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A review by lmrivas54
Defying Gravity by A.M. Kusi
5.0
This book broke my heart. It’s an incredible eye opener into the perils of being born with black skin. It has insights into the non action of people against racism, not because they are racist themselves, but because they are content in their white lives, and don’t think about it. With white skin comes white conformity which extends into white consent.
The authors of this book are doing a great service to the community in presenting several evils in this society. Domestic violence, child abuse, and persistent systemic racism are themes present in this story, in a very humanized way. I went through a lot of emotions while reading: anger, compassion, frustration, confusion, and acute grief. I salute A.M. Kusi and the emotional message they send. I agree with them, this needs to be addressed by communication, learning, and a systemic change of laws and procedures.
Bently is the sherif and also Shattered Cove’s resident playboy. He’s very handsome and a serious flirt! His cheesy lines in this story were hilarious! He’s such a decent person, with a strong sense of values, most prominent the need to serve and protect. He carries a heavy weight of grief and guilt from his childhood. He feels he failed in protecting his siblings from their father’s abuse. This projects into his attitude about love: he refuses to fall in love, so he relies on one-night stands. And now that he’s the sherif, those activities happen outside of the town’s boundaries.
When Bently meets Belle for the first time, he’s gobsmacked silly with her beauty and spunk. Belle, with the typical attitude of POC when faced with the law, was openly hostile and saw him as the enemy. It took many attempts, his family, and friends to help his cause, and befriending her younger brother, to get Belle to change her mind and give him a chance.
Apart from the give and take of Bently’s issues and Belle’s reticence, there’s a strong sense of family where diversity is present: brown, black and white coexist in a strong loving environment, as it should be. The love and acceptance is strong, and for the first time Belle learns what it feels to have a supporting community at her back. There are many tender positive moments where Belle cries happy tears.
This is an emotional tale, there are strong issues, strong emotions and tragedy. The resilience of the characters wows my heart. It’s overwhelmingly sad and positive and a lesson in redemption. Must read with tissues at hand!
The authors of this book are doing a great service to the community in presenting several evils in this society. Domestic violence, child abuse, and persistent systemic racism are themes present in this story, in a very humanized way. I went through a lot of emotions while reading: anger, compassion, frustration, confusion, and acute grief. I salute A.M. Kusi and the emotional message they send. I agree with them, this needs to be addressed by communication, learning, and a systemic change of laws and procedures.
Bently is the sherif and also Shattered Cove’s resident playboy. He’s very handsome and a serious flirt! His cheesy lines in this story were hilarious! He’s such a decent person, with a strong sense of values, most prominent the need to serve and protect. He carries a heavy weight of grief and guilt from his childhood. He feels he failed in protecting his siblings from their father’s abuse. This projects into his attitude about love: he refuses to fall in love, so he relies on one-night stands. And now that he’s the sherif, those activities happen outside of the town’s boundaries.
When Bently meets Belle for the first time, he’s gobsmacked silly with her beauty and spunk. Belle, with the typical attitude of POC when faced with the law, was openly hostile and saw him as the enemy. It took many attempts, his family, and friends to help his cause, and befriending her younger brother, to get Belle to change her mind and give him a chance.
Apart from the give and take of Bently’s issues and Belle’s reticence, there’s a strong sense of family where diversity is present: brown, black and white coexist in a strong loving environment, as it should be. The love and acceptance is strong, and for the first time Belle learns what it feels to have a supporting community at her back. There are many tender positive moments where Belle cries happy tears.
This is an emotional tale, there are strong issues, strong emotions and tragedy. The resilience of the characters wows my heart. It’s overwhelmingly sad and positive and a lesson in redemption. Must read with tissues at hand!