Reviews

School Days by Patrick Chamoiseau, Linda Coverdale

kaeleevincent's review against another edition

5.0

I actually really enjoyed this book. It was cute and funny at times, astute and powerfully vocal at others. The writing and prose was beautiful, poetic and dramatic without being excessive.
Perfectly captured childish innocence and catastrophization (that’s not a word but we’re going with it) while also making very real claims about racism and colonialism.
Despite some of the language, I think this book would be a very good choice for high schoolers to help demonstrate the role of schools/education system in perpetuating and propagating colonial superiority and the internalized inferiority of the colonized.

finnmacmillan's review against another edition

challenging inspiring medium-paced

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

3.25

ymi2bz4u's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring medium-paced

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

3.5

euniceyeh's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? Yes

3.0

meganstrahl's review against another edition

Skim-read as I had to finish it quickly for school. I’m not really sure what to rate it, but I liked it and it was very thought-provoking.

laurelkane's review against another edition

4.0

Such a delightful little book - at once funny and carefree, but at the same time has so much to say about colonialism, racism, losing (and finding again) the ability to love to learn.

maggiepiercy's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

delphine_bean's review against another edition

5.0

I really enjoyed this book. It was exactly what I was looking for. Beautifully written and incredible content.

readingtheend's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

3.0

I picked up this book while browsing the stacks at the library -- feels like I haven't done that for ages! I've been meaning to check out Martinican author Patrick Chamoiseau for a while now, and School Days was a good starting point, short and vivid. It's definitely slower-paced than my preference, but it's terrific at evoking a sense of place.

nataliemucciola's review against another edition

2.0

This was the last book I had to read for my English class and I really did not care for it. It was not bad by any means and there were a few parts of it that I did like, however, I found the book to be repetitive and boring. I'm not sure if it is because it is a translated work but it really did not interest me and I barely remained focused while reading it.