A review by siobhanward
New People by Danzy Senna

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

3.0

 Maria was a mess and that made this book really hard to read. She was a well-developed protagonist, but was still such a chaotic character who seemed to make the worst possible decision at every turn. I wish Senna would have explored Maria's work on Jonestown a bit more, since I thought it had such interesting implications. Jim Jones was a huge proponent of civil rights in the US and one thing that drew followers to him was how progressive he was (until the whole mass suicide thing, obviously), and I thought that might have been something that Senna covered more. 
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