(view spoiler)[Ugh, I’ve been putting off writing a review for this for well over a day, cause I am just the worst at articulating my thoughts for this sort of thing. And also, it doesn’t help that it took me two months to finish the book.
So I guess I’ll just word vomit and hope for the best lol.
The first two thirds of the book were HARD to get through – Michael’s chapters felt like reading about a Trump supporter, and that is like an instinctual vomit reaction at this point. Honestly, there were only a few acceptable ways this entire book could go, without me abandoning it or giving it a shitty rating. And luckily, I’d say by the time I reached the end, it mostly managed to land on the acceptable path – Michael is the only one who really changed at all. And, Mina only started to forgive him after he became actively and vocally anti-racist – and not just wishy washy or “both sides” about it.
Shit though, the beginning was hard to get through. I had to put the book down every Michael chapter just to de-rage myself.
Honestly, I’m kind of mad I had to do that. I deescalated myself and felt more neutral each time I picked the book up again, and forgot the specifics of what I was mad or annoyed about. I wish I remembered it all clearly – I feel like it’d impact my final star rating if I did.
There are two things I know I didn’t like about the ending. Firstly – Michael didn’t sever himself completely from his family. But, I know that kind of thing is very complicated and individualized, especially when you’re 16. And, my own boyfriend isn’t severing himself from his own shitty family, so I also get it. I’m unhappy about it, but I get it. And secondly – Mina’s final line in the book was about how “Michael thinks he learned from her – but he’s wrong. She learned the most from him – how to never give up on anyone.” And may I just say, fuck that. Giving up on and severing shitty people is foundational to healthy boundaries and enforcing consequences, and who you choose to not give up on is extremely situational and in NO WAY should be generalized advice. It felt like serious lib shit and it kind of soured my taste of how well the rest of the latter part of the book had been going.
So much went right, though. The fact that Michael went from mindless “Trump supporter” anti-immigrant logic to actively anti-racist was astounding, and so was the fact that he actively decided to not be silent about it and speak up, even if it meant permanently and publicly losing a friend, and even when it made his home life very difficult. Mina never crossed her own boundaries once – she stood firm and never gave in on anything. And – Nathan was autistic! Michael’s little brother! They never used the actual word (which was disappointing), but if you’re familiar with what it looks like at all, it’s super obvious.
I wish more had been done about the class difference between Mina and Paula, though, and not just more or less brushed under the rug like it was. And, I wish Jane could have worked up the courage to really tell Terrance off and apologize to her friends for acting like such a shit, but where the story ended seemed too soon in her attempt to move on for her to manage it I suppose. How she could fall for him in the first place really makes me dislike her character, but I can at least appreciate the active female camaraderie Mina extended to her at the end in an attempt to bring her back from the Terrance ledge.
Honestly though so much more than what I said was done well. I am the WORST at articulating any of it, but I felt it really did an excellent job of capturing life as a Muslim asylum seeker, and the truth behind it – and the lies the racists opposing them will spin.
Mostly, though, when I started the book, I was super worried that “the lines we cross” would indicate “meeting in the middle” or some sort of unity bullshit. But – none of that happened, really. The only one who crossed any lines was Michael. He’s the only one who really had any changing to do in the first place – and boy, he did it all correctly. (I’m kind of sour that it took meeting a pretty Muslim girl for him to get his head out of his own asscrack in the first place, but hey.)
Some of this book did come across as pretty libby. But, for the most part, most of it was true leftist energy, and is very powerfully done and well articulated. Even though it takes place in Australia, it does a very good job capturing the generic subject of refugees and immigration, and teaching exactly what stance anyone trying to be actively anti-racist should take. (hide spoiler)]...more
(view spoiler)[So I finished this last night, and I’m just as much at a loss for words now as I was at the time.
This book is a fucking masterpiece and perfection incarnate. I’m usually very anti-required reading, as that’s a real good way to ruin reading as a hobby, but THIS BOOK should be fundamental to every school and book group in America – perhaps even globally. It perfectly explains SUCH a drastically misunderstood issue and paints exactly WHY it’s so important and manages to touch on all of the nuances of police brutality and – ugh, it’s SO POWERFUL and SO GOOD.
