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eboc2024's review
5.0
We have the privilege of having Candice Montgomery visit our middle school in February.
I absolutely loved this new YA book! From the sweet (but not sickly) queer love story...to the bees and the apiary and how influential and important they were in Torrey’s life... to the timely lessons on gentrification, white privilege and power. Being queer myself and struggling with going to college on my own with little help, I could identify with Torrey. But, it was also a window for me, such as the aspects of being a Black gay man dealing with homophobia at home. This novel has so many layers! Read it!
I absolutely loved this new YA book! From the sweet (but not sickly) queer love story...to the bees and the apiary and how influential and important they were in Torrey’s life... to the timely lessons on gentrification, white privilege and power. Being queer myself and struggling with going to college on my own with little help, I could identify with Torrey. But, it was also a window for me, such as the aspects of being a Black gay man dealing with homophobia at home. This novel has so many layers! Read it!
raeanne's review
5.0
I received this book for free from Fantastic Flying Book Club in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Happy Friday Eve ya'll! Today I get to share my review of tear-jerking, heart-soaring life changing novel, By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery. It's queer. Black. Queer and black AF. It's a love letter to so many communities and those among their intersections. It's beautiful. And necessary.
Trigger Warning: Homophobic uncle & community, police encounter, talk of murder by police,
Here's the thing. I loved every single part of this in a way I'm finding hard to express. I'm literally tearing up right now just thinking about this again. I don't want to sell it short or turn anyone off. I really truly think all ya'll need to read this NOW.
It's just...beautiful. So.
Prize: Win a copy of By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery (US/CAN Only)
Starts: October 8th 2019
Ends: October 22nd 2019
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This review was originally posted on The Layaway Dragon
About By Any Means Necessary:
IMHO: By Any Means Necessary
Trigger Warning: Homophobic uncle & community, police encounter, talk of murder by police,
Here's the thing. I loved every single part of this in a way I'm finding hard to express. I'm literally tearing up right now just thinking about this again. I don't want to sell it short or turn anyone off. I really truly think all ya'll need to read this NOW.
It's just...beautiful. So.
Here's a non-exhaustive list of all the things I loved about it:
- Quickly swept up & away
- Didn’t want to put it down.
- Genuinely sweet & funny moments
- Didn’t have any issues keeping up with the narrative, flash backs, transitions. (This has been an issue in other books lately)
- Torrey’s VOICE. Holy Forking Shirtballs!
- Love the straight roommate that doesn’t make it weird having a gay roommate, it just is! Just a big ol’ teddy bear.
- Love CAKE, collectively and individually, with or without Torrey
- All the bee facts sprinkled throughout
- Aunt Lisa
- Fuck you Theo.
- Good for you Torrey!
- Torrey drinks for the first time
- Protesting
- the Collective
- I sees you literary references!! re: Lilly Anderson and Amal Unbound
- London!
- Gabriel!
- That glorious mane gets a whole line to itself
- And so does all the dancing
- And all the little things Torrey loves about him & describes so wonderfully.
- The breaking the fourth wall like moments re: white readers & privilege.
- That cop interaction left me cold and sweating when reading, and every time I think about it afterwards *shudder*
- Afro-latinx characters rep!
- BLACK AF
- Black woman love and recognition!!
- I love how there’s no sympathizing with the slimy fuckers, never, not once. Not after Torrey retaliates. There’s no moralizing or hand wringing about what he did. Just caring about Torrey and how the consequences will affect him.
- Really handles so many intersections and issues so well, in an organic everyday way. It’s fucking hard to live it, and to write it.
- There’s no one way or right way to juggle things personally and it doesn’t fall into the trap of presenting itself as the only correct way
- Tender and careful about the delicate way these factors all weave together, without pulling how hard those punches land.
- Totally want more of this crew, maybe a bit of that queer CAKE next?
Stop making me cry and just go read it already, damn.
FYI: Here's a helpful tip I found on the internet long ago to remember how to spell necessary: one collar, two sleeves.
Some Favorite Quotes:
Up yours sign. You’re written in Comic Sans, nobody likes you anyway.
Which isn’t a sentiment I’m opposed to, so much as the train it arrives on.
He presses into me and his lips meet mine, and I become a whisper of a boy.
“Your lies only hurt me because they are so poorly crafted.”
Obligations isn’t so bad when you choose it for yourself.
Two masc dudes kiss to express feelings that homophobia tried to rob them of. Write that tell-all.
The city hasn’t taught them that Black and brown people get fined for expressing emotions at a volume white people find to be too much.
