lon3rston3r's reviews
62 reviews

The premise of the book is good, however the actual story dragged. There are multiple instances of the author repeating information and for a majority of the book is the same conversation being hashed out with different characters in different rooms, with little to no new or detailed revelations to advance the story. At times it felt as if the plot was at a standstill. Most of the motives and harbored resentment for Sadie that Kimiko, Amy, and Em had were super juicy is barely touched on and treated like an afterthought. We don’t explore a lot of the tangled relationships the group of girls have with Sadie. At times, I found myself speed reading or skipping paragraphs because it was taking forever to get to the point.

Even with all the issues, the conclusion is good, I guess. It wraps the story neatly into a bow, but given how the story was set up, I was hoping for more cat fights or arguments or revelations or even for the characters to piece together more of that night.

One of the things I have to mention is how Kimiko was written. She was half Japanese and half Italian and the author mentioned cornrows and kinky hair like girl…don’t play with me. I had to go back and make sure I wasn’t tripping because the way I kept reading words I was thinking Kimiko was a lil Black or something. Those are only words that I would associate with Black culture. Like describing the ritual of sitting between someones legs and getting your hair CORNROWED is for sure Black people shit.

THIS PART OF THE REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!

June was an annoying, insecure character who ignored all the signs that Sadie’s life wasn’t what it seemed. I mean the day June got on that property Ethan texted to see her and made a move. And June was still jealous.

Kimiko, Em, and Amy all had wayyyy better motives and backstories that show how manipulative Sadie was and they never really mention it. Like Sadie was writing a whole book about Em’s weird relationship with her mother’s boyfriend. Sadie lent Kimiko business money and threatened to ruin her if she didn’t get her investment back, plus she had a kid that was in juvie for selling drugs which was mentioned multiple times, but it really had very little to do with the story. They talked about Kimiko’s son more than Sadie lending her money. And Amy…poor Amy. Sadie knew how sleezy Ethan was and how messy Amy was and pushed them together and Amy got preggo. Sadie was gonna pretty much take that baby and try to start a new life with her gardener, Leo, who was recovering from losing a son. 

Sadie was a fucking bitch! And the conclusion being that Sadie’s daughter, Dakota killed her accidentally to run off with her boyfriend to LA and Ethan helped dispose of the body? LAME!

Imagine a super small Southern town, and there’s a school shooting. Then the shooter is a young Black boy?! And he only kills one person: the most beloved teacher in the town. This is how the story starts out, and it immediately had me hooked. As the story unraveled, it became darker than I could've imagined. 

The mystery of why Latrell, a troubled high schooler, only claimed one victim is extremely dark, tense and thrilling. The main character Titus is a former FBI agent turned small town sheriff, who returns to his hometown after a mysterious case ended his career. Titus is a great protagonist, but I will say I have to mention that I hate the whole “change the institution from the inside” types of officers. Otherwise, this is a great read from start to finish.

After hearing this book circulating around online, I had to give it a shot, especially during BHM. The story follows Mira, as she revisits her hometown for a wedding of her old childhood friend, Celine. Despite Celine’s wedding being held on the newly renovated Woodson Plantation in their town, Mira goes in hopes of at least getting a glimpse of her other childhood friend and crush, Jesse. After a terrifying night on the Woodson Plantation as kids that resulted in Jesse’s arrest for murder, Mira went off to college in hopes that she can forget her town, her friends and most importantly, what happened that night.

The story dabbles in the stomach-churning history of chattel slavery and the haunting history these lands have, metaphorically and physically. There are many times in the story that were deeply uncomfortable such as the scene of Mira visiting the newly renovated plantation. What makes the scene so hard to get through is the knowledge that white people really go to plantations and treat them like vacations, largely ignoring the reality of those places. And of course the very real negligence many developers have in taking these properties and purposely making renovations that ignore the dark histories of the land.

I found Mira and Jesse very likable characters. Mira is very relatable, as I know all too well about the expectations that are placed on us and living our lives according to the stereotypes people have against black people and how our entire lives and personalities are carefully curated to fight them. I also could relate to Jesse’s exhaustion in constantly having to live up to these expectations and it not mattering in the end, because to a lot of people, black people are inherently bad. If you can handle fictional accounts of very real life history with a paranormal twist, then you will like this story.

THIS PART OF THE REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS:

Now, I couldn’t STAND Celine’s character omg. She was the worst! How you grow up with black kids being the only genuine friends you have and then grow up to have a wedding on the very plantation you were scared of as a child??? Just triflin’. And I love Mira down but she was ALWAYS excusing Celine’s behavior! When Celine went missing the first thing they goin think is that Celine actually believed the theory Jesse told her and purposely invited all those people to allow them to be preyed upon by the spirits. It just shows how much excuses were made for Celine. I’m glad that Jesse finally told Mira that Celine hates them because if she really cared, she wouldn’t have had the wedding there. FINALLY! Someone speaking some sense. 

Celine was an insecure, envious poor girl at heart , who was resentful that her whiteness couldn’t save her from poverty. And when she finally found a man that could “save” her, she purposely invited those people not to just rub her new wealth in their face, but to impress them. I’m glad Celine was just used as a plot device cause 1) I couldn’t stand her and 2) its nice to see the tables turned and having a white character die unceremoniously without getting any closure.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I chose this book. In the first half of the book, I expected the paranormal elements to be a metaphorical take on motherhood. I am glad to say the book did not take the path I expected. In a way, Flora being a new mother left alone made her seem unreliable in a sense. I found her character likeable and I felt bad that she was left alone to deal with a newborn.

