Mikayla > Recent Status Updates

There's much speculation, with no actual progression. The characters provide many descriptive scenarios on how the murders could have transpired, but they're so convoluted that my brain glazes over during those parts. The detectives are so inept at this point it's become more exhausting than anything else. But I'm committed so I will wait for the "renowned sleuth" to appear in the last act and solve this case.

Comparing this to Harry Potter doesn't do it justice. The only similarity is that it's a school for magic users, and it ends there. This story displays high stakes on the characters just for a chance to use their magic, which, granted, makes it lacking in action. However, it also makes you value the moments where actual magic is used, because you know the cost for doing that magic.

The stream of consciousness writing is something to get used to. Especially when the story jumps into the deep end right off the bat, leaving me wondering as to whether I had missed a previous book with all the explanations. However, it reads as a dark Harry Potter, (which others have compared it to, since we don't have any other big British magic school stories to use as comparison) which I quite like.

I read this years ago in middle school but never really had the chance to understand and analyze it. Rereading it now, my memory of this has changed drastically. There's Walter Lee, struggling to get his aspirations realized, Beneatha, attempting to reclaim her African heritage hoping to finally find herself, and Mama, the strong matriarch just trying to keep her family together. The struggle is so real here.