When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole

Hello my lovely readers!

Alright. I'd read the summary for this book and it seemed interesting, but it had so many mixed reviews that I held off on purchasing it. Thank goodness I did. This will be extremely...rant-y. So let's get into it.

SUMMARY
Sydney Green is a Brooklyn native who loves her neighborhood. But every time she blinks, things keep changing. Elderly neighbors are moving out of their brownstones, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight and no one seems to notice...or care.

Sydney's new neighbor, Theo is an unlikely ally and their deep dive into the history of the neighborhood quickly becomes a descent into paranoia and fear.

MY THOUGHTS
Okay. I did not like this book.

Ever since Get Out was released in 2017, it's like every Black author rushed to make its book companion, but they fail MISERABLY with it.

This book was written for white people. I know that's weird to say, since it was written by a Black woman, but this book was not for Black people. Cole does not use the "show don't tell" method at all in this book. Every bit of Black culture used in this book is presented in a way to explain what Black people are like to white people. You won't get those kind of explanations from James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston or Richard Wright. If you know, you know.

This book was a caricature of gentrification. The villains are so cartoonishly evil that it's unbelievable and too simplistic. It's like Cole wants you to know THIS IS THE BAD GUY, in case you couldn't already tell by how they're acting. This book beats you over the head with "Black" social issues and colloquialisms to the point that you want to scream.

Honestly, this book reminded me A LOT of The Other Black Girl. Sassy Black best friend? Check. White love interest? Check. The overuse of Twitter slang and AAVE? Check. Seriously, this is the Get Out formula, minus the overuse of AAVE and Twitter slang...and good writing.

I know some people, especially white people had an issue with the adult Sydney calling her mother "mommy," but I think it boils down to cultural differences because it's honestly something the Black community does. My 62 year old mother still calls her mom "mommy." I honestly find it endearing.

This book was released in 2020. Given the state of the U.S. during that time, with its racial reckoning, politics and elections, it's not surprising that a lot of the one-star and critical reviews include "woke nonsense" "racist" "Blacks v White" garbage. So don't pay those any mind.

Also, what was the ending all about? Just killing all white folks in sight? Riots? Give me a break.