charleylenden's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
slavic_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars! It is a MUST READ for everyone!!!!!
It is astonishing how similar the plot is to what is happening in the U.S. right now.
I can understand why this is a banned book in some places in the States. It’s a book that tells people the complete truth of the lives of Black people. The same truth that some books showed during WW2 in Europe and were banned by Hitler. The government and the rulers are always afraid of the truth, that’s why they ban sh**!
As a Caucasian woman I can only understand how others live there lives so much. This book gave me a better look into Black lives and I really hope that as many people as possible read it and it will be as eye opening for them as it was for me.
#blacklivesmatter
It is astonishing how similar the plot is to what is happening in the U.S. right now.
I can understand why this is a banned book in some places in the States. It’s a book that tells people the complete truth of the lives of Black people. The same truth that some books showed during WW2 in Europe and were banned by Hitler. The government and the rulers are always afraid of the truth, that’s why they ban sh**!
As a Caucasian woman I can only understand how others live there lives so much. This book gave me a better look into Black lives and I really hope that as many people as possible read it and it will be as eye opening for them as it was for me.
#blacklivesmatter
nzlisam's review against another edition
5.0
Given the current state of race relations in America this is definitely a book that needed to be told.
Intense, relevant, realistic, powerful and heart-breaking – one of those books that stays with you long after you’ve finished, and makes you think. I can see why it won best YA novel for 2017 on Goodreads. The protagonist, Starr Carter blew me away. She is intelligent, strong, resilient, wise-beyond her years, with a teasing, sarcastic sense of humour. Seeing two of her friends killed in front of her own eyes is something no one should ever have to experience in their lifetime – let alone at the tender age of sixteen – and in two separate acts of violence. It saddens and angers me to think that there are real families, and children, in a first world country, in 2018, living like this, exposed to violence on a daily basis, and that said violence is considered normal. I find it almost impossible to process that when they hear gunshots nearby, the Carter family have to hide in their own home – holed up in a room without windows, lights off, in order not to draw attention to their house – a place they should feel safe, but don’t. That at the same tender age she’s given the ‘birds and bees’ talk, Starr’s parents teach her what she should do, and how she should act, ‘when’ not ‘if’ (because it’s going to happen) she is stopped by police.
Starr’s parents, her uncle, her brothers, were all great characters. In fact, all the characters were great and enriched the story. I loved the Carter’s family dynamic, and that her parents were strict but loving, despite having past scars and issues of their own to cope and deal with. That they wanted the best for their kids, but were torn between leaving their community for a safer life and wanting to stay put and effect change for the better from within. I also liked how the author showed that not everything about ‘Garden Heights’ was bad and ugly – that good people lived there who were helpful and loyal towards one another. A must-read, that I’d recommend to all, and an author I’ll definitely be following.
Intense, relevant, realistic, powerful and heart-breaking – one of those books that stays with you long after you’ve finished, and makes you think. I can see why it won best YA novel for 2017 on Goodreads. The protagonist, Starr Carter blew me away. She is intelligent, strong, resilient, wise-beyond her years, with a teasing, sarcastic sense of humour. Seeing two of her friends killed in front of her own eyes is something no one should ever have to experience in their lifetime – let alone at the tender age of sixteen – and in two separate acts of violence. It saddens and angers me to think that there are real families, and children, in a first world country, in 2018, living like this, exposed to violence on a daily basis, and that said violence is considered normal. I find it almost impossible to process that when they hear gunshots nearby, the Carter family have to hide in their own home – holed up in a room without windows, lights off, in order not to draw attention to their house – a place they should feel safe, but don’t. That at the same tender age she’s given the ‘birds and bees’ talk, Starr’s parents teach her what she should do, and how she should act, ‘when’ not ‘if’ (because it’s going to happen) she is stopped by police.
Starr’s parents, her uncle, her brothers, were all great characters. In fact, all the characters were great and enriched the story. I loved the Carter’s family dynamic, and that her parents were strict but loving, despite having past scars and issues of their own to cope and deal with. That they wanted the best for their kids, but were torn between leaving their community for a safer life and wanting to stay put and effect change for the better from within. I also liked how the author showed that not everything about ‘Garden Heights’ was bad and ugly – that good people lived there who were helpful and loyal towards one another. A must-read, that I’d recommend to all, and an author I’ll definitely be following.
_charlotteheath's review against another edition
soooooo so good!!! absolutely 100% worth all the hype, the writing was amazing. it felt so easy to read and i loved the style it was written in. the characters were all so fleshed out and 3D and everyone there had a purpose that helped progress the story or add something to it. loved it so much and i'm only mad it took me this long to read it
devilsdaughter666's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism
katemarie99's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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? No
5.0
Such a hard book, but such an important one.
abesreading's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
basicbbookworm's review against another edition
5.0
It’s a little humbling to read this, feel like it’s very pertinent for today, and then realize it was written 3 years ago. Definitely an example of my white privilege to not fully realize how long lasting all facets of the BLM movement truly are. This covered all aspects of debates and issues surrounding the movement, and covered it very well. Must read, I think especially for teenagers today but really for everyone.
harris39's review against another edition
5.0
I mean, this book is pretty much the prime example of why it's so important to be publishing (& reading!) #ownvoices books written by authors of color and other marginalized and minority peoples. And, specifically, anyone who reads this book will understand why it's important to consume books written by black authors about the black experience in America. To read this book as a non-black person was to understand that I don't know shit about what it is to be black in America (or Canada), that I will never know—in my bones, in my body—what that is like. But this book brought me a little bit closer to understanding it on a more intimate level, because it brought me into the hearts, minds, and souls of a black family and the struggles they face and allowed me to dwell with them and inhabit their experience for a while. It brought me a clearer understanding of a culture that is uniquely black (by which I do not mean to imply that there is but one "black culture" or that black people are a monolith, rather that it gave me insight into a segment of culture that would be contained under the umbrella of "black culture").
At times this book got my hackles up and made me very uncomfortable, but I realize that this is actually a gift as it highlights to me the work I need to do to dismantle my own latent prejudices—however subtle or seemingly innocuous—that have been indoctrinated in me over the years, that I need to continue to dwell in this space and keep my mind open and nonjudgmental. I see more clearly now that the line we are fed about all human beings fundamentally being the same, while true, is also only partially true, because while many of these characters' dreams, desires, feelings and troubles were certainly universal in scope, they also faced hardships and were driven by something that was tied directly to the fact that they were black and that shaped their fears and their rage and the way that they must navigate the world.
And, of course, this book reminded me that black culture, black contributions to society, black people, they all matter and are worth honoring, celebrating and protecting. What a compassionate, illuminating, but also confronting read. I'm so glad I made room for it in my life and my heart.
At times this book got my hackles up and made me very uncomfortable, but I realize that this is actually a gift as it highlights to me the work I need to do to dismantle my own latent prejudices—however subtle or seemingly innocuous—that have been indoctrinated in me over the years, that I need to continue to dwell in this space and keep my mind open and nonjudgmental. I see more clearly now that the line we are fed about all human beings fundamentally being the same, while true, is also only partially true, because while many of these characters' dreams, desires, feelings and troubles were certainly universal in scope, they also faced hardships and were driven by something that was tied directly to the fact that they were black and that shaped their fears and their rage and the way that they must navigate the world.
And, of course, this book reminded me that black culture, black contributions to society, black people, they all matter and are worth honoring, celebrating and protecting. What a compassionate, illuminating, but also confronting read. I'm so glad I made room for it in my life and my heart.