What an ingenious retelling of the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Having both Gabriel and Henry be Black students added a layer of depth in terms of not only the homophobia they face, but the blatant racism and lack of job opportunities. Gabriel is so faithful to Henry, not believing that Henry could ever forsake him. So, he tries his hardest to fix things, to find out why Henry seems so changed, and to figure out who Hyde is and what his ties to the Jekyll family could possibly be. Gabriel is caring, kind, a hard worker, determined to make something of himself in a world set against him. But, he is also honest with himself and his dreams of the future, his relationship with Henry, his love for him, which he wishes Henry could also feel comfortable with. But, Henry tries so hard to hide himself and be the perfect son for a strict and judgemental father. The twists and turns in this novel were so well done, slowly drawing out the whole story. As well, we have Gabriel in a precarious situation with Sir Carew that had my hairs raising and my fear for him seeping out as I read. The school allowing this was disgusting and I wanted to destroy every one of the authorities within the school. The story really shows the power of rich, white men and how much they are able to get away with. The horror they inflict on others and the standards they create within society that keep Black people from finding more powerful positions and allows homophobia to continue to exist and thrive. This degradation bleeds down into the minds of other people who believe they must adhere to these strict rules in order to live within this horrible society, and it pushes them to do bad things to those they love. This book very much addresses the idea of conversion therapy, of chemical castration, and of sexual repression. So, if you are going to read this book please be aware of these trigger warnings. As well as sexual assault. Specifically, Henry tries desperately to live up to his father's expectations, at the expense of his own happiness and mental health. I felt disgusted that these practices occurred, and let's be honest are still occurring. How could any parent think it is okay to try and rid their child of a piece of themselves, of their queerness, as though they could carve it out and still that child would be whole. Awful! I highly recommend this book. It read like a classic novel with characters that felt so human. I felt so protective of these two young men, who had to face such horrors. I was glad that Gabriel had people in his life who fought for him, who knew who he was and still showed him love and kindness. Made sure that he knew the world was not all awful. Henry just needed the same in order to finally let go of the impossible expectations and prejudices of a few.
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