ctaffe's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
staceface's review against another edition
I think it’s super important for everyone to know the story of the Exonerated Five. I really loved Ava DuVernay’s limited series on them, When They See Us, so I was looking forward to reading something firsthand. This book felt less like a memoir, and more like a motivational speech steeped in spirituality/religion. I had a hard time getting past all the religious stuff. I just personally didn’t vibe with the way this one was written.
lovelin28's review against another edition
3.0
This book was so.... Confusing?
On one hand, I love his story. It's terrible what he had to go through, but you can tell he grew through it in ways few people do.
On the other hand, the way he writes about Islam is really disturbing. Now, I'm not claiming I'm a good Muslim or anything, but don't call yourself an Imam while writing song lyrics and sharing photos of yourself with half naked women.
Another thing is the way the story was told. So messy! I'm a big fan of chronological order, and this wasn't it. Some parts in the middle made sense, but were conflicting with his introduction. For example, he says he was sent "directly to Rikers Island" (page 4), yet never talks about being in that prison afterwards. He only mentions Harlem Valley and Clinton.
All that being said, I enjoyed at least half the book, almost literally every other page. Reading this book was a roller-coaster, sometimes yelling "yes, exactly! finally someone says it", and a minute later wanting to throw the book across the room.
I'm excited to re-watch the Netflix series, now knowing a bit more.
3 stars, because I want to like it, but I couldn't really.
On one hand, I love his story. It's terrible what he had to go through, but you can tell he grew through it in ways few people do.
On the other hand, the way he writes about Islam is really disturbing. Now, I'm not claiming I'm a good Muslim or anything, but don't call yourself an Imam while writing song lyrics and sharing photos of yourself with half naked women.
Another thing is the way the story was told. So messy! I'm a big fan of chronological order, and this wasn't it. Some parts in the middle made sense, but were conflicting with his introduction. For example, he says he was sent "directly to Rikers Island" (page 4), yet never talks about being in that prison afterwards. He only mentions Harlem Valley and Clinton.
All that being said, I enjoyed at least half the book, almost literally every other page. Reading this book was a roller-coaster, sometimes yelling "yes, exactly! finally someone says it", and a minute later wanting to throw the book across the room.
I'm excited to re-watch the Netflix series, now knowing a bit more.
3 stars, because I want to like it, but I couldn't really.
mrselizabethv's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
cwatson1234's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
4.0
jxnareads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
5.0