To the point where the only reason I will accept dislike of this book is if it’s for technical or stylistic reasons – like not liking the writing style, or not liking characters. And even so, given the nature of the writing and the characters and WHY they are like they are, I’m giving serious stank eye to anyone who thinks those kinds of things, as well.
I actually scrolled through my Goodreads friend reviews of this book immediately upon finishing it and got rid of anyone who disliked the book for any pro-police reasons (Still! Yes! They exist, even AFTER reading this!). That’s how fundamentally important this book is. Liking or disliking it isn’t a matter of difference in opinion – it’s a difference in morality. Do black lives matter, or do they not? That’s not even a question. And if you disagree, we are morally incompatible and you don’t belong in my life in any capacity.
There is SO MUCH about this book that I love, and SO MUCH that is done right. I need to admit my personal favorites: Starr’s mirroring of that photograph from Ferguson, picking up the tear gas the cops threw at her, throwing it back, and a picture of it getting captured mid-throw; and the course of Starr’s relationship with Hailey. Ultimately: FUCK Hailey. But her character is so important – it illustrates the attitude most white people have towards racism, and HONESTLY, the fact that she was pro-feminist, but EXTREMELY racist, makes her all the more infuriating. That, ladies and gentleman, is a perfect example of what we call White Feminism! And an extreme example at that – not only does Hailey disregard issues that may apply to anyone other than white women, she actively contributes to those issues every single time she opens her mouth about race. And I shudder to think what she thinks about any OTHER kind of minority lol.
I also love that the only two real white characters in the story are Chris, and Hailey – polar opposites, and great representations of the two kinds of white people you’ll find concerning racism. There’s.. well, there’s Hailey, the walking garbage can who I hope dies alone, and there’s Chris, the aspiring ally, who’s not perfect, makes mistakes, and still has many things to learn, but is actively pursuing learning them and admitting when he’s wrong. (Also – how rich Chris’s family is low-key pisses me off for entirely different reasons LOL.)
I truly don’t know what else I can say, other than recommend this book at the top of my lungs and with a great deal of force to pretty much every single person in this country – particularly every single white person. I know I want to throw it in the face – like literally throw it – of anyone who still tries to spout “all lives matter” or, even worse, “blue lives matter,” and then pick it up, and throw it at their face again, and again, until their nose breaks.
There’s nothing I can say that will do any kind of eloquent justice to the majesty and importance that is this book. Although, I should at least try to sum it up, and put into words exactly WHAT was done so well. Normally, my brain fails me utterly here, but for this book in particular, I won’t let it.
I do know it perfectly captured the experience of growing up black, poor, and in a gang-infested neighborhood (at least, to my knowledge). I know it illustrated the difference between good cops and bad cops, and how no one should be picking apart “fuck the police,” because if you’re a true ally you know DAMN WELL that doesn’t apply to the good people. I know it FLAWLESSLY illustrated the difference between a riot and a peaceful, but obstructive protest, and it made me want to get out there and scream my anger into a megaphone and find some way to become a better activist – even if there aren’t many opportunities to do so in my area. I know it somehow managed to capture many, many microaggressions directed towards black people, and therefore explained exactly how frustrating and infuriating they can be, even if one individual act was “little.” I know it did a great job of illustrating the difference between jokes the oppressed use against the oppressor, as coping methods, and jokes the oppressor use against the oppressed, which are never not inherently shitty and dangerous. And I deeply, deeply enjoy how often “your life matters” was stated – never once was Black Lives Matter explicitly named, but you know damn well that’s what they’re referring to.
Oh, man. And that list of names of victims of police brutality at the end gave me chills.
Ultimately, I don’t have much problem saying that if you don’t like this book, you’re racist. Much in the same way that voting for and supporting Trump automatically makes you racist, or toting a US flag with a thin blue line or a Confederate flag automatically makes you racist. Or spouting “all lives matter.” Or honestly believing preventing police brutality has ANYTHING to do with “complying with orders” or “taking responsibility for your actions.”
