Reviews with content warning for Murder - Fire Rush

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Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks

22 reviews

alomie's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Thought this was a good enough book, I enjoyed parts of it but towards the end I kind of fell out of love with it, I'm not sure what it was but it just didn't grab me.

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teekay_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Rhythmic, poetic and reflective. A beautiful and visceral telling about love, loss and shame. I was deep in Yamyae’s shoes a big thank you to Jacqueline’s vulnerability and research.

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flashandoutbreak's review

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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filuipa's review against another edition

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tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

i feel like it was privilege to read this book and get a glimpse of the black community and dub world of London in late 70s, which has led to some youtube trips to listen to the music genres mentioned to understand the picture better, especially how heavily the plot involves music. The last 20 pages were not my favourite ending at all, I could think of so many satisfying, some less pleasant, endings but considering how close this is to the author's experience it's not my story to change.

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biddibee's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I think this was a really good book, and see how it could be 5 stars for some people, but not for me. There were aspects that I loved - the music, the otherworldly, but I found that the book didn't really hold my attention.

One thing that was odd god me was how quickly her re ationship developed with Moose without us seeing it. When he died I didn't really understand why she was *so* broken. Of course losing a partner would kill anyone but all the talk of their futures seemed odd to me because I didn't get the impression it was that serious.

I don't think relationships were written too well in general because I really wasn't impacted by any of them. I'd have loved the Irish traveller character to have nbe explored more.

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cuppa_t's review

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

After someone close to Yamaye is murdered in police custody, she finds herself under scrutiny and in need of escape. She travels, constantly running from people and past while chasing sounds and dub rhythms.

Fire Rush is a beautifully written book filled with poetic gems of prose. If you’re looking for a character-led story, you’ll find Fire Rush absolutely phenomenal. Crooks' descriptions of personalities, relationships and emotions are second to none. Yamaye’s relationship with music is hypnotic. Every time the story shifts location, you are there with her.

However, as it is entirely character-led, I felt like at least four main plots were only taken halfway; the book ended because the character arc had been completed, rather than the plot coming full circle. I understand that this may be because it is semi-autobiographical, but a few loose ends were left too loose for me, particularly the plotline regarding her mother; I would love to read a version of this book where that was resolved.

Overall, it was a beautiful read but not as compelling as I had hoped.

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nicolaparty's review

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

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safiya's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? No

4.5

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brmills's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense 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

3.5

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deedireads's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.

TL;DR REVIEW:

Fire Rush is an impressive debut, with an undeniably electric voice and propulsive energy that really makes it stand out. I thought the pacing was a bit uneven, but I still liked it and I’m glad I read it.

For you if: You like books that highlight underrepresented perspectives from recent history.

FULL REVIEW:

I may never have read Fire Rush if not for the fact that it was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize. And though it wasn’t my favorite from the list, it’s impossible to deny the electric voice and propulsive energy Crooks has created.

The main character is a young woman named Yamaye, a second-generation member of the Jamaican diaspora living in West London in the late 1970s (the early days of Margaret Thatcher). She’s a regular of the local underground dub scene (literally, they go to a place called The Crypt and it’s in a crypt) alongside others for whom music is survival, and losing yourself is the only way to feel alive. But soon tragedy, injustice, and an increasingly hostile carceral state uproot her life, taking her to Bristol and eventually Jamaica.

I can absolutely see why this book is being praised; it has a strong, strong voice, and it crackles with rage and grief and life. This was particularly true in the audiobook experience; Yamaye’s narrator was the perfect fit and the producers included just the right (light) touch of effect to bring her music/club scene to life. Crooks makes it possible for us to take a hard look at the Black British experience of those years; them vs “Babylon.”

I think, for me, what kept this book from going on the “love” pile was some uneven pacing. It felt like it took the actual story a really long time to start, even though the narration had plenty of energy. Then as the plot picked up and I became invested in the story, some of that initial crackling energy waned.

But still, an extremely impressive debut. Glad I read it!

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