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bookswithlee's Reviews (669)
I want to start first by saying I have not read the original book that this story is based off of, so I cannot speak to that; however, I can say this book on its on is a pure work of art.
I am not the biggest fan of historical fiction and quite honestly I stray away from a lot of historical fiction written with Blackness in mind as many of these stories although necessary in its writing, tend to focus so heavily on Black pain and trauma. As a Black person who continues to experience many of these trauma, it can be difficult to read.
What I loved about this book is that it was a great balance between not only detailing the racial and systemic oppression that Black individuals experienced during the 1860s, but also showed the joys and perseverance that each character showed during these difficult times. I love to see books detail the strengths of the Black community after all that we have endured!
I think Mays Angelou said it best when she said “and still, I rise.” Through it all we have proven time and time again that we as a Black community can rise up against anything and can accomplish anything together!
I loved this story and I loved how the author illustrated not only Black love, but also Black perseverance , and among all else Black joy.
Thank you for this beautifully written story and I can’t wait to share it with others.
I am not the biggest fan of historical fiction and quite honestly I stray away from a lot of historical fiction written with Blackness in mind as many of these stories although necessary in its writing, tend to focus so heavily on Black pain and trauma. As a Black person who continues to experience many of these trauma, it can be difficult to read.
What I loved about this book is that it was a great balance between not only detailing the racial and systemic oppression that Black individuals experienced during the 1860s, but also showed the joys and perseverance that each character showed during these difficult times. I love to see books detail the strengths of the Black community after all that we have endured!
I think Mays Angelou said it best when she said “and still, I rise.” Through it all we have proven time and time again that we as a Black community can rise up against anything and can accomplish anything together!
I loved this story and I loved how the author illustrated not only Black love, but also Black perseverance , and among all else Black joy.
Thank you for this beautifully written story and I can’t wait to share it with others.
I decided to read the book after I saw it on Peter reviews books on YouTube. I typically enjoy the books he recommends, but this one was just okay for me.
What I enjoyed:
- great hook (although it falls flat in this book). I love the idea of having to choose between crashing a plane or saving your family. That alone had me so intrigued
-it has me on the edge of my seat waiting for what was up next as thrillers should
-predictable but in a good way
What I didn’t like as much:
- book left a lot of questions unanswered and the motivate behind the antagonist seemed weak
- some popular tropes were used that I find to be over used (the guy you least expect it to be is the bad guy, the guy you think is bad is good..etc)
- the ending
Overall this is a really easy read and it read more like a movie than it did a book. I believe this one will be adapted into a film. This is one rare occasion where I believe the film will fair better than the book.
What I enjoyed:
- great hook (although it falls flat in this book). I love the idea of having to choose between crashing a plane or saving your family. That alone had me so intrigued
-it has me on the edge of my seat waiting for what was up next as thrillers should
-predictable but in a good way
What I didn’t like as much:
- book left a lot of questions unanswered and the motivate behind the antagonist seemed weak
- some popular tropes were used that I find to be over used (the guy you least expect it to be is the bad guy, the guy you think is bad is good..etc)
- the ending
Overall this is a really easy read and it read more like a movie than it did a book. I believe this one will be adapted into a film. This is one rare occasion where I believe the film will fair better than the book.
DNF At 53%. Plan to continue in the future. Just not in the mood for this book right now as it requires a lot of attention to details and I don’t have that kind of energy right now to push through. I don’t like to DNF but the long chapters we’re putting me into a slump
3.5 stars
“I’ll never again wish for a frog to turn me into a man.”
I went into this book blind and it did not disappoint. We follow Esi a Ghanian-Nigerian girl as she navigates her sexuality set in the newly independent Ghana.
We watch as Esi comes into herself while questioning the gender norms placed upon women - only beginning as good as their ability to marry and bear children. Esi pushes back against these standards and the patriarchy. I loved watching Esi beat to her own drum
My only complaint is the story was packed full of so many elements, that it felt a bit underdone. There were parts where I was craving more, but was left with nothing. I felt as though the author could have left some parts out or elaborated on the elements they added.
Overall I loved what this book was attempting to do even with the flaws.
This was the biggest f-you to the patriarchy and I’m not mad about it
“I’ll never again wish for a frog to turn me into a man.”
I went into this book blind and it did not disappoint. We follow Esi a Ghanian-Nigerian girl as she navigates her sexuality set in the newly independent Ghana.
We watch as Esi comes into herself while questioning the gender norms placed upon women - only beginning as good as their ability to marry and bear children. Esi pushes back against these standards and the patriarchy. I loved watching Esi beat to her own drum
My only complaint is the story was packed full of so many elements, that it felt a bit underdone. There were parts where I was craving more, but was left with nothing. I felt as though the author could have left some parts out or elaborated on the elements they added.
Overall I loved what this book was attempting to do even with the flaws.
This was the biggest f-you to the patriarchy and I’m not mad about it
Are you looking for a book that has a strong female protagonist centered in strength, activism, with a whole lot of magic? Then this book is for you. I felt like this book was everything I always wanted when I was young!
This book is a companion novel to pet, although I don’t believe you need to read Pet before reading this book. I have not read Pet and it didn’t feel like I was missing anything.
I really enjoyed this story although there were things that I felt could have been executed better.
