rebekah_florence's reviews
192 reviews

To Catch a Raven by Beverly Jenkins

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Caleb has to know that EVERYTHING he touches turns to gold. How on EARTH do I go from wanting to shake some sense into the Dad in 2/3 of the book to sobbing about his backstory in one Azumah-Nelson style second person chapter?! PLEASE 😭 I love the way that he infuses music and food within the lives of his characters. The music that fuels the main character and his community has its own life within the story. If I was able to put the book down, I would have dedicated time to chronicling the music via playlist.

The only critique that I have for the novel is that I wish he would have found different phrasings to describe the pockets of community, moments of joy, or intense experiences our main character came into contact with other than ‘small worlds’. The first time it was used hit hard but after that, it felt unnecessarily repetitive.

So many of the characters move from lost to found throughout the novel and their transformations are so glorious to watch. What is for you will never leave you. What is for you will find you. What is for you will come back to you. I can’t wait for his next release. Until then, this will stick with me ❤️

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