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A review by indoorg1rl
When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole
5.0
The scariest books out there are often the ones that integrate some elements of truth in them. This was no exception.
The backstory about racism in Brooklyn was thoroughly researched (Alyssa Cole included further references at the end of the book if anyone would be interested in further readings). Not living in US myself, I appreciated the amount of background provided. This made the modern re-imagination of what-could-happen elements in the book the more chilling for it.
I really liked Sydney, the main protagonist in the story. She definitely wasn't perfect, and she had to pretend to be brave every single day because she had no other option and she just wouldn't give in! This was the kind of protagonist I could admire, even though I didn't necessarily agree with all her thought process and reactions.
Theo, the other narrator, was also far from perfect. I liked how the inclusion of his character in the book allowed readers to learn a lot about Black history, without feeling information overload (at least I didn't!). He was a good example of someone who, despite of making a lot of mistakes in the past, was willing to be open minded and to keep learning about his incorrect perceptions.
The antagonists in the book might have been depicted as overly cruel, but sadly I can believe that there are real people out there who are capable of executing similar acts of cruelty because 'they can', especially 'when no one is watching'. Hopefully the number is not that high (I believe the goodness in people!).
At the end of the day, this was a Thriller fiction. It had an amazing main plot based on real events, and awesome sub-plots that were executed really well. It was scary, heartbreaking, and the last 100 pages made me put my life on hold because I just had to keep turning the pages!
See my bookstagram review.
The backstory about racism in Brooklyn was thoroughly researched (Alyssa Cole included further references at the end of the book if anyone would be interested in further readings). Not living in US myself, I appreciated the amount of background provided. This made the modern re-imagination of what-could-happen elements in the book the more chilling for it.
I really liked Sydney, the main protagonist in the story. She definitely wasn't perfect, and she had to pretend to be brave every single day because she had no other option and she just wouldn't give in! This was the kind of protagonist I could admire, even though I didn't necessarily agree with all her thought process and reactions.
Theo, the other narrator, was also far from perfect. I liked how the inclusion of his character in the book allowed readers to learn a lot about Black history, without feeling information overload (at least I didn't!). He was a good example of someone who, despite of making a lot of mistakes in the past, was willing to be open minded and to keep learning about his incorrect perceptions.
The antagonists in the book might have been depicted as overly cruel, but sadly I can believe that there are real people out there who are capable of executing similar acts of cruelty because 'they can', especially 'when no one is watching'. Hopefully the number is not that high (I believe the goodness in people!).
At the end of the day, this was a Thriller fiction. It had an amazing main plot based on real events, and awesome sub-plots that were executed really well. It was scary, heartbreaking, and the last 100 pages made me put my life on hold because I just had to keep turning the pages!
See my bookstagram review.