“Nothing beats a failure but a try.”
He would be the most beautiful Icarus, I think. Dancing a little too closely to the sun all his life.
About the Author:
Giveaway:
Prize: Win a copy of By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery (US/CAN Only)
Starts: October 8th 2019
Ends: October 22nd 2019
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tour Schedule:
This review was originally posted on The Layaway Dragon
girlreading's review
4.0
When a book features an adorable second chance m/m romance, has a college setting, honestly discusses gentrification, race, poverty, sexuality and the undeniable intersections between them, explores family dynamics, including found family and the need for self care, you know you’re in for something great but when there are also BEES, there’s no escaping that greatness.
TW: homophobia, police violence
TW: homophobia, police violence
heresthepencil's review
4.0
rep: Black gay mc, Afro-Latino bi li, almost all Black side characters
ARC provided by the publisher.
I have so much love for this book, I’m not even sure where to start. Let’s just make a list and get through it step by step.
1) The writing style is really cool. It’s first person pov, which I know isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it works perfectly here. It’s clear that Montgomery knows how teenagers think, so it’s never awkward in that particular way only some YA books can be. Instead, it’s fresh & funny & casual. It’s like hanging out with a friend, basically. And then you get treated with a beautiful sentence here and there & it becomes magical.
2) From the first word to the very last, this book is just unapologetically Black. You can feel that pride in the culture seeping out of every paragraph, but it also doesn’t shy away from dealing with some uncomfortable parts of belonging to the community. It’s actually a whole arc, with Torrey trying to save the apiary and not always getting the support he’s looking for from members of that community.
3) At the same time, there are still a lot of people who are willing to help him. And the majority of them are women, which Torrey is very much aware of in his narration. It basically feels like a love letter to Black women & it doesn’t just stop with that one arc or just one generation of women – Torrey appreciates the friends he made at college just as much as the women he grew up around. It’s woven into the whole book, into the very essence of Torrey even – this deep appreciation of all the work that Black women do.
4) This social awareness he displays doesn’t stop there, either. The book full-on calls out white people on all the little (and big) ways we exhibit racism in our day to day lives. Personally, I appreciated that a lot. It always worked perfectly well the topic at hand, too. Actually, one of the main topics of the book is pretty much a call-out of white, western culture: gentrification. The book shows how this “trend” destroys whole communities, while also saying “hey, you can fight back”.
5) The romance is kind of central to the plot, only by central I don’t mean that it’s the tired “will they, won’t they” dance. The opposite, really. Torrey and Gabriel get together pretty soon in the book and it’s their love that helps Torrey to push forward. The romance is central in a way that it acts as an anchor for Torrey. It’s central in a way that it’s a big part of Torrey’s life and focuses him. It’s never the magical cure for all his problems & actually causes some of its own, but it’s important. It’s shown as the complex thing that it should be.
I’m not trying very hard, but I just can’t find any faults in this book. If you’re Black, I’m pretty sure reading it would feel like a warm hug, like someone is looking out for you, but also like a push to action. If you’re not, like me, you might just learn something. In any case, it’s a really well written book about a Black gay freshman in college trying to balance all the things in his life & you don’t wanna miss out on that.
ARC provided by the publisher.
I have so much love for this book, I’m not even sure where to start. Let’s just make a list and get through it step by step.
1) The writing style is really cool. It’s first person pov, which I know isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it works perfectly here. It’s clear that Montgomery knows how teenagers think, so it’s never awkward in that particular way only some YA books can be. Instead, it’s fresh & funny & casual. It’s like hanging out with a friend, basically. And then you get treated with a beautiful sentence here and there & it becomes magical.
2) From the first word to the very last, this book is just unapologetically Black. You can feel that pride in the culture seeping out of every paragraph, but it also doesn’t shy away from dealing with some uncomfortable parts of belonging to the community. It’s actually a whole arc, with Torrey trying to save the apiary and not always getting the support he’s looking for from members of that community.
3) At the same time, there are still a lot of people who are willing to help him. And the majority of them are women, which Torrey is very much aware of in his narration. It basically feels like a love letter to Black women & it doesn’t just stop with that one arc or just one generation of women – Torrey appreciates the friends he made at college just as much as the women he grew up around. It’s woven into the whole book, into the very essence of Torrey even – this deep appreciation of all the work that Black women do.
