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midnightmarauder's reviews
61 reviews
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
At the start of the novel, Dimple feels pretty melancholy about her life. She is a social media influencer, but, due to her follower count, it doesn't make her much money. On top of that, she also has a toxic, abusive on-again, off-again boyfriend, Kyron, and a poor body image.
There are a few topics that are covered in this novel. The main one topic that is covered is generational trauma. Cyril was a very absent father to all of his children, only choosing to come around and interact with them if he could get something out of it. This absence resulted in each of his children having different feelings towards him. For Dimple, she was the most forgiving towards him because she desired that father-daughter relationship with him, but some of the other siblings, like Lizzie for example, had no desire for a relationship with him. Cyril himself went through generational trauma at the hands of his mother, who
Another topic that is covered in the novel is the importance of family. Dimple and Kyron get into an argument that ends in
Overall, this book was a great read. I love books that feature dysfunctional family dynamics and imperfect characters. Every single Pennington sibling had a flaw of some kind (some more than others), but that's what made them great. However, there were also a few things I didn't like about the novel. One of the main things I didn't like about the book was the lack of depth it had. The book felt really exciting in the beginning during the Kyron storyline, but the way it ended felt so rushed. Nikisha was able to get
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, and Fatphobia
Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Cinnamon spends time at the local park during her lunch break, where she meets Daisy, a young girl who she forms a bond with. Her and Daisy meet up with each other every day over the span of a couple of months and talk about their lives. Since Cinnamon is so used to sharing the fictional parts of her upbringing to people, she naturally does the same with Daisy. This ends up backfiring when she finds an abandoned baby in the park one afternoon.
Attached to the baby's carseat is a note from Daisy, simply saying, "Please, Cinnamon." Cinnamon freaks out a bit and ponders on whether or not she should surrender the baby to the police, or keep her. She ultimately decides on the latter.
The main topic that was explored in this novel was how race plays a part in people's everyday life, whether intentionally or unintentionally. As the novel takes place in the south, racial differences between black and white people were touched on a lot. For instance, during Cinnamon's
Another big topic that was covered in the novel was what it means to be a parent, especially a mother. The mothers/motherly figures in the novel weren't exactly the best examples. Cinnamon's mother
Cinnamon's adamancy about breaking the cycle ties into the last main topic of the novel: the foster care system and its effects on people's lives. Cinnamon's
Ultimately, this book was a great read. I love a good heartfelt story with a happy ending. I feel that both authors did a wonderful job at tackling a largely unexplored issue (i.e. black families adopting white children) and executed their message respectfully, while also being realistic about people's reactions.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Fatphobia, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Aria's older sister, Hermoine, was 15 at the time of the car crash, and left the family shortly afterward. She gets married to Mr. Phinazee, who was her father's best friend. Their relationship started while she was still a minor, which greatly bothers their mother, Eloise. She blames Hermoine for being "fast" instead of reprimanding Mr. Phinazee for preying on a teenager. The anger that Eloise exudes towards her daughters is something that came about after the crash.
One of the other issues that was heavily tackled in the novel was the meaning of family and how it can look different from the norm. Initially, Aria has a nuclear family: a mother, father, and the two and a half kids. But, once her father and baby sister pass away, all there's left is her, her mother, and Hermoine. They stay together until Hermoine gets married and starts her own family, and when Aria moves out and begins her life. Aria starts feeling sick one day and decides that she is pregnant, and tells Dwayne. Dwayne decides to propose to her in order to give the baby a "proper" family. Later, when Aria goes to the doctor to see how far along she is, she finds out that
All in all, I loved this book. This book makes the last physical book I've read by Tayari Jones. She is such a phenomenal writer. I can't wait to see what she writes next.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infertility, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Pedophilia
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This story was okay. I initially read it because by the synopsis, I felt that it would have lesbian undertones, or even a full-blown lesbian relationship. The undertones are there (Ren's frustration over Luna leaving seems much deeper than just friendship betrayal, and Luna's relationship with her boyfriend just seems to be one that she entered into out of boredom instead of actual attraction), but I wish there was some kind of explicit portrayal.
I did like the different topics that were covered in the book (such as addiction, self-harm, and grooming), but it just wasn't as detailed as I wanted it to be overall.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Vomit, and Sexual harassment