compelling, poignant, thought provoking, powerful

one of the most powerful novels of our time that questions or world, our prejuduce and discrimation and how endlessly sad it can be

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Moving and thought provoking

An excellent and thought provoking read. Very well narrated. couldn't stop listening. Highly recommend this book.

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powerful and inciteful

wow,so many issues brought into the light of day. Looking at such a huge subject from both black and white makes you query everything that you thought.Does the colour of your skin make such a huge difference? Hell,yes.l didn't think l had a racist bone in my body but this book gave me lots to think about and query. A book charged with powerful emotions and one which has done more for race relations than all the tv coverage ever could.

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2 people found this helpful

How deep is a friendship?

Taking sides, examining loyalties: how deep is a friendship?

My liking for this was strongest in the first half of the book. The drama and tension surrounding the shooting of a 14-year-old black student by two white police officers, and the story surrounding the wife of one and her lifelong friendship with a reporter covering the story - it did wrap itself around you.

Jen is pregnant, with Riley's help paying for the IVF, when her husband sends her that unforgettable text message. It's a child that's been shot... but it's her husband's career and life now being decided. Riley's own feelings and choices are pulling at her too - Jen is her best friend, but she's worked hard to try and become a news anchor and this story could be the break she needs to show what she's capable of.

Moving from one to the other, the two sides of this debate descend on two characters. Riley takes on the side of Justin, interviewing his mother, while Jen exemplifies the consequences on the shooter. Neither themselves are morally faultless.

Riley is more interesting than her best friend I felt, with secrets long hidden from Jen about her own experiences with race, it's no wonder Jen is oblivious to alternative narratives. Riley has changed her name, her hair, hidden racist incidents from Jen, not pulled her up on comments over the years. But Jen too seems naive in a way that seems unrealistic and selfish.

The powder keg of emotion that simmers following the shooting seems familiar after events of the last few years, and this book certainly reminds us of faults in the system, of prejudices and blindness and what's in need of debate and change.

The ending felt like a let-down, while there is resolution, I didn't feel the women got the finale they could have.

There are some minor characters I would have liked developed more - Riley's brother has his own backstory that could have been made much more of, and her grandmother is a wonderful creation as well. Jen's own mother is a horrorshow, and the men in their lives feel very much minor bit parts.

A good one for discussions. Worked well as an audiobook with the voices of each heard as one narrates, the two-handed story flows well and easily as you listen.

With thanks to Nudge Books for providing an Audible copy.

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Fabulous

Loved it, really has an impact. One of those books that should be considered added to school curriculum.

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Great Read

loved it all to be fair, and how they both remained friends regardless of race, this was eventually expressed within their friendship which displayed maturity and comprehension.

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