Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Cost of Knowing

I was glad at the end to read the author's note about how this began as a novel of Black Boy Joy, but transformed into a novel of Black Boy Joy, Despite. The amount of heavy things after that Despite is long, but understanding a little of how and why it came about helped.

From the get go, Alex has already lost his parents to a car crash, and also his best friend/girlfriend's brother to a different car crash. Ever since losing his parents, Alex suffers from the curse of being able to peek into the future. Alex lives with an Aunt and his younger brother who has closed himself off, so Alex does not have many close relationships. We meet Alex as he's highly anxious over his future visions and his own future, particular his future with his girlfriend Talia. At first, this curse seemed a little contrived, but I liked the backstory that unfolds as the Reader learns more about Alex's family.

A large portion of the story suffers from the "so many things could have been resolved if you'd just told someone else about what is happening." But ultimately, Alex finds a way to share his burdens and anxieties. This sounds heartwarming or uplifting, but it comes at a very high cost.

Note: a lot of loss through death; extrajudicial murder; gun violence; racism.

Content Warnings

themugglebookworm's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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thataudaciouslady's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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mljames's review

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emotional 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? Yes

5.0

This was a very good novel. I finished it in three days, and that is fast for me.

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kaidoz's review

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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

This book had an interesting premise and lived up to it. It also included reflection on the current state of how black boys in America must live.

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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The Cost of Knowing is a perfectly decent book. There were a lot of themes we’ve seen before – ones that are still important, don’t get me wrong – but from an objective storytelling point of view these themes are not especially unique. I think my favorite part of this book was at the very end in the authors note. Brittney Morris shared that she set out to write a book about joy and found that before she could do that, she had to write a book about joy-despite. I really like how she expressed that, and it’s something I’m going to keep in mind as I continue to read books similar to The Cost of Knowing.

This book is about Alex and Isaiah. Ever since their parents’ death, Alex can see into the future. The longer he touches an object in the palm of his hand, the long he can see it. For him, it’s a curse. He finds himself living in a place of fear and anxiety and he just wants it to go away.

From a character point of view, I think Isaiah was my favorite. Isaiah is the most honest characterin the book and the best motivated. He seems to be the only one taking time to understand his world… despite the fact that for the first half the book, Isaiah early leaves his room. My main concern about characterization was how abruptly individual behaviors changed. A single comment would adjust the course of the relationship – for good or bad. Direct actions didn’t seem to have any long-lasting consequences. In fact, the most spontaneous and unthinking the characters were being, the more the story moved forward.

Morris’s writing style is easy to read. It’s light on descriptor and spends most the time in the characters heads unravelling their thoughts. I think I’d like a better overall balance, but it wasn’t bad, especially considering she was inhabiting a character with a slightly different life experience from her own. The thing that bothered me most about the story from a technical point of view were he first fifty pages. Everything that happened in the fist fifty pages was summarized in the book’s summary blurb. The beginning of the book was far too slow and then it wrapped up and people moved on far too quickly. It made the pacing a little wonky.

Should you read The Cost of Knowing? Absolutely yes! It’s a sibling story, a quiet sort of superpower story, a story calling out racism of all shades, and it is a book about overcoming your fears. It’s an overall enjoyable read and certainly something I’d recommend picking up at your library. It’s also a quick read, which are nice to throw inhere or there. It’s not going to make you cry like Dear Martin or something similar, but it is nevertheless a worthy novel.

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shaney_swift's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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