4) This social awareness he displays doesn’t stop there, either. The book full-on calls out white people on all the little (and big) ways we exhibit racism in our day to day lives. Personally, I appreciated that a lot. It always worked perfectly well the topic at hand, too. Actually, one of the main topics of the book is pretty much a call-out of white, western culture: gentrification. The book shows how this “trend” destroys whole communities, while also saying “hey, you can fight back”.
5) The romance is kind of central to the plot, only by central I don’t mean that it’s the tired “will they, won’t they” dance. The opposite, really. Torrey and Gabriel get together pretty soon in the book and it’s their love that helps Torrey to push forward. The romance is central in a way that it acts as an anchor for Torrey. It’s central in a way that it’s a big part of Torrey’s life and focuses him. It’s never the magical cure for all his problems & actually causes some of its own, but it’s important. It’s shown as the complex thing that it should be.
I’m not trying very hard, but I just can’t find any faults in this book. If you’re Black, I’m pretty sure reading it would feel like a warm hug, like someone is looking out for you, but also like a push to action. If you’re not, like me, you might just learn something. In any case, it’s a really well written book about a Black gay freshman in college trying to balance all the things in his life & you don’t wanna miss out on that.
itssimplykayla_'s review
5.0
I loved this book! It was great going on this journey with Torrey. He was stuck between wanting to be at home to save the apiary and going to college. I'm glad that he had family in his Aunt Lisa because his grandpa, Theo, was the pits. Torrey also had family back at his college, SFSU, in CAKE (you'll understand once you read the book.) and his roomate, Desh. I'm glad that Torrey was able to reconnect and start a relationship with Gabriel. Torrey deserved that happiness. Even though Torrey lost the apiary I can tell that his life was moving in the right direction.
lydiahephzibah's review
DNF at p.115. Over 1/3 of the way through and it was going nowhere. Such a disappointment; the cover is ADORABLE but where is the plot? Where is the characterisation? I feel like I'm just being told everything that's happening but none of it really works together or makes sense. Over 100 pages read and all I can tell you is that the MC kinda wants to go home to his bee farm and he likes a guy he used to know.
amandamarieger's review
5.0
OH MY GOODNESS. I love so much about this book. The voice. The characters. The rep. I love everything. All the heart eyes in the world!!
bookishly_sweety's review
4.0
Firstly I would like to say that this book was not at all what I expected it to be. At first, I found it hard to get into the book, because its told only in first person and from Torrey's POV. So I was beginning to get bored thinking it's going to be the voice of a person who is only going to keep grumbling about the situation he is in. But the story evolved and with it, Torrey too.
To say life's been tough for Torrey wouldn't be an exaggeration. The kid is Black and poor and gay in a homophobic society that still treats persons of colour differently.
I liked the cutesy way Gabriel and Torrey become a couple. No beating around the bush, or pushing and pulling each other till the end of the book. And totally loved how Gabe calls Torrey his Principe (Spanish for Prince) *insert heart-eyes*
And when I was beginning to get antsy about the lack of strong females, Candice blesses us with Emery. I loved her so much. Together with the CAKE ( Clarke, Auburn, Kennedy, Emery) or alone with Torrey, she just rocks and I loved her so much. Even Torrey is amazed by her. I loved the below quote from the book because its so beautifully written about a girl, from a guy's point of view. A guy who is not a boyfriend !!
And ooh who wouldn't love the scene where Torrey takes her to the apiary and they harvest honey together!! The imagery in itself was so much pleasing and I loved it. And Torrey leaves you surprised by the random bee facts he throws in and I did not know most of them.
Not only bees, Torrey also lets you know what is really happening in the Black 'hoods. How gentrification is affecting their livelihood and displacing them. I love how through him, the author is trying to bring attention to how silently the society is replacing the Hoods and white-washing them. Also loved how so MUCH importance is given to their community, the women and their ways, the dialect, the habits, standing for each other, being your own support system. From the college professor who makes Torrey learn punctuality to Emery who provides him all the support he can get, I say Torrey is blessed with all these women in his life. <3
I had very few problems with a book - like Torrey digressing a lot from his point and jumping randomly from one thought to another and Torrey's spiral into vandalism. But they teeny tiny minor things that I'm willing to overlook because overall, this is such a powerful book. Having read books by Ibi Zoboi, Elizabeth Acevedo, Angie Thomas, I know where all this anger comes from and I get it - I get how every single oppressed soul feels like, through these wonderful authors. I'm so glad I got this chance to read Candace's second book and I very much recommend it.
To say life's been tough for Torrey wouldn't be an exaggeration. The kid is Black and poor and gay in a homophobic society that still treats persons of colour differently.
