booktribe's Reviews (603)

I was enjoying this book a lot until the author casually mentioned pedophilia as if there was nothing wrong with it in the Chiron in the 5th house section.

First and foremost, this is the scariest book I’ve ever read! It was consistently spooky throughout. Most books have some scary scenes, but just about every scene was scary in this book. I also cared about the characters, which is pretty rare for me in horror books. I didn’t think they made too many stupid decisions and they were just pretty likable in general. But, to bring it back, I just really can’t get over how scary this book was. I stayed up late and devoured the last half of the book in one night. I would’ve easily given it 5 stars, even though I did have a few problems. But I had one big problem that kept me from giving it 5 stars, what the author did to the Native characters. 

I do wanna say that I’m not Native, so this review isn’t coming from a Native pov. 

Now I did appreciate that Blackwell didn’t have very stereotypical Native American characters. They weren’t caricatures. However, the author did turn them into the Native American version of Magical Negroes.

For anyone who hasn’t heard of Magical Negroes, it is a trope in books, movies, etc. in which a white writer creates a Black character who’s only role in the book or movie is to help the white characters progress and will sacrifice themselves to do so. Think John Coffey in The Green Mile, Morgan Freeman in Driving Miss Daisy, and Abileen in The Help.

Although the Native characters weren’t stereotypical (from my pov), still their only purpose was to benefit the white main character, and when they were done being used, they were cast aside by the author.

This book would’ve been a 5 star read if it weren’t for that.

I did have a couple more problems though:

• The action was so consistent in this book. There was always something happening, the spook factor was always high, UNTIL like the last 30 pages. The ending was boring compared to the rest of the book. Maybe the beginning and middle of the book were just so amazing, that no climax could compare.

• The explanation for the most mysterious part of the story was pretty lame to me. The revelation of this big mystery we were trying to figure out didn’t pay off. Also, the ending didn’t have a great payoff either. I was left thinking “that’s it?” at the end.

Overall I am in love with this book though. Scariest book I’ve ever read.  I just really wanted better for the Native characters. I think the author had good intentions when writing Native characters. I can tell he did some research. But they just deserved better. Still a new favorite book of all time though!

     Wash Day Diaries is a short, beautifully illustrated graphic novel following four young, Black women and their lives, friendships, and gorgeous hair.

     The illustration in this book is beautiful. I absolutely loved the depiction of our hair! Whether it’s the braids, the twist outs, or even just our bonnets, it was all magnificent to see depicted in such a celebratory way! I also loved that the artist showed real bodies! Not everyone had curves, not everyone was perfect, and I love that! 

     This book tackled a couple hard topics, such as depression, in a way that didn’t make you sad, but just made you see life as it is for different types of Black women. I also enjoyed seeing the casual sapphic representation.

     My only problem with this book is that I wish it was longer. It could’ve went more in depth and answered some questions I had toward the end. If this ever becomes a series, I’ll be very happy!

     This graphic novel shows the connection that Black women have with our hair and with each other in a way that celebrates us and shows us unconditional love! I’d recommend this graphic novel to every Black woman that is looking for a graphic novel that shows us in such a unapologetically Black light! 

Thank you Chronicle Books and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.

TW: nudity; sexual situations; depression; dementia; violent ex-boyfriend (all trigger warnings are very mild)