If that displeases you, die mad about it.
And be happy I’m not throwing this book at your face until your nose breaks right now.
To everyone else – I won’t throw the book at you lol. But it is just as important that you read it. This is FUNDAMENTAL to understanding societal issues, and understanding societal issues is fundamental to being a responsible member of society.
If more people understood these issues with any kind of empathy, the world would be a much better place – to ALL who live in it. Not just those who were lucky enough to be born white.
And this book is a perfect stepping stone to beginning to understand racism, police brutality, and why Black Lives Matter is so crucial, as a movement and as a belief.
So, if you haven’t yet – even if you think you already understand BLM – READ IT. Your functionality as a human being depends on it. (hide spoiler)]...more
(view spoiler)[First things first – I finished this way faster than I thought I would! Woohoo!! Thank you, quiet days at work lmao. I may finish my challenge yet.
Okay so. This book gave me thoughts.
It had been about.. oh, 6 years? since I read the last book in the series, but luckily just about all of it came back as I was reading this one. It was a very easy read, the language flowed well, it was paced nicely, I could easily understand the historical terms, the historical accuracy was on point and hella fascinating, and I flew through 300 pages in 6 days. The character development is phenomenal – Ruth is totally autistic!! – and it was interesting how the book’s blurb seriously was covered in just about the first two chapters. The entire REST of the book was a blank slate.
Now: grievances. First and foremost, while the character development was naturally paced and very well done, it waited until the last third of the book to blossom into anything positive at all, and until quite literally the LAST CHAPTER to fully wrap up. You have to put up with characters being bull-headed and mean and stubborn and not communicating well the entire rest of the book, and it gets exasperating. Isabel herself, until she checks herself, is QUITE unlikable. Like – very. She does redeem herself and get over herself in the end, but, yeeeesh. I can still enjoy unlikable characters, though – it wasn’t anywhere near enough to abandon the book over.
And then there’s the more complicated issue of how freedom and hypocrisy and differing sides are portrayed. I think it really did a wonderful job accurately illustrating just how hypocritical the patriot side of the Revolutionary war was, in that it was fighting for freedom against the British, but still was VERY pro-slavery. That they let black soldiers fight in the ranks, but still returned other black folk back to slavery who had already liberated themselves. The book truly did a great job getting across how difficult and muddy it could be to “choose a side”, when neither side gives a rat’s ass about you or your people. But I think it chose the right path to try to explain how you could choose a side anyway, particularly the patriot side – you do it to do what’s right, to not necessarily succeed freedom for yourself, but for those who come after you. To set the groundwork for those who follow in your footsteps, to go further than you ever could go. It’s a fool’s hope to think any progress could come of such a fight at the time, but to fight for the future – that’s valid, and honorable.
While I believe it did a decent job getting all that across, something about it truly felt off. Perhaps it was that the characters in this book, while not spared from various threats or fear of re-enslavement, were the highly romanticized and best-case-scenario version of what normally happened to black people at this time. People seemed entirely too accepting, and entirely too polite to Isabel and her companions for the entirety of the story. Things seemed to go entirely too much in their favor. It very much felt unrealistic, and it doesn’t sit well with me that this was portrayed as a “normal life” when, in fact, it is a very, very VERY fortunate one, to the point where it doesn’t feel real. I think the combination of this and my other aforementioned grievances are what docked off a star from my final rating.
Overall, this is a very good series, though. I don’t think I liked it as much as I like Laurie Halse Anderson’s other books, but it’s up there, and I did enjoy the whole series! I’m glad I finished it, and will happily recommend it to others.
I remember the day I started this series on a whim, back in college, when I just happened to spy the first book on a shelf lol. Now here I am, probably about 8~ years later, finally done with the trilogy.
(view spoiler)[I know of all the books I’ve read and reviewed, this one should be one of the top five I actually put decent effort into reviewing, instead of just summing it up with (hide spoiler)]...more
Jen • Just One More Page
>
Books:
racism
(6)
Loading...