I liked the cutesy way Gabriel and Torrey become a couple. No beating around the bush, or pushing and pulling each other till the end of the book. And totally loved how Gabe calls Torrey his Principe (Spanish for Prince) *insert heart-eyes*
Gabriel is all risk and wild decisions. But me? I am hesitation. I am Gabriel's antonym. The Taurus to his Pisces.
And when I was beginning to get antsy about the lack of strong females, Candice blesses us with Emery. I loved her so much. Together with the CAKE ( Clarke, Auburn, Kennedy, Emery) or alone with Torrey, she just rocks and I loved her so much. Even Torrey is amazed by her. I loved the below quote from the book because its so beautifully written about a girl, from a guy's point of view. A guy who is not a boyfriend !!
Girl's a poem in the boxing ring. She's breathless. She's gorgeous. she's moving -- dancing. She's a fire blazing in a rainstorm, a strike of lightning across a cornfield. She's everything.
And ooh who wouldn't love the scene where Torrey takes her to the apiary and they harvest honey together!! The imagery in itself was so much pleasing and I loved it. And Torrey leaves you surprised by the random bee facts he throws in and I did not know most of them.
Most people don't know that there are more than twenty thousand species of bees, only four of which are honey bees. And why should they? I mean, did you know that?
Not only bees, Torrey also lets you know what is really happening in the Black 'hoods. How gentrification is affecting their livelihood and displacing them. I love how through him, the author is trying to bring attention to how silently the society is replacing the Hoods and white-washing them. Also loved how so MUCH importance is given to their community, the women and their ways, the dialect, the habits, standing for each other, being your own support system. From the college professor who makes Torrey learn punctuality to Emery who provides him all the support he can get, I say Torrey is blessed with all these women in his life. <3
I had very few problems with a book - like Torrey digressing a lot from his point and jumping randomly from one thought to another and Torrey's spiral into vandalism. But they teeny tiny minor things that I'm willing to overlook because overall, this is such a powerful book. Having read books by Ibi Zoboi, Elizabeth Acevedo, Angie Thomas, I know where all this anger comes from and I get it - I get how every single oppressed soul feels like, through these wonderful authors. I'm so glad I got this chance to read Candace's second book and I very much recommend it.
myblackbookish_life's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
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? Yes
4.5
Emotional. Trying to tie together thoughts to form words, but I should have read this waaaaay before now!
sophiareagan's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
3.0
This is the kind of book that I can easily see people adoring even though I didn't. It has a very vibrant voice that is conversational and gives you a lot of insight into the main character. If it works for you, I imagine it would be a delight to read. For me, I appreciated it but didn't enjoy it very much.
I did enjoy the story overall, though. It's about a boy figuring out what he owes his family and himself, living with trauma and grief, falling in love, making friends, figuring out what he's passionate about, learning to stand up for his community and what he believes in, and making decisions about his future. It has so many important and meaningful conversations about gentrification, violence, homophobia, racism, masculinity, found family, and activism.
My problem with the book isn't so much a problem as just a lack of enthusiasm. I didn't feel as strongly about the story and characters as I wanted to. It's not the kind of book that's meant to be surprising or anything, but I still felt like I knew exactly what I was going to get out of the book before I even read it and the experience of reading it didn't give me anything more than that. It was all good and I liked it, but it didn't do anything special for me. I would definitely still recommend this book, though, especially if you are a teenager. (I think I definitely would have gotten more out of it when I was younger.) Also, it reminds me of Nic Stone's books, both in writing style and content, so if you're a fan of her, I would check this out.
I did enjoy the story overall, though. It's about a boy figuring out what he owes his family and himself, living with trauma and grief, falling in love, making friends, figuring out what he's passionate about, learning to stand up for his community and what he believes in, and making decisions about his future. It has so many important and meaningful conversations about gentrification, violence, homophobia, racism, masculinity, found family, and activism.
My problem with the book isn't so much a problem as just a lack of enthusiasm. I didn't feel as strongly about the story and characters as I wanted to. It's not the kind of book that's meant to be surprising or anything, but I still felt like I knew exactly what I was going to get out of the book before I even read it and the experience of reading it didn't give me anything more than that. It was all good and I liked it, but it didn't do anything special for me. I would definitely still recommend this book, though, especially if you are a teenager. (I think I definitely would have gotten more out of it when I was younger.) Also, it reminds me of Nic Stone's books, both in writing style and content, so if you're a fan of her, I would check this out.