dnf @ 48%

i wanted to like this book a lot, i really, really did but for some reason, i was just bored as hell. maybe it's because i've been reading too many adult books for the mindset of a fifteen year-old boy with no life experience whatsoever to do much more than irritate/bore me, but everything this main character said or did felt whiny to me, personally. the whole point of this book, however, is that he's decidedly "not a man" and he's trying to, in a [b:The Sea Wolf|43049|The Sea Wolf|Jack London|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389481608s/43049.jpg|2062963] fashion, "become a man," so the way he starts out sniveling, naive, and overall incompetent actually may have turned out to be rewarding in time.

... if i had just been able to force myself to finish it, but i was not. in fact, i probably would have stopped way sooner than 48%, if i hadn't been reading with lacey.

Turn your cheek. Yes, we have all heard the saying but who can actually do that when the chips are down.  I thought of this saying a lot when I read this book as fifteen-year old James tries to do that many times but it’s ole’ so hard.  James lives with his mother and his stepfather, I guess you call it living if you sleep on the sofa and you leave early so you can avoid a beating (verbally and mentally) from your stepfather. The mother, yes she has checked out years ago.   His brother Louis, James still looks up to and I thought that was a good thing until Louis’s runner had problems and Louis get James in the business.  James was leading a good life, well…. I say as good of a life as James could live, going to school trying to stay out of trouble but someone trouble just seemed to find him.  I cheered James on throughout the whole book as I thought he had potential, he knew right from wrong, he wanted to do right.  When the police cruiser turned on their red-blue lights, I cringed. I wanted James to run faster. Outrun the cops James! Run! James would learn his lesson, he was scared now, he seen his life flash before his eyes. Go James!  But when they slapped the cuffs on him, I feared for him. What would happen to him, would he become of “them”? It’s about standing up for yourself and knowing yourself.

Anxious to see what Sea Wolf is all about now since this book was mentioned a lot in here.

I was really rooting for this one. I loved the beginning, it's very strong and exciting. It starts with a flashback and then we learn about where it sort of began.But after awhile, James's story starts to get boring and at many times, he feels like a brick wall, only relying on books and other people to build his character up.There are many book references in this novel! Too many for my taste. I can deal with one or two but Kindness for Weakness has around four book references which I found too confusing to remember at times. I also dislike that the story ruins one of the best books ever--The Outsiders-- I mean, you just cannot do that. I'll let one book slide, you can tell me the ending of a Jack London book because I most likely will never read another book of his again but not The Outsiders!Not cool, man. Not cool.Short chapters help the books that I dislike a lot solely because I am more committed to finishing them which is the case with this one. Chapters are about three or four pages that literally fly by. Moreover, I liked that I got both sides of the story, not just the good and not just the bad. It starts at the beginning with one of the biggest mistakes in his life and how he came to realize many things about the people around him. The world building is pretty decently done, the Morton facility feels realistic and mysterious, a feeling that I think the author was trying to go for.Kindness for Weakness starts off great and had my attention from the very beginning but it quickly went downhill and lost it. Still, maybe I just the fact that I have extremely high expectations for novels that are me-novels and I'm very picky about everything with them. Nonetheless I recommend this to anyone who enjoys novels about messed-up teenagers like I do and don't mind all the spoilers on some great books *coughs* The Outsiders *coughs* and are not very picky about the characters either. I'm hoping that Shawn Goodman's other novel, Something Like Hope is much better than Kindness for Weakness. 

Initial reaction:  Probably somewhere between 4 and 4.5 stars. I'm not sure, I don't think I've quite recovered from the ending and how the book really took a dark turn after some time, though it was dark to begin with in this story of a boy who was caught in a very tough lifestyle, made terrible choices, had some glimmer of hope in stages, but ultimately...no, I think I'll leave that for my extended review.

I thought this book was very well done. Really wish I'd read it sooner.

 

Full review:

 

I think even after days of finishing this novel, I'm still torn from Shawn Goodman's "Kindness for Weakness."  It's a story of a 15-year old boy named James who comes from an abusive household where his stepfather hits him, his mother doesn't do enough for him, and the only solaces he has in his relationships are from his English teacher, who believes in his ability to excel, and his older brother, who makes a living from selling drugs.  After a particular run that stems from the product of misinterpretation, James ends up in Juvie with a lively group for company, including a black gay teen named Freddie who becomes his closest friend in the area.   The story then explores James trying to navigate the system and better himself while inside it, but while there may be hope on some levels within it, there's also a darkness that lingers throughout James's experience, ultimately coming to a head in the conclusion of the work that doesn't pull punches.

 

I definitely appreciated the realistic portrayal of James' life through the narrative, the prose flows so well and linear - Goodman does an excellent job of navigating the measure of abuse, helplessness and yet kindness that makes James's character unique and identifiable.  Granted, the fact that he doesn't do more to defend himself may wear on some, but it's an apt expansion for a boy who doesn't feel like he has many options but tries to make the most of the situations that he's in.  He looks out for others where they may not look out for him, but at the same time, you see his rises and falls with the context of the situations he's in, and it makes his character and the actions put against him and those he's around that much more vivid.  I really think this is a novel that will resonate with those of its respective audience and beyond, and I would highly recommend the read.

 

Overall score: 4/5

 

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Random House/Delacorte Books for Young Readers.

No one had checked out this book since the library got it! I think because of the aspirational cover. So I decided to read it to see what it was all about. And it's a very quick read and very juicy. Not really about geese at all (although some do feature in the story. as Symbols of Things). And it made me cry. It's set in a juvenile detention center and involves the protag learning to love herself. The author is definitely trying to teach lessons, but it doesn't get in the way of the character.