’t go as dark as it could have which I appreciated. I liked that it showed that you don’t have to fight violence with violence all the time. I really enjoyed seeing Ali’s relationship with his sister that was so sweet. As well as with his dad and mom. I also liked seeing his friendship and how hard it could be to be friends with people struggling. Needles and Jazz were my favorite part of this and Ali honestly.

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nytephoenyx's review

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reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

When I Was the Greatest is a good book, but it isn’t a great book. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with the story or with the writing, just that there isn’t that special something that makes it memorable. If anything, its length threw me off. Considering more recent novels of similar storylines, I expected something bigger and more vivid. I don’t feel that reading the book was a waste of time, but if you asked me in two years what I remember about When I Was the Greatest, I’m not sure I would be able to tell you. It just wasn’t memorable.

Well, mostly unmemorable. One of the three principal characters, Needles, was memorable. Needles is a young Black man with Tourette’s syndrome. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that had a character with Tourette’s syndrome and it was interesting to see that representation. I’m not sure how good the representation was – Needles was a supporting character with limited dialogue but a central purpose. I enjoyed the fact this character existed, the story behind his name, and the important impact he had on Ali and Noodles.

When I Was the Greatest is a story about a young Black man who lives with his mom and his little sister in a poor part of New York City and his father is mostly absent but still cares. It’s about being in the wrong place at the wrong time and making the right decision and still having to deal with the negative consequences. And it’s simplest form, it’s a storyline we’ve seen before. I would be a little bit more harsh if this book had only come out in 2022, but at the time of publication it was a less common story and more important for representation. These days, I think there are better choices out there with more complex characters and settings, but When I Was the Greatest is an easy read for less advanced YA readers. There are important themes and questions and it’s a generally good book to have in one’s library or classroom collection.

While When I Was the Greatest would not be my first recommendation for a book by Jason Reynolds, it’s not bad, and if it catches your eye it’s certainly worth reading. It is a quick read with a variety of diverse characters and written by a Black author. It’s always good to support diverse authors and normalize having books with a variety of representation available for all readers, so in that way, I recommend it. But if you’re looking for some thing a bit riveting and unexpected, this might not be the best choice. It’s good enough, but it’s not the greatest.

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