I feel like I should be fair when rating this book because it was written in the early 2010's phase. You know, 2011-2013 when there only existed on type of protagonist, love interest, and villain--don't even get me started on plot--in YA fiction. But I really couldn't help it. I'll be filming a full review for this book on booktube (Books From A Virgo) soon so be sure to check that out, but for now, I'll say--lmao. I just was laughing the whole time for all the wrong reasons.

Also, Warner is a discount Darkling/Maven Calore and Adam is Peeta x 10^24. Yes, math. And no, I don't like Peeta.

How do I describe this book? I'm sure most literary critics would rate it as a poor piece of work, and yet, I am a very basic literary critic (if you can call booktubers literary critics). This book was a basic boi written in the early 2010's so what can you expect? Except I am trash for MC x Evil Misunderstood Boy (basic as hell) so I loved this book. And....I'm going to read the rest of the series.

Incredibly intense and creepy! I listened to this as an audiobook, and it was really well-read. The narrator did a really nice job of bringing out the characters and their motivations! This was a very character-driven story. I highly recommend listening to this book instead of just reading it. It's worth the audiobook hype!

Spoiler

I was so disgusted at Keith/Deren and Silas! (I mean who doesn't hate a pedophile?) I find it hard to imagine these sort of people as actual people in our society but this book revealed that, yeah, this shit happens. And I was struck then, by how much Sadie loved her sister and the lengths she went to avenge her. I was also moved by how much Maybeth and Claire cared for Mattie and Sadie, each in their own ways, even if they disagreed with each other. Claire's struggle to get clean off drugs would be quite a hard thing to do. Her character definitely changed. And the end of the book, when West McCray, the podcast producer, realizes the importance of his search of Sadie and the girls' relationship, I almost cried. It was Claire's idea, after all, to name the podcast "The Girls." It really shows how she was able to turn her life around and truly care for her children in some sort of way. Read this book! You won't regret it.

Holly Black did an excellent job with this sequel! It was even better than The Cruel Prince. Jude and Cardan's relationship developed and that made me REALLY happy, on the other hand, the ending destroyed me. Thanks, Holly:( Now I don't know what to do with my life.

A terrifying glimpse into what our society could become... You will not want to put this down. Layla Amin faces an internment camp for Muslims--something that we might put aside as a thing of the past, a relic from the fascism, racism, and thoughtlessness of World War II. But fascism never went away, as evidenced by recent rallies from neo-Nazis and extreme conservatives, supporters of border walls and people okay with separating immigrant families. Yes, these migrant children in cages are in prison camps--they're just not called that. In this book, 2 and a half years since the presidential election, Layla finds that freedom of speech is a lie, and so is democracy. How far are we from that now?

What can I say about this book except that it was an amazing personal story about a girl who just wants to make it in the world of rappers and support her family? Bri acts as a teenager does (stupidly, without thinking--and before you say anything, I am a teenager myself) and makes some big mistakes, but her family's infallible love gets her through the problems that arise.
This is a much more personal story than The Hate U Give, focusing more on one girl than a whole group of people. Although this book doesn't deal with a specific issue (like police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement), it magnificently covertly (and not-so-covertly) discusses the sexism in the rapping industry, as well as the motivations and success of different rappers. It also talks about the racism that occurs in schools. Big time. I guess you could say that is the "main issue"? Anyway, I can attest to the inadvertent (or maybe not) bias that teachers and administrators have against black students. In my middle school, for example, white kids were never written up. Black kids, on the other hand? All. the. time. I'm glad that this book brought this shit up to the light, just as Angie Thomas did with The Hate U Give.
I actually enjoyed this a lot more than THUG because of the closeness of the story to a character. I also feel like there were many more ups and downs. Additionally, I listened to the audiobook, which I found to be very easy to listen to and I definitely recommend it.