Scan barcode
aformeracceleratedreader's review
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Overall really enjoyed this one. The characters could be frustrating but I have to remember they are teens and teens do a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense as an adult.
Really enjoyed Naomi's journey of discovery and embracing her blackness while navigating through the things her white friends said/did that were racist.
I mainly disliked the romance aspect between Naomi, who is a high school girl, and a college boy. I don't like college kids having romantic situations with high schoolers as a general things. I don't think his age was ever given (so he could've been 19), but I would've preferred her having a high school love interest (so her age, 17 going on 18) instead of a college one.
I honestly didn't expect the twist and did really like the ending. There were some resolutions that were good and gave the reader some hope.
Really enjoyed Naomi's journey of discovery and embracing her blackness while navigating through the things her white friends said/did that were racist.
I mainly disliked the romance aspect between Naomi, who is a high school girl, and a college boy. I don't like college kids having romantic situations with high schoolers as a general things. I don't think his age was ever given (so he could've been 19), but I would've preferred her having a high school love interest (so her age, 17 going on 18) instead of a college one.
I honestly didn't expect the twist and did really like the ending. There were some resolutions that were good and gave the reader some hope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Grief, and Racism
Moderate: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Classism, Death, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Murder and Police brutality
mar038__'s review
4.0
This book was so frustrating to read at times. Not because of the writing or the author but because of how lost Naomi was in her journey. Sometimes when we overcome this type of hurdle or never have had to before, we forget about how frustratingly difficult this process is. Being black is hard y’all and sometimes we are proud of it or ashamed of it. Our attitude towards our blackness CRUCIAL. Whoever reads this, I hope you come to enjoy this book as it shows how being black can feel so empowering yet so isolating.
thenycbookwhore69's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Okay so coming into this book I did know that this book would most definitely piss me off lmaoooo, but I overall did really enjoy it. The beginning parts/dialogue was a bit cringe, it gave Wattpad vibes, but as the story progressed it wasn’t too bad.
I don’t want to give out any spoilers, but the ending literally had my jaw to the floor. I wasn’t expecting that twist at all. Let’s talk about Naomi’s mom because what the hell was she thinking raising her daughter like that. Like ma’am you had no inkling that maybe raising your Black daughter in that specific environment wouldn’t at some point collapse. Sigh, atleast Naomi saw the light.
Fav Quote:
“Massa let you in the house today mammy?” Like please this had me in tears!!!!!
night_owl9's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ebright1121's review against another edition
#NetGalleyARC I really enjoyed this author's writing and works. I like that Harris tackles topics that are present in our lives and doesn't do so in a superficial way. I do wish YA authors would get out of the trend of time jumps, flashbacks, and multiple POVs. This book wasn't too heavy on this stuff but it was present. A great read that I will for sure purchase for my HS library.
pantehnreads's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. I must say that I really enjoyed this book. Now I would be lying if I didn't say that Naomi is a frustrating protagonist at times. There are times when I want to shake her and say, "Wake up, girl, your friend is not your friend." This book has a lot of conversations about race, privilege, friendship, blackness, power, microaggressions, and finding yourself. I think what really drives this story is seeing all the character growth, especially Naomi's. Seeing her take steps to embrace her blackness, what that means to her is beautiful to see. It is not a book that one would say is an easy read cuz it deals with some sensitive topics, especially in terms to race. But I really think that the writer did a great job at creating multi-layered characters. She also really explores those questions about friendship and how something can start off innocent. Naomi and Kylie are best friends and have so much history. So when so when Kylie has the situation where she's called parking lot Becky, crack starts to form in their friendship as Naomi starts to realize that Kylie may not see her. Kylie is so you know in so wrapped up in her own privilege and in her own her own problems that she doesn't notice or doesn't care to notice how she treats Naomi or how she talks about black people or interacts with black people. I really like how they touch on tokenism, the concept of the token black friend and I also liked how you know it it starts off being very like and then you know it gets kind of high stakes with this whole like is another plot that is very dramatic and very like oh my God. So I don't want to say too much more cuz I don't want to ruin it but really good book.
lit_vibrations's review against another edition
4.0
This was a pretty decent coming-of-age YA novel. Harris masterfully creates an intense yet thought-provoking read filled with so many emotions from all of the characters surrounding race.
In the novel we watch as Naomi Henry struggles to navigate her Blackness after a viral video of her best-friend Kylie who happens to be white is seen calling the cops on two Black teens in a shopping store parking lot and it causes an uproar in their town. Naomi and Kylie have been best-friends for years and while Naomi wants to remain loyal even after what she’s seen, the other Black students at their high school are questioning their friendship. Now Naomi can’t help but see everything in a different light.
From the beginning the novel pulls you in with the aftermath of a bomb explosion. Throughout the book we go between the past and present learning about Naomi’s friendship with Kylie and what led up to the bombing. The pacing started off well but toward the middle it drags a bit but I believe in between that time we see Naomi’s character develop a little more.
I sympathized a lot with Naomi because she was caught in the middle of something that wasn’t her fault. I felt her friendship with Kylie seemed weird there were some red flags simply based on their interactions in the book it didn’t really give best friends. Then once everything popped off after the video their friendship went up in the air.
Overall, the book was great and the author did well building suspense around such a complex issue. The details were vivid and easy to picture. My only downside was once the protests began and more confusion arose amongst the teens I could predict what was going to lead up to the bombing. Outside of that I recommend because there was definitely a lot of action going on with this one. Special thanks to the author & #quilltreebooks for my gifted copy‼️
In the novel we watch as Naomi Henry struggles to navigate her Blackness after a viral video of her best-friend Kylie who happens to be white is seen calling the cops on two Black teens in a shopping store parking lot and it causes an uproar in their town. Naomi and Kylie have been best-friends for years and while Naomi wants to remain loyal even after what she’s seen, the other Black students at their high school are questioning their friendship. Now Naomi can’t help but see everything in a different light.
From the beginning the novel pulls you in with the aftermath of a bomb explosion. Throughout the book we go between the past and present learning about Naomi’s friendship with Kylie and what led up to the bombing. The pacing started off well but toward the middle it drags a bit but I believe in between that time we see Naomi’s character develop a little more.
I sympathized a lot with Naomi because she was caught in the middle of something that wasn’t her fault. I felt her friendship with Kylie seemed weird there were some red flags simply based on their interactions in the book it didn’t really give best friends. Then once everything popped off after the video their friendship went up in the air.
Overall, the book was great and the author did well building suspense around such a complex issue. The details were vivid and easy to picture. My only downside was once the protests began and more confusion arose amongst the teens I could predict what was going to lead up to the bombing. Outside of that I recommend because there was definitely a lot of action going on with this one. Special thanks to the author & #quilltreebooks for my gifted copy‼️
leeyuhfeelips's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0