bahareads's Reviews (1.09k)

Saunders writes a good book. He briefly covers the history of the whole Bahamas and then focuses on Bimini in Bahamian history and how Biminities have influenced Bahamian history, and Bimini. While it is written like a text book, there is a humourous thread throughout the narrative.   

A grad school read that I do not have many thoughts about, is shocking! It's a good source for past historians and their views and methodology on history. I wouldn't say this is for the layman.

I truly enjoyed Akata Witch! Okorafor builds a great world with a decent plot. I did have a gripe about why young people had to be the ones to hunt down Black Hat Ototkoto?? None of the older Leopard people could have stepped in. (maybe I missed it). The plot is rooted in West African mythology.* I loved how the Leopard people embraced the differences and abnormalities in their people. The pacing was all over the place as well, it was a nice steady pace then we were sprinting past the finish line. Women do take centre stage in the narrative here. I enjoyed the dynamic between African and African-American; it serves the purpose to see how different people in the diaspora view each other. It also leads to a dialogue about how unity should work within the diaspora.

*I see some people have said this is the Nigerian Harry Potter. I'm actually reading Harry Potter for the first time and I don't see it?? What the hell are yall talking about it??

"Young Blacks coming up in America were frequently subjected to parental lectures, almost all of which carried the same message: "Face this reality. You're gonna have to be twice as good as the white folks in order to get half as much." That was drilled into them. Bahamian lectures had another ring. "Get that education. Get out there and work. Get out there and hustle. Take whatever opportunities there are, and use them as stepping-stones."

(I had one gripe with this book, Poitier says Blacks did not own land in The Bahamas until 1858, which is factually wrong. Black Loyalists were legally owning land in The Bahamas from around the late 1780s to 1790s. I'm not sure about before the Loyalists' arrival, I haven't done the research for it. I could go on and on, but just know that Blacks owned land (and enslaved people) from before the 1850s.)

Poitier (or whatever ghostwriter) has a writing style that lulls the reader into a sense of security. The flow of his words carries you to and from the scenes he sets. It was easy to zoom through this work. It showed the dynamic of himself, and how he really came to be where he was today. Growing up on Cat island, he paints an idyllic picture of serenity where the family has just enough to get by (of course this is from the perspective of a child).

In Nassau, Poitier talks about his unknown experiences with racism; which he did not realize at the time what it was. He contrasts those experiences with the blatant racism in the US that he faces. He pushes the narrative that racism in The Bahamas was not the same as in the US; that there was a measure of kumbaya among Bahamians. I do ponder this; I do not think racism was experienced in the same way, but I do know that it was still pretty overt.

Poitier's connection with his family shows how family ties really help build people up to greatness. From his own words, Poitier seemed to be a stubborn man who worked for what he wants and was persistent while managing his responsibility. It is interesting to see the way Poitier reflects on how he's changed, and the ways he had evolved from home.

The religious aspect of the book, reminds me of a more naturalistic, spiritual view of the world. He mixes this in with his ecological fears of how 'progress' will change the earth.

I have never seen any of Poitier's works (that I can remember) so this sparks my interest to see really really see them soon.

Just wasn’t in the mood, good book though

I enjoyed the overall plot and the storyline. I think Cook has a very good writing style. I zoomed through the book when I picked it up. Kristia is an interesting character. She requires a lot of personal growth which you can see throughout the book. It was giving very typical college freshman vibes. The time switches weren't structurally confusing but they were plotline confusing. I did not see the point or purpose of some of them; it did serve to highlight why Krista was stressed about certain issues but I think the plot could have moved forward the same without them. I enjoyed how Christianity was naturally woven into Kristia's life.

I SWEAR BY ALL THAT IS HOLY KRISTIA NEEDS TO DO BETTER ABOUT MEN. Victor was your typical college fuckboy, and I truly wanted Kristia to catch a hint. There are so many fish out here in the sea and she stuck on a guy who kissed her a few times, chall please!! The chapters were relatively long but it was not a huge problem since the book itself was very readable. I would have liked to see the book be longer for the reasons below.

The other characters need to be fleshed out better. In this edition of the book, the only purpose they served was to help guide the plot forward for Kristia. I think the actual plot of the book got lost at times, when I finished I was confused about what had been accomplished. Kristia spends all summer complaining and gripping about being poor but she manages to make it back to school with a new attitude?? I think I know where Cook was trying to go with this, that Kristia is growing into herself, and becoming her own person but the way the book ended did not give any sense or hope of that. As a reader you could not really tell that Kristia had grown at all; there was no showing character development. Kristia's self-growth needed to be highlighted more throughout the entire plot.

Bro, I swear that Kristia did not like any of her family members. I understand families can have a complicated dynamic but her internal monologue and external actions only showed disdain and annoyance with everyone. I barely saw any love between any of the characters.

The last thing I have to say was the last line of the book was not how the book should have ended unless there's going to be a sequel. I am a fan of open-ending books but no... just no.

Once again JK really did the damn thing. I never truly understood the fanatic hype behind this series until now. The movies are great but the books are so so much better. I almost cried at the end of this one.

I do wish that the Slyernrin characters were not put into such tiny evil boxes. It makes evil and good such clear straight lines which are very annoying in books. However, we are also only seeing this through Harry's eyes really so if that's how he feels about those in that house then it would make sense. I know what happens in the end of the series but I do wish Harry lived a good life with his godfather (tear tear tear).

Very quick and uplifting book. It can definitely help turn someone's mood around quickly.

This was very cute. I loved it. I do wish Penelope had more confidence in herself outside of Collin. I think she starts to grow in that towards the end. I can't wait to see this story play out on the TV screen though.

Quinn took the story straight out from the idea of Cinderella but I was not mad at it. Benedict's story, so far, has by FAR the best drama. It was nice and spicy but Benedict is an asshole. I'm supposed to belive he comes from a loving and respectable family when he gives Sophie that ultimatum?? Hell no. Fuck him. I'm happy they got together in the end, like I said I love the dramatics.