Mr. McCane
This book is about a 17-year-old girl named Enchanted, who has a passion for singing. She meets a 28-year-old predatory R&B star named Korey Fields. He grooms and manipulates her. She quickly finds herself trapped in an abusive, controlling relationship. After Korey turns up dead, all eyes are on Enchanted.
This book is raw, and Tiffany D. Jackson doesn’t hold back. This story is beautifully told. It’s YA fiction, but it has a lot of triggers. This book mentions sexual abuse, rape, assault, child abuse, kidnapping, and addiction to opioids.
This book sheds light on how some men prey on teenage girls. The book also highlights how blame often falls on the victims, not the guilty men, who are fully aware of their actions. This book will remind you of people like R. Kelly and P. Diddy.
Things I loved:
1. Reads like a murder mystery and kept me wanting more.
2. The author never babies the reader. She kept it raw, honest, and real. Dealing with topics like grooming, abuse, and power.
3. I loved that the victim was a young black girl. Don’t see them as much in YA thrillers.
Things I didn’t like:
1. All police are dumb and/or lazy troupe. I’ve worked crimes against children for over 16 years. While you may have some detectives/investigators who victim blame, this is not the majority.
2. It was hard picturing the victim as a 17-year-old, because she acted more like she was 13 or 14.
I’m giving this book 4 1/2 stars. Highly recommend it. All older teens should read this.
This book is about a 17-year-old girl named Enchanted, who has a passion for singing. She meets a 28-year-old predatory R&B star named Korey Fields. He grooms and manipulates her. She quickly finds herself trapped in an abusive, controlling relationship. After Korey turns up dead, all eyes are on Enchanted.
This book is raw, and Tiffany D. Jackson doesn’t hold back. This story is beautifully told. It’s YA fiction, but it has a lot of triggers. This book mentions sexual abuse, rape, assault, child abuse, kidnapping, and addiction to opioids.
This book sheds light on how some men prey on teenage girls. The book also highlights how blame often falls on the victims, not the guilty men, who are fully aware of their actions. This book will remind you of people like R. Kelly and P. Diddy.
Things I loved:
1. Reads like a murder mystery and kept me wanting more.
2. The author never babies the reader. She kept it raw, honest, and real. Dealing with topics like grooming, abuse, and power.
3. I loved that the victim was a young black girl. Don’t see them as much in YA thrillers.
Things I didn’t like:
1. All police are dumb and/or lazy troupe. I’ve worked crimes against children for over 16 years. While you may have some detectives/investigators who victim blame, this is not the majority.
2. It was hard picturing the victim as a 17-year-old, because she acted more like she was 13 or 14.
I’m giving this book 4 1/2 stars. Highly recommend it. All older teens should read this.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. And I love R.F. Kuang. The writing was remarkable. You can tell that she worked her ass off on this one. If you’re a fan of dark academia, historical fantasy, and want to see what happens when language and power tongue kiss, this one is for you. It will definitely make you think critically about language and privilege. The setting is Oxford during the 1830s.
I have two issues:
I’ve gotten used to her books being a little extra long; however, it felt like this one would never end. The first 300 pages felt like a lecture, but then it picked up. This is a beautiful story, but not an easy read.
There was a lot of over-explaining or telling. I wish she had let the characters develop themselves instead of telling us everything.
Here’s a quote: “Translation is always an act of betrayal.”
Oh yeah, middle fingers to Letty (Babel) and Nezha (The Poppy War series) I haven’t forgotten about you lol.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. And I love R.F. Kuang. The writing was remarkable. You can tell that she worked her ass off on this one. If you’re a fan of dark academia, historical fantasy, and want to see what happens when language and power tongue kiss, this one is for you. It will definitely make you think critically about language and privilege. The setting is Oxford during the 1830s.
I have two issues:
I’ve gotten used to her books being a little extra long; however, it felt like this one would never end. The first 300 pages felt like a lecture, but then it picked up. This is a beautiful story, but not an easy read.
There was a lot of over-explaining or telling. I wish she had let the characters develop themselves instead of telling us everything.
Here’s a quote: “Translation is always an act of betrayal.”
Oh yeah, middle fingers to Letty (Babel) and Nezha (The Poppy War series) I haven’t forgotten about you lol.
Payback
Chicago Police Department Commander Jon Burge’s state-sanctioned “interrogation” ring that operated within the department for decades brutalized more than one hundred African Americans. This is a collection of five true stories about racism and reform, crime and corruption, justice and injustice in Chicago.
This is a 35 page short story written by Natalie Y. Moore. The whole time I was reading this, I had flashbacks. I was born and raised here. And I will never forget. I remember how they beat us and harassed us. How they would stop me for no reason and illegally search me. This would occur about three times a day. I will never forget how many times they arrested me for nothing. For walking to the store with my brothers to get groceries. They would tell us that three or more in a group was mob action. They charged me with ridiculous offenses like huffing paint, gang loitering, and or course mob action. I remember how they would put me in the back of a police car and take me to an empty field. They made me sit in the car and watch a bunch of them form a circle around someone and beat whoever was in the middle of it. And how they would tell me I was next. I had to be no older than 11 or 12. I remember in 1995 when they snatched one of my 15-year-old friends (who had done nothing wrong). They charged him with R*** and mur***. They gave him a 40-year sentence. After 17 years inside, DNA proved they had the wrong guy. I have many stories and still carry many scars, physically and mentally. I even remember when they tried to say I r***ed a white woman. But thank God she told the truth and said it wasn’t me. As you can see, this book was very triggering. I’m so glad I read it and will read any and everything I can find by this author.
Chicago Police Department Commander Jon Burge’s state-sanctioned “interrogation” ring that operated within the department for decades brutalized more than one hundred African Americans. This is a collection of five true stories about racism and reform, crime and corruption, justice and injustice in Chicago.
This is a 35 page short story written by Natalie Y. Moore. The whole time I was reading this, I had flashbacks. I was born and raised here. And I will never forget. I remember how they beat us and harassed us. How they would stop me for no reason and illegally search me. This would occur about three times a day. I will never forget how many times they arrested me for nothing. For walking to the store with my brothers to get groceries. They would tell us that three or more in a group was mob action. They charged me with ridiculous offenses like huffing paint, gang loitering, and or course mob action. I remember how they would put me in the back of a police car and take me to an empty field. They made me sit in the car and watch a bunch of them form a circle around someone and beat whoever was in the middle of it. And how they would tell me I was next. I had to be no older than 11 or 12. I remember in 1995 when they snatched one of my 15-year-old friends (who had done nothing wrong). They charged him with R*** and mur***. They gave him a 40-year sentence. After 17 years inside, DNA proved they had the wrong guy. I have many stories and still carry many scars, physically and mentally. I even remember when they tried to say I r***ed a white woman. But thank God she told the truth and said it wasn’t me. As you can see, this book was very triggering. I’m so glad I read it and will read any and everything I can find by this author.