By the second half of the book I was shocked at the twist and the story kicked into gear by then. More chaotic things were happening and omg that breastfeeding scene??? Completely stopped me in my tracks! I love when books have things that can make you stop and react. Good and quick read!

The story follows Valentine or “Val” and her journey into her past after the death of her father. She soon finds out that she was a cast member of a children’s program called Mister Magic that was cancelled after a tragic accident. This is news to her, as Val cannot remember anything before her and her father moved to the Ranch. In fact, there is no history about the show at all. Her former cast members Marcus, Jenny, Javi and Issac go along with her on her journey to remember, while also contributing to a podcast that is documenting the history of the elusive and mysterious Mister Magic show.

I found this story very interesting and it built suspense as the story unfolded in the first 100 pages or so. As the story continued, it was starting to seem like one of those stories where the monster is being built up to be an all-powerful entity. It was starting to become more clear that the villain wasn’t going to really be a person but more of a concept or metaphor for something else. I liked the book and it was a great metaphor for how adults project so much of their fear of change and fear of challenging traditional aspects of society onto children and stifle them from their own growth and self-expression at such a young age. Given the religious background of the author (the first couple of sentences of the acknowledgement section killed me) it makes sense.

THIS PART OF THE REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS:

Every time a character referred to a jingle, it always pointed out whatever trauma they had as a kid. Marcus being the first interviewee immediately gave me that impression. He was known as the Visionary of the group, the one who had the most vivid, colorful imagination. I assumed the jingle made commentary on Marcus being Black and how he shouldn't stand out because of that. It wasn't until around halfway through the book it was revealed that Marcus wasn't just Black, he was also gay. Then his jingles made a lot more sense. It wasn't until Val and Jenny were talking about the jingles that were only taught to the girls involving modesty and being a “good girl” that I really started understanding what type of message the author was trying to tell. 

I really liked the messaging around Jenny. She’s the one character who knew about everything beforehand. She’s the one who not only stayed behind, but continued to push the messaging the show taught her and do what she was “supposed to do”. Even doing all of that, she still wasn’t happy. Val just represents the type of people who are willing to stand up and challenge traditions and not be afraid of change.

How do I feel about the ending? Not a big fan and I feel like Val choosing to stay as the new Mister Magic and teach the kids new lessons probably means something, but I just feel sad that she discovered she didn’t have to hide away her whole life and now she’ll still never get the chance like??? That’s super sad. She’s the one is strong enough to stand against the traditions and she can’t even live her life after all that loss.

I usually don't read books like this, but I am now open to reading more like it! I liked the book and was immersed in the world of David, Marilyn and their offspring: Wendy, Liza, Violet, and Grace. Wendy is the most complex character and the story kind of revolves around her and her struggles. Or really, her and Violet’s struggles of envy, co-dependency, and jealousy. The story bounces back and forth between the daughters’ and all of their issues and David and Marilyn’s seemingly perfect marriage. 

Because of David and Marilyn’s nearly untouchable love, I found their backstories kind of boring and it was only until it got to the part of when

David emotionally cheated with Gillian

that I was finally invested, but it didn’t last super long. I love their relationship and all they went through, even at the cost of them being considered boring. 

Regarding the daughters, I’ll start with the most boring of them all: Grace. It’s not her fault and I believe the author not really touching too much on Grace is a byproduct of her being the youngest. With the youngest, the parents are burnt out and barely care at this point, leading to the youngest feeling like they didn’t get as much attention or parenting as their siblings did. I felt bad for Liza and how she

had a depressed a** boyfriend who cared more about gaming than loving his GF. I sympathize with depression, but it felt like he just checked out of life and Liza just let him. It took like 8 years and getting PREGNANT that she realized that maybe Ryan isn’t a good life partner. Like DUH! And poor Jonah accidentally telling the tea! That was when Liza’s POV got a bit more interesting

. Violet was hard to love. I mean of course I feel bad that

Wendy was so jealous of her seemingly happy (and it seems like at the time it was) life so much that she located her sister’s child she gave up for adoption

. But ALSO Violet was messed up for

the baby’s father being her older sister’s sweet boyfriend. Like could you BE anymore jealous

?! Them two are a MESS and I’m glad they resolved their issues, but it was definitely anti-climactic at how they patched things up, I was expecting a little more, but I mean that’s sisters for ya.

Overall, it was a good read and it contained enough family drama to keep me occupied.

One of my favorite memoirs ever! I love Mariah Carey and already had a vague understanding of her career. I went into the book a huge fan wanting to know more and more from her perspective because I was too young to be involved in celebrity gossip and pop culture. Her story is inspiring and I loved reading the origins of some of her biggest hits, including what I believe to be her best song, "The Roof". It's an amazing song with an amazing (and juicy backstory)!

I was inspired reading about her past relationship and how she found success for herself and loved her roots, even though it seemed as if the record executives were trying to erase that part of her. It proves that authenticity matters and Mariah Carey has stayed true to herself and she has definitely earned her label as "a diva". I mean, if you went through what she did, would you not want the best for yourself? She's a true icon!