Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

13 reviews

achay91's review against another edition

emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Hate crime, Police brutality, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Classism, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicide, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury

megelizabeth's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

This was very much a 'just okay' book for me. It deals relatively well with some important themes, and I enjoyed some of the developing relationships, but ultimately I struggled to really connect with the characters or the story. I also wasn't a fan of the writing style, and to me it really didn't feel authentic to the 90s setting (some reviewers have said that this highlights how things haven't really changed in that time, but I personally feel this message could have been achieved without sacrificing the sense of time).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Suicide, Death, Racism, Murder, Violence, and Child abuse

Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Homophobia, War, Sexual harassment, Blood, and Suicide attempt

gellyreads's review against another edition

emotional sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Sexual content, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, Violence, and Racism

Moderate: Death, Slavery, Cursing, and Drug use

chloez's review

challenging emotional hopeful sad slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime

Minor: Police brutality, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Hate crime, Bullying, Classism, Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Racial slurs, Grief, Slavery, and Racism

kyrstin_p1989's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

4.0

This book focuses on a part of history that no other book I’ve read has — the Rodney King trials and subsequent uprising in LA in the 90’s. It follows a Black teenaged girl who lives a financially privileged life. She and her all white friends go to a fancy private school that’s only 10 miles away from the heart of the unrest that follows the not guilty verdict in the King police brutality case. The main character, Ashley, learns about her family, history, and what it means to be Black in America from her sister, her uncle and cousin, and the few other Black students who go to her school. A coming of age story that incorporates what it must be like to be young and Black in America — across the span of history. The book, while set in the 90’s, has parallels that teenagers today can draw from to understand the world around them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Violence, Genocide, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

fantasyshelves's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Racial slurs, Violence, Racism, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Body shaming, Abandonment, Hate crime, and Sexual content

kimmykelly's review

challenging dark emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Police brutality, Racism, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Mental illness, Cancer, Physical abuse, Drug use, and Bullying

brookey8888's review

emotional funny informative inspiring 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? Yes

4.75

I rounded this up because it’s so good, but the reason it isn’t just a five is I thought the writing style or the way it was written was a little weird. Like it would just jump to a flashback or like she was talking to us one or two times. Other then that this was so good. I really liked Ashley and the growth she went though. I liked  all the relationships she developed(family/friends/romantic). I like all that was discussed rather it was the heavier topics or just her growing up and being a teenager. I highly recommend this and can’t believe the 90s is now historical fiction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Grief, Hate crime, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit

sproutreads's review

reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Xenophobia, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Lesbophobia

kendrabetweenthelines's review

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

4.0

pol This is a really great historical YA coming-of-age novel. Through Ashley's story, the author explores race, class, violence, family and friendship. I really appreciated Ashley as a protagonist; her journey and growth was emotional and realistic. She was never unrealistically knowledgeable about everything and she makes teenage mistakes, which gives the reader an opportunity to learn along with her. One of the best parts about this book is that the same story could have been tlld from the perspective of several different characters in the story, with vastly different effects.

I do have a couple of minor critiques about this one, which kept it from being a five-star read. First, the author repeatedly uses the phrase "our grown ups" to describe the parents and teachers in the story. I'm not convinced that a high school senior would use that phrase. Also, it was sometimes hard to tell who was speaking (especially in the audiobook) due to the fragmented writing style. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Gun violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Bullying