How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon
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Web ID: 4138580Amazing book!
The book "How It Went Down" is probably one of the best books i have read as of yet, many other people can agree with me that it has a gripping narrative that has a deep connection with the reader. The book has made me feel like I could do more for my community and help those in need. The story is set as a white man has shot a young black boy who he thought was responsible for stealing from the grocery store and thought he had a gun, but he in fact did not have a gun. Which had led people to stick the shooting to racism and hate towards the young black man. Kekla Magoon has amazing storytelling and is incredible at making these deep and beautiful stories. She has put so much work into this book and had really tried her hardest to make the book as entertaining as she could. She wanted it to be a real page turner. Kekla Magoon wanted to show her deepest thoughts on racism and how effective it is towards society. Because people of color had been suppressed for many years, and been hated for many years, it shows what people of non-color think of the subject and what they say about it. The book really sets the tone of how dark society can think about a situation and how they handle it, especially one that has something to do with society and people themselves. The strong points of the novel are that the story has made a huge impact and can relate to real world situations. The other strong point is that the novel also shows a lot of emotion into the storytelling, and it can show the character’s development throughout the book. There are some weak points too. The weak points mainly consist of the book being slightly too long, but for the most part the novel is an amazing experience. This book has caught my attention and has satisfied me in my journey to find amazing books with realistic storytelling. This book has made me pay more attention to real world problems and to figure out if there is a way to stop these problems. I don’t think any other book has made me think about the world this much ever. I do think it is an amazing book to read and should very much be read in schools in the future.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
What A Great Read
Well, let's talk about this book I just finished - How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon. And let me tell you, it's not your average read. This delves into the aftermath of the shooting, and it's like peeling back the layers of an onion to get to the truth. First, the structure of this book is crazy. It's like a patchwork quilt of viewpoints, with each chapter giving you a different angle on what happened. You have Tariq's family, his friends, and even random people from the neighborhood, all donating their cents. It's like trying to solve a puzzle where everyone has their own version of events. But what really hits home with this book are the characters. You have Tariq's mother who is trying to keep it together after losing her son. Then there's the man who witnessed the shooting but can't seem to make up his mind about what he saw. And don't get me started on Tariq's friends, each of them dealing with their own guilt and anger in the aftermath. As you read, you begin to realize that this book is not just about one event. It's about the larger issues lurking beneath the surface — race, justice, and identity. It's about grappling with the gray areas in life and realizing that things aren't always black and white. And let me tell you, “How It Happened” does not hold back. It's raw, it's real, and it will make you question everything you thought you knew about right and wrong. But hey, isn't that what growth is all about? Are you challenging your beliefs and learning to see things from different perspectives? So, yes, if you're looking for a book that will make you think - really think - How It Happened is definitely worth checking out. Just be prepared to have your mind blown and your heart strings pulled in all directions. But hey, that's a sign of good reading, am I right?
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Alonzo’s review on How It Went Down by Kekla Magoo
“How It Went Down” is a unique and complex story that is surrounded by the killing of Tariq Johnson and the impact it has made on his community. This fiction story delves into many real-life issues like gang violence, politics, love, friendship, and sexual harassment. The weakness that I think this book has is its quick and constant changing of characters because sometimes I’m trying to understand what one character is saying, and then it switches to another it makes the book interesting in a way having you want to keep reading to hear the rest of what that character wanted to say but at the same time it also makes it harder to understand the story. I also don’t like that there will be a character that speaks once but then you won’t hear from until 100 pages later for example Junior speaks on page 140 and you don’t see him again until page 272. One last weakness that I noticed while reading is it's sometimes challenging to keep track of the characters due to the constant changes. I sometimes forget who is who. Something that I think this author is good at in this book is her unique storytelling using multiple perspectives. This lets you gain a lot of extra background information from each character you wouldn’t normally have if you had only one or two characters speaking. Each perspective has different opinions and thoughts, which adds a layer of complexity to the story and helps gain more understanding of the story. The author’s use of literary devices takes this book to another level. The use of literary devices helps shape the theme of this story. For example, imagery and diction help us understand the impact of racism on this community while flashbacks help convey the feelings people like Tyrell and Tina felt after losing someone so precious as Tariq. Overall I think this book was wonderful even though it was hard at times to remember the characters. It was the first time that I’ve ever read something like this with such a unique way of storytelling. In the beginning, I thought this book would be somewhat easy to read because of its many characters, but as I progressed through the book that was proven wrong, it was difficult at times to keep up with the characters but after a while, I got the hang of it. I enjoyed this book because of the multiple characters. It constantly had me wanting to continue reading to see what the other characters were going through or going to say.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great Book! Enjoyed Reading.