What I enjoyed:
- The magic! I loved how the author added in magic to really highlight some real world problems. I felt like it was the perfect balance and executed well
- I felt like I could have been a part of the friend group. I felt like I was one of the.
- The romance storyline was so cute
- Representation of the LGBTQIA+ community as well as BIPOC individuals
My critique:
- at times the story felt a little more middle grade than young adult to me. This is not counting against my review as I am not the target audience for this book.
- I felt like parts of the story were a bit underdeveloped. I would have like to know more about Bitter’s life prior to attending the school. This may have been discussed in the first book.
Overall this was a fun read that I enjoyed! It was pretty fast past and an easy read. I’m starting to love everything written by this author! I can’t wait to read more.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review
This book is a companion novel to pet, although I don’t believe you need to read Pet before reading this book. I have not read Pet and it didn’t feel like I was missing anything.
I really enjoyed this story although there were things that I felt could have been executed better.
What I enjoyed:
- The magic! I loved how the author added in magic to really highlight some real world problems. I felt like it was the perfect balance and executed well
- I felt like I could have been a part of the friend group. I felt like I was one of the.
- The romance storyline was so cute
- Representation of the LGBTQIA+ community as well as BIPOC individuals
My critique:
- at times the story felt a little more middle grade than young adult to me. This is not counting against my review as I am not the target audience for this book.
- I felt like parts of the story were a bit underdeveloped. I would have like to know more about Bitter’s life prior to attending the school. This may have been discussed in the first book.
Overall this was a fun read that I enjoyed! It was pretty fast past and an easy read. I’m starting to love everything written by this author! I can’t wait to read more.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review
3.5 stars
I had high hopes for this book and at times it exceeded expectations, while at other times it felt a bit underdeveloped.
This story continues to follow Tabitha who is now pregnant. We watch as she continues to find her identity through all the new hurdles in her life. We also get a twist at the beginning of the story, which is important to the story moving forward.
Let’s start with what I loved:
- I loved how relatable the characters felt. I felt like I was apart of the friend group and got invested in tabby’s story.
- As a Black woman I found myself relating to many of Tabitha struggles. Especially those related to her appearance
- I like how easy of a read this was. It’s very digestible with some light and fluffy moments
Here’s what I didn’t particularly enjoy:
- the ending seemed to happen out of nowhere
- The ending was very predictable and typical
- There was a comment made about Tabitha thinking the love interest didn’t think she was “strong enough” for natural birth. Anyone who has children is strong no matter how the baby is born and that was never addressed. There were other things surrounding birthing that I didn’t particularly like.
Overall I still would like to read book 3 as I’m just hoping this book just has second book syndrome and it can only get better from here. I still enjoyed this book and would recommend for others for the positive elements listed earlier.
I had high hopes for this book and at times it exceeded expectations, while at other times it felt a bit underdeveloped.
This story continues to follow Tabitha who is now pregnant. We watch as she continues to find her identity through all the new hurdles in her life. We also get a twist at the beginning of the story, which is important to the story moving forward.
Let’s start with what I loved:
- I loved how relatable the characters felt. I felt like I was apart of the friend group and got invested in tabby’s story.
- As a Black woman I found myself relating to many of Tabitha struggles. Especially those related to her appearance
- I like how easy of a read this was. It’s very digestible with some light and fluffy moments
Here’s what I didn’t particularly enjoy:
- the ending seemed to happen out of nowhere
- The ending was very predictable and typical
- There was a comment made about Tabitha thinking the love interest didn’t think she was “strong enough” for natural birth. Anyone who has children is strong no matter how the baby is born and that was never addressed. There were other things surrounding birthing that I didn’t particularly like.
Overall I still would like to read book 3 as I’m just hoping this book just has second book syndrome and it can only get better from here. I still enjoyed this book and would recommend for others for the positive elements listed earlier.
After reading this book, I decided to look up the meaning of its title as I was not familiar with it. This is what I found:
The word Sankofa in translation is “to retrieve” this bird teaches us that we must go back to our roots in order to move forward and this book embodies this and so much more.
We follow Anna who is a biracial 48 year old woman who is in search of her biological father after the passing of her mother. In searching for him, she finds that he held high power in a west African country. In discovering more about him, Anna begins to learn more about herself.
What I enjoyed about this story is the way that the author executed the struggles of the main character. We watch as Anna grapples with not feeling White enough while also not fitting in with Black folxs either. This is something that I’m sure many may be able to relate to.
I didn’t particularly enjoy the ending as it felt gimmicky, however, I also appreciated that the author gave some closure and tie it up nice in a bow.
Great book! Can’t wait to read more from this author
The word Sankofa in translation is “to retrieve” this bird teaches us that we must go back to our roots in order to move forward and this book embodies this and so much more.
We follow Anna who is a biracial 48 year old woman who is in search of her biological father after the passing of her mother. In searching for him, she finds that he held high power in a west African country. In discovering more about him, Anna begins to learn more about herself.
What I enjoyed about this story is the way that the author executed the struggles of the main character. We watch as Anna grapples with not feeling White enough while also not fitting in with Black folxs either. This is something that I’m sure many may be able to relate to.
I didn’t particularly enjoy the ending as it felt gimmicky, however, I also appreciated that the author gave some closure and tie it up nice in a bow.
Great book! Can’t wait to read more from this author