I don’t mind YA novels, but this one felt poorly written with a barely developed plot.

Some things should just be left alone. I did not finish this as I couldn’t handle the butchering of this Shakespearean classic any longer. Such a letdown.

The last 20% of this book was a wild ride.

Wow.

I never knew I needed a version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s point of view, but after reading this, I can now appreciate that this was both that and an extension of that, making it a classic in its own right.

As a 12 year old, I first read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as the only Black student in a class full of white students. There was no censoring of the text and I vividly remember listening to the n-word either being said with hesitancy or with glee by my classmates as the teacher called on us to popcorn read in class. Despite the heaviness and awkwardness of those moments, I loved the book because I loved the relationship between Jim and Huck, plus the idea of adventure was appealing to my 12 year old self.

As a 43 year old absorbing the words of James, I was taken back to those memories of being in that classroom as I listened to Jim battle with the code switching he slipped in and out of throughout the book, so as not to appear too smart to the white people. Coupled with the other microaggressions (hair touching) and the blatant blackface/minstrel shows, this book smartly juxtaposes the realities and traumas of the enslaved with what I and other Black people seemingly deal with today but in the rather covert (and sometimes overt) forms.

I didn’t know what to expect and I am not one for cliffhangers, but I appreciate Everett allowing the reader to make what they will of James and his family’s outcome once they reach the north.

And let me not forget Jim revealing to Huck that he was his father and Huck’s grappling with wanting to “be a slave” so that he can remain with him. Even as a 12 year old, I always felt there was a reason that Huck gravitated and felt understood by Jim more than others, even Tom, so this was an excellent way to play on that relationship.

I hope schools are no longer making students read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but if they are, I hope James is a part of that reading as well.

2.5 ⭐️

The plot felt weak and the reasoning behind all of the characters’ actions were subpar at best.

4.5 ⭐️s

Emily Henry doesn’t miss.

She’s so incredibly skilled at writing complex characters with messy childhood/parental experiences that creep into their adult experiences/relationships. I also love how each one of her books have connections to books/humanities/writing, which speaks to my own experiences.

Miles and Daphne are right up there with January and Augustus in terms of the characters that I enjoyed. Daphne’s love of the library and messy relationship with a barely present father definitely resonated with me and again, I really loved how Henry paints the picture of how this contention impacts the romantic relationships the characters are trying to navigate while also trying to navigate the suppressed feelings, emotions, and trauma surrounding the relationships with their parents.

I’ve read all of her books and she is very much one of my favorite authors.

Thought this was Kennedy Ryan. Glad it was not.

I didn’t think anything would top Every Summer After, but this is my new favorite of hers. She is also becoming another of my favorite authors.

After reading this, I think am deeply in love with Felix Clark. A man that loves books and keeps paperbacks in his back pockets?! A man that wants to relish his partner? A man that wants to cook with me over FaceTime? Truly the ultimate book boyfriend.

But seriously, I couldn’t get enough of Lucy and Felix. True to her other books, there was the death of a matriarchal figure that impacted one of the characters, but I don’t think it impacted the story as much as in her other books. She also does such a great job at weaving the past and present with such fluidity that pulls you in as a reader—it’s beautifully crafted.

At first, when Lucy told Bridget about Felix, I expected a huge blowup between the two characters, and was disappointed that I didn’t get that, but now, I’m not because I think it shows some semblance of growth and maturity that Bridget could just be okay with the fact that her best friend was/had been involved with her brother for some time and it wasn’t a fling. I didn’t want the story to become involved in this blowup between the two friends and I’m glad it wasn’t. I was a little underwhelmed with Bridget’s prolonging of telling everyone about Australia, but other than that, I thought the rest of the book was on point.

This will be another one of those books that I wish I could read for the first time.