booktribe's reviews
581 reviews

If I can figure out a way to articulate my thoughts about this book well I’ll write a real review, but for now, just know that this book did not sit right with my Black ass spirit.

In this graphic novel we have the ghost of an enslaved woman willingly spending her afterlife as a servant to a white woman. (And we never check up on her at the end to see if she was freed from the house or still choosing to serve this old white lady.)

The main character’s friends in the beginning of the book are shown to be bad people who say lil micro aggressions and are just overall mean, and there’s no character growth from them, but the main character is still friends with them at the end. Their behavior was literally never addressed. Everything was just fine. So, why give them a bad personality in the beginning for it to never be brought up again?

I just have a lot of problems with this. The artwork is pretty though. I wouldn’t suggest Black young adults read this. This does not give the right message of how racists should be dealt with…

Maybe one day I’ll give this another try, but the pacing is just way too slow for me.

DNF at chapter 25

I was hesitant to pick this one up do to the cover looking like it’s AI generated, but the synopsis sounded so intriguing that I had to give it a try! But, sadly I couldn’t get into this one.

This just can’t catch my attention. I’m simultaneously bored and confused. I found so many of the descriptions confusing to the point where I couldn’t keep up with what was going on. The time jumps, switching POVs, and non-linear storytelling also added to that confusion. And It definitely doesn’t feel like horror, but more of a character driven science-fiction novella. And by character driven, I mean nothing sci-fi or horror is happening, it’s just the characters interacting with each other in ways that don’t feel like they’re particularly pushing the story forward.

This was such a great premise. I found the concept of The Gray to be very intriguing. But, I have no desire to pick it back up. I would recommend it to someone who enjoys character driven sci-fi though, just don’t go in expecting horror or any action right away.

Thank you Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.

"Black queer kids deserve to know they have heroes."

This was such a great read! It was so informative. As someone who is familiar with the Harlem Renaissance, (I'm not an expert, but I am familiar) I even learned a lot! There were several people mentioned that l've never heard of and several people that I do know, but that I had no idea were queer! And it's great to see knowledge about these Black, queer icons made accessible for young adults! I'd definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to learn more Black history! It was a very short book that didn't go too in depth abou each person's biography, however it definitely gives enough to make you want to research and learn even more. Also, the illustrations in this novel were absolutely beautiful! Straight up breathtaking! I'm obsessed!🥰

I love the titles of Eric LaRocca’s work, the book covers, the flow of the writing style. The packaging is beautiful. But the stories themselves are lacking for me.

~ You Follow Wherever They Go: ⭐️⭐️✨

~ Bodies Are For Burning: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

~ The Strange Thing We Become: ⭐️⭐️✨ (I don’t get it…)

~ The Trees Grew Because I Bled There: ⭐️✨

~ You’re Not Supposed to Be Here: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

~ Where Flames Burned Emerald as Grass: DNF

~ I’ll be Gone by Then: ⭐️⭐️✨

~ Please Leave or I’m Going to Hurt You: ⭐️ (tf was that??)

avg. rating: 2.4 stars

overall rating: 2 stars