Reviews

Blanche Among the Talented Tenth by Barbara Neely

mbondlamberty's review

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5.0

I do like Blanche and feel for her having teenagers.
I liked the look into the Talented Tenth.

deirdreanais's review

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adventurous emotional informative mysterious sad fast-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

4.0

siria's review

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4.0

This second book in the Blanche White series sees Blanche heading to the small Maine resort community of Amber Cove. Traditionally a retreat for fair-skinned, wealthy African Americans, Blanche anticipates standing out as someone who is both working-class and dark-skinned. Mysterious deaths occur and Blanche gets to the bottom of it all, though honestly the crime-solving aspect of this novel is both secondary to the main action of the book and honestly a bit limp (like a second-rate Murder, She Wrote episode). The real interest to Blanche Among the Talented Tenth is Barbara Neely's exploration of classism and colorism among Black people, and how engaging and authentic Blanche's voice is. She's one of those point-of-view characters whom you can really hear speaking in your ear.

allyexa's review

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

What a drag this book was, in so many ways.

Firstly, for a 265 page mystery, it just never held my interest. The plot took too long to get going, and then didn’t quite know what to do with itself.

Also, it felt overall depressing. Lots of trauma, family and romantic relationships were strained and unhappy, there were suicides, a mental breakdown, colorism, classism, and so much judgment.

I still love Neely’s writing , and main character Blanche. She says what needs to be said with humor and history to back her up.  It’s always nice to hang out with her, but she was having a bummer of a summer in this book.  

I’ll happily continue on with the series. Thank God Blanche was just visiting in this book.

4/18/23

pussreboots's review against another edition

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

5.0

lit_stacks's review against another edition

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funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

blacksentai's review

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5.0

This is superb. It is a book I desperately wish I had known about when it came out.

matttruss's review

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mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

 It seems I'm in the minority on this one, but where I enjoyed the first, book 2 fell a bit flat for me. There was more up-front action here but the plot just...dragged and there wasn't enough suspense to keep me wanting to pick this one up, so it sat there. I still love Blanche as a character, but the plot in this one just didn't do it for me. 

raesofsun's review

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emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

remie's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0


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