A review by christinefitz
One Of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I was really looking forward to this book. Recently I've seen a lot of spec-fic books by white women challenging the promises of "wellness culture" and I was interested what kind of take a non-white author would have on the topic. The whole time I was reading, I had a sense of unease; sometimes, it was because I wanted the MC to escape the horror, like I was supposed to feel. But more often, it was because I found the MC so unbearable, unrealistic - and the colorism! I kept waiting for her to have character growth, or honestly a full-on meltdown. As someone who has held beliefs in common with Jasmyn, I thought maybe I was being too defensive of my own experience / journey to understanding the value of rest and that as a white person, maybe my understanding of the MC's view was flawed in some way. But after reading a lot of reviews by Black readers - seeing references to The Nap Ministry and how miraculous it is Jasmyn never burns out - I think I had the right idea after all. This book would have resolved better if Jasmyn had learned something other than "Blackness = aesthetics + trauma". But please read those other reviews and don't take my word for it.

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