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A review by wordsofclover
People Person by Candice Carty-Williams
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.0
Nikisha, Danny, Lizzie, Dimple and Prynce all have the same thing in common - their dead-beat dad Cyril who was pretty good at making children but failed in every way imaginable when it came to actually being a dad. Despite hardly knowing each other, when Dimple gets into trouble and calls her big sister, all of her siblings come to her aid and for the first time, they feel like a family.
I really enjoyed this book - both the plot of the story and the twists and turns with Kyron and what he did and did not remember about the night he was rolled in a tarp and almost buried alive but mostly the dynamic and growing relationship between all the siblings. The book covers some more serious topics such as loneliness and the feelings of parental abandonment but also shows the special bond that can exist between family, even when that bond is discovered or nurtured later in life rather than in childhood.
I can't say Dimple was my favourite character to follow for the majority of the book as yes, she was pretty much a crybaby and tended to overdo her victim complex but I guess she was a good character to observe the others through particularly Lizzie and Nikisha whose personalities are so different to hers. I think my favourites were Danny and Prynce (mostly Danny for being a lovable soft boi)
I think I would have liked more chapters in the POV of the other siblings just to understand more what was going on inside their heads than always being in Dimple's which got slightly tedious at times as she repeated the same actions (videos, Roman, crying, poor me act etc).
There are some great scenes in this book and most characters have big personalities in different ways so I do feel like every character stood out but all the best scenes definitely had Cyril in them as he left chaos in his wake. From the way he talks to his baby mamas to how he uses his children for money yet at the same time often visibly struggles to connect with his children and you can tell he does want to but has no idea how and fears that rejection and failure - and not to mention when you find out about some elements of his life, it's hard not to feel a bit sorry for him.
I very much enjoy Candice Carty-Williams, and I think she will probably be an auto-read author for me.
I really enjoyed this book - both the plot of the story and the twists and turns with Kyron and what he did and did not remember about the night he was rolled in a tarp and almost buried alive but mostly the dynamic and growing relationship between all the siblings. The book covers some more serious topics such as loneliness and the feelings of parental abandonment but also shows the special bond that can exist between family, even when that bond is discovered or nurtured later in life rather than in childhood.
I can't say Dimple was my favourite character to follow for the majority of the book as yes, she was pretty much a crybaby and tended to overdo her victim complex but I guess she was a good character to observe the others through particularly Lizzie and Nikisha whose personalities are so different to hers. I think my favourites were Danny and Prynce (mostly Danny for being a lovable soft boi)
I think I would have liked more chapters in the POV of the other siblings just to understand more what was going on inside their heads than always being in Dimple's which got slightly tedious at times as she repeated the same actions (videos, Roman, crying, poor me act etc).
There are some great scenes in this book and most characters have big personalities in different ways so I do feel like every character stood out but all the best scenes definitely had Cyril in them as he left chaos in his wake. From the way he talks to his baby mamas to how he uses his children for money yet at the same time often visibly struggles to connect with his children and you can tell he does want to but has no idea how and fears that rejection and failure - and not to mention when you find out about some elements of his life, it's hard not to feel a bit sorry for him.
I very much enjoy Candice Carty-Williams, and I think she will probably be an auto-read author for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Domestic abuse and Death of parent