I had first started reading this book for a school assignment. Not being very interested, I started reading it but actually really enjoyed reading it! I liked reading this book about a sixteen-year-old African American boy named Tariq Johnson who was involved in a shooting and tragically passed away in a racially divided community, leaving his loved ones to grieve. The story unfolds from the multiple perspectives of people who witnessed the incident, and the in-depth talk about some of their lives. I enjoyed reading about Jennica and some other important characters, like Noodle, Brick, and Tyrell. Reading about all their experiences with Tariq, I almost feel like I personally knew him, even when he was a kid. It's clear to see that Tariq's death has affected many people's lives in the story and how much of an impact his death has had on the story. I really like how Keckla Magoon really presents multiple perspectives and the different characters background experiences, which I think adds depth to the story and a lot more emotion towards the death of Tariq. Keckla Magoon also does well to include the sensitive topics of racial bias and justice. Though I can see how some people might find some of the different perspectives difficult to follow and some of the text might not be suitable for some readers, especially the younger audience, I still do think this is a great book for most readers. I do think that apart from what shapes the theme, Keckla Magoon uses really good imagery in the story and creates vivid descriptions to capture the emotions and experiences of the characters. Something I also noticed is the use of syntax with the character Tina, who was Tariq's little sister. The way Magoon makes her talk in the book is very poem-like, and that was something that stood out to me. I also noticed a lot of great similes in the book, especially from Jennica. For example, in the beginning of the book, when Tariq first gets shot and Jennica is there with him, on one page she says, "Red blood, spreading like spilled ink," "more of a wispy, dirty white, like clouds on an average winter day," and "It got a bullet right through it, started leaking like a drain and puddling up on the pavement." That really shows how much she uses similes. So to conclude this review, I would say that this is an amazing book that shows some sensitive topics and great story-telling from multiple perspectives.
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How It Went Down review
The novel “How It Went Down” by Kekla Magoon is a powerful and impactful book that describes the aftermath of a police shooting in a small town. The aftermath is seen through different characters who have different perspectives on the unfolding events. The book starts with the shooting of Tariq Johnson, an African-American teenager, committed by a white man called Jack Franklin. Consequently, there are demonstrations in the town and it causes racial division because of other differing opinions of people. Magoon does an excellent job of capturing the anger, fear, and confusion that the town is feeling about the shooting. One of its strengths is its complex and well-developed characters. Each character has his or her own motivations or prejudices and Magoon does not shirk from exploring them fully as individuals after effects of shootings occurred. A unique character that I thought was interesting and realistic was a girl named Jackie, who is initially a white girl who thinks that it was reasonable for an officer to shoot Tariq Johnson. she eventually becomes more aware about what happened and she starts doubting her opinion.Another thing I love about the novel is that it contains expressions of racism in America, and sheds light on the ongoing violence that specifically targets black people. Something I didn't like about the book is that it switches between the characters too quickly and I get invested in one character and then the moment abruptly ends and I'm met with another.. I think she should've made each character's situation a bit longer to get into more detail. I think Magoon does a great job of showing the way racism affects both black and white lives. She also points out the way the media manipulates the people by pushing stereotypes which makes matters worse. "How It Went Down" is influential and I can kind of relate it to House on Mango Street in the way that it was written to influence a movement and bring awareness to a racial problem in the United States. The title of the book . Magoon’s goals are clear and she does an excellent job creating environments for each of the characters. The novel is fast paced and I found myself in suspense turning the pages to see what happens next. Overall, I highly recommend "How It Went Down" to anyone intrigued about the racial problems that exist in everyday America. This is a book I will still be thinking about weeks after reading it.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
good book
"How It Went Down" is a novel that goes into the struggles of being a certain race, justice, and community. The novel having multiple point of views gives a good view on the effect a tragic shooting can have on a community. The novel also shows how people can struggle with getting truth and justice and can face injustice without the truth being revealed. The story is about the shooting of a young African American boy named Tariq. As the community from where Tariq was from deals with the aftermath the book gives multiple perspectives of different people who had some sort of connection to the event. The different perspectives really show how different people were impacted by the shooting. A strength of the novel is how every character is unique and has their own reaction to the shooting of Tariq. The uniqueness of every character and their perspective gives a better understanding of all the things that happen after the shooting, Such as the difference stories about the shooting and the different perspectives on how people really saw the event go down. A weakness of the novel is how the large cast of characters could make it difficult for a