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slh34's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
annreadsabook's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
keziaduah's review against another edition
5.0
“What they call you is one thing, what you answer to is something else.”
Dear Griffiths,
Why don’t you come and directly rip my heart from my chest, since that is what you were clearly trying to do here?
Sincerely,
Kezia Duah
In great historical moments, we tend to get lost in the big-picture details and tend to not think much about the individual lives that lived through these moments. Griffiths has done a great job of illustrating this in the story and bringing up topics that can spark interesting conversations. I like that Griffiths still gave us context about what part of history certain moments in the books were so we understand the general atmosphere while still focusing on the lives of the characters.
I love that she really wanted us to get to know each and every character which she does by giving us snippets of their past. I liked this because it made you for a second actually try to understand nature, even the ones you really don’t like…….or hate with your guts. I thought all the characters were phenomenally complex and I loved that.
I hated the ending but in a good way. It’s a reminder that life is not always a happy ending and most black people during this time reflect this.
Dear Griffiths,
Why don’t you come and directly rip my heart from my chest, since that is what you were clearly trying to do here?
Sincerely,
Kezia Duah
In great historical moments, we tend to get lost in the big-picture details and tend to not think much about the individual lives that lived through these moments. Griffiths has done a great job of illustrating this in the story and bringing up topics that can spark interesting conversations. I like that Griffiths still gave us context about what part of history certain moments in the books were so we understand the general atmosphere while still focusing on the lives of the characters.
I love that she really wanted us to get to know each and every character which she does by giving us snippets of their past. I liked this because it made you for a second actually try to understand nature, even the ones you really don’t like…….or hate with your guts. I thought all the characters were phenomenally complex and I loved that.
I hated the ending but in a good way. It’s a reminder that life is not always a happy ending and most black people during this time reflect this.
s_claire_e's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
elsiebrady's review against another edition
4.0
So many tears! Why is life so unfair? How can people be so cruel?!?
lottpoet's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
bkdarlingone's review against another edition
4.0
“Best thing a woman can learn to do," my grandmother said, "is to feed herself some sweetness so she ain't got to wait on nobody else to give her something she already has.” 4.5
mangofruitart's review against another edition
5.0
I picked this book up by chance, the summary was promising and I had an idea of what I would get myself into. But, I didn’t expect to bounce between being unable to put the book down and feeling my heart being shattered repeatedly. This book was the first this year to truly make me feel deep emotions.
kkjg's review against another edition
5.0
Read it. You must. It’s an incredibly beautiful story of tragedy, terror, injustice, sadness, violence, grief, and so much love. Two Black sisters and their families. So much sorrow. Read it, then read it again. I will.
jjsiino's review against another edition
3.0
Beautiful moments of writing but the plot was scattered and confusing for me. I would’ve loved more of the heart felt at the end. A lot of tragedy for one story.