ringofkeyz's Reviews (147)

I'm sitting here reeling after finishing this book. There's so much I want to say and yet I don't think I have the right words.

An absolutely incredible work of dystopian fiction that is hauntingly rooted in the current reality of both the prison industrial complex and the American legal system. While at times the primary themes are overtly stated and heavy handed, the commentary through action and character exploration races to meet it in kind. Supported by footnotes of pointed evidence, the novel offers a (deservedly) scathing critique of the general public's tendency to view black and brown lives as less than and offer them up as spectacle.
 
Still grappling with the fact that no matter how strong the feeling of abhorrence towards the fictional CAPE system you walk away with, you - as the reader - are embodying the general public in the novel: watching the bloodshed and death without turning away. 

Masterful.

teenage girls are so messy and strong and inappropriate and unfiltered and complicated; vicious towards themselves and each other. to call them wolves is an apt description.

hard to read as a play because of all the overlapping dialogue but so fun to watch as a stage production (through community theatre videos on YouTube). reading this makes me with i had seen the original performance at The Lincoln Center.

3 stars as a play to read, but 5 stars as a play to watch/direct/perform. after reading, it's clear that this play relies on the actors to fully flesh out each character. BUT god it's so fun to read and watch as someone who was once a teenage girl. 

I honestly wish I could give this book a more specific rating: think of a 5-star 3-star movie, if that makes sense. The plot itself didn't really compel me; I kept picking the book up and putting it down because I couldn't get into it (aside from the last 2 chapters that had me hooked). BUT the book was written so incredibly well. 

Hence: 5-star 3-star book. 5 stars for the language and the writing style, 3-stars for the story.

this audiobook needed a better narrator.

there were parts i really enjoyed and parts that made me nearly want to put the book down and not pick it back up.

from the way these reviews talk about Lynda, you'd think she did something way worse than simply being a slightly self-centred 16 year old girl going through a major upheaval of her life. was she in the wrong in most of her actions throughout the book, particularly nearing in the end of the novel before the resolution? yes. was she the sole contributor to the problems caused? absolutely not! 

I thought she was a very compelling, flawed female main character - especially for a young adult romance book. and it's easy to see why she behaved the way she did; it's evident throughout her narration the entire novel - the way she feels as though her dad doesn't support her, that him and her step-mom see her dreams as less than her step-sisters, and like she has no support system around her after her aunt moved away. OBVIOUSLY she's an unreliable narrator, that's clear from the beginning and driven home at the end of the novel when Lynda gets a reality check from those around her. but at the end of the day, she's a 16 year old girl going through emotional turmoil... she's going to be a mess! and I appreciated that she was allowed to be so :)