reader to keep up with every perspective and what they all think about the event. The large cast also makes it so where the reader is unlikely to feel a connection and remorse to one specific character as there is a lot of characters you get a perspective from so it makes it difficult to feel a connection to one specific since you end up just connecting to all of them in different ways. The author has a good way of writing which gets the reader to actually feel empathy for the characters having to deal with the event. This writing also gets the reader to really understand how these events can affect a community and the victims family. The book goes into the importance of having a supporting community and how much that could help with an event that happened. The book also shows how not everything you may see could be the truth due to people only listening to one side of a story without getting the other side. “How It Went Down” is a good book that shows important social issues that are happening in our world today. This novel also shows themes and of race and justice. This is a book you would definitely want to read if you are interested in learning about social justice and how injustice can happen.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great Book
The book “How It Went Down” by Kekla Magoon is a representation of how life can be when one is surrounded by violence, gangs, and communities. This book is written from multiple perspectives, telling us the story of how Tariq Johnson was shot, as well as what was the outcome of his death. A strength that Kekla Magoon demonstrates in this book is actively showing the different perspectives of friends, family, witnesses, and neighbors. Showing the reader all of these perspectives throughout the book helps us understand the story from different points of view, different opinions, and different people. It builds up tension and contrast, encouraging us to understand all of these views and then later find the real story from the portions we obtained from every character. Magoon also covers truths regarding the world that help us understand how stereotyping, inequality, and prejudice in the world work. As some topics may be uncomfortable for some readers, they are important to be known, and Magoon does not try to hide them from the audience. Another strength that can be found in this book is how the reader can capture the characters' feelings to be understood more. We can see a clear example of this with Noodle. Magoon does a good job of explaining to us that Noodle did not especially like Tariq, but he would still do much for him since he was also part of the Kings. The author did not specifically say this in the book, but by explaining and listening to the tone of Noodle’s words towards his death, we can get a clear image of his feelings towards him. Although it wasn't just shown with one character, it was shown throughout the whole story. Besides the strengths, the constant character changes and perspectives of the story could as well be a weakness. Although it can be important to understand the timeline and go more in-depth, they can also make the reader confused, overwhelmed, or even bored from listening to the same story over and over again. In conclusion, “How It Went Down” by Kekla Magoon covers different important topics along the lines of violence, gangs, and communities. It has strengths, such as the predominance of race and stereotypes that come with it; however, it has weaknesses, such as the story being too overwhelming for some readers. Despite the strengths and weaknesses that the book holds, it expresses important issues.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
kekla magoon the goat.
Title: how it went down by Kekla magoon: an exploration of societal undertones. Kekla magoon’s how it went down is a novel that explores the aftermath of a young man's death. This book is very good at pointing out issues that we currently face in our society, provoking the reader to think about stuff much deeper than what is going on in the book. At the middle of this novel is the shooting of a black teenager named tariq johnson. Each chapter is told from a different character's view, which gives a muilti-faceted view to the story and allows the reader to come to their own conclusions. This style of writing allows the author to explore the ideas of truth and perspective, showing just how much personal prejudice and individual biases can shape someone's understanding of events. One of the novel's most captivating aspects is its reluctance to provide an answer to the central question that the whole book surrounds: what really happened to tariq johnson? Instead of an answer, Magoon fills the book with conflicting reports and seemingly untrustworthy narrators, challenging the reader to come up with their own answer, as well as think about their own real life biases and perspectives. Throughout the book, Magoon explores themes of race and justice with the characters narration showing how race can influence judgements and perceptions, or in how the media can also perpetuate these stereotypes. By dealing with these front and center it can help shine a light on some common types of prejudice and how to go about dealing with them in a positive manner. In contrast to the gloomy mood that the novel puts out, this book is ultimately a story of community and strength. As much as all the characters deal with feelings of grief, anger, and confusion, they are able to use these feelings and connect with each other, just like they did the hoodie up protest. Magoons ability to showcase the light amongst the dark helps this book capture the complexities that we experience as humans. In conclusion, how it went down is an impactful and current book that addresses some pretty important issues about justice, truth, and how race can effect society. Through its unique style of writing and interesting characters, how it went down is a moving novel that encourages its readers to think about how they might help build a more just and more equal world.
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