It has been a little while since I read this one and while I enjoyed it in the moment, none of the story or the characters remained stuck in my mind. Definitely not a bad book, but pretty forgettable. Incredible cover though, A+++

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Damn, this book is so good. Made me smile and laugh and cry (both happy and a few sad tears). Torrey's an anxious lil cinnamon roll, and I love his voice. The ship is adorable, and so are the friendships and his rel w/ his aunt. I bought a copy for myself!

I started reading this one but didn't hold my interest. I though the concept was good but I wish I could have connected with the characters more.

I absolutely adore this author, her stories are so good and I love the characters she writes. Her writing is so refreshing and the stories just feel so relatable. I want more books from her.

This was a really sweet book with great queer rep, too. It deals with some tough themes (primarily grief) and is tough to read at times but Torrey grows so much throughout the novel.

Everything the synopsis could lead you to hope for and more. #OwnVoices is the movement that will revolutionize fiction in a way generations past could only dream of.

This was a good book! The whole thing with bees was really cool, I've never seen that before. It was really interesting to follow the main character's journey. I'll definitely check out the author's next books!

This was the kind of book that definitely fills a need in YA right now! It's both college centric, and heavily about learning to let go and give yourself the opportunities you deserve. It deals really well and accurately with anxiety too. I ached for Torrey as he self-sabotaged so much in college, thinking he didn't deserve to be there or that he couldn't handle it, while he worried about his bee-farm folding back at home.

There were so many complex and nuanced issues discussed and portrayed too, including Torrey's struggle with homophobia amongst his black community and his horrifically cruel grandfather who half raised him. And also Torrey's feelings about being black and how hard he's had to fight out of being poor to get the chances he has now. And also the letting go, the clinging to a bee farm because he misses his murdered uncle. (Kid could probably do with a litttttle bit of trauma therapy too.) The overall book's writing style was very quirky and conversational, lots of 4th wall breaking and talking to the reader.

Overall, an excellent book for teens heading towards college!

This novel follows the story of Torrey a black teenager who is a first generation college student in his family. His excitement for this new journey is dampened when he finds out the bee apiary back home is being sold. He took over it after Miles, his uncle, passed away and wants to keep the legacy while his grandfather, Theo, wants to get rid of it. Torrey grapples with what to do while trying to adjust to college life, make new friends, and reconnect with a boy from the past.

Torrey is torn between school and saving the apiary from being sold. Being in college is an opportunity for him to widen his horizons, but at the same time he doesn't want to destroy his uncle's legacy and hard work. Though he feels somewhat out of place as colleges freshman, he has a strong support system of friends and also a blossoming relationship with a former flame. He misses home but at the same time is glad be in a new place due the negative treatment he received from his grandfather.

The book's main theme focuses on gentrification as Torrey's neighborhood is slowly being replaced little by little and low income people being pushed out of their homes and businesses. Torrey's fight fiercely to save the apiary, and makes a stand against the bigger corporations buying up businesses:

" think he (Miles) understood, better than I ever will, that sometimes the fight is necessary. It always gets you to the other side and at the end of it, you’ll always have picked up something new, regardless of the fight’s outcome: a couple new bruises or some bragging rights. Both of which can be valuable in the hands of a Black boy."

I felt that Torrey's character is not only complex but is relatable to a wide audience as well. He's got a lot of growing up to do and he's trying to process a lot of stuff. He's vulnerable, feels conflicted, but also stands up for what he believes in. This was an engrossing read from start to finish and I enjoyed how it discussed multiple topics including sexuality, gentrification, college, and discovering yourself.</p>

Trigger Warning: Homophobic uncle & community, police encounter, talk of murder by police,

Here’s the thing. I loved every single part of this in a way I’m finding hard to express. I’m literally tearing up right now just thinking about this again. I don’t want to sell it short or turn anyone off. I really truly think all ya’ll need to read this NOW.

It’s just…beautiful. So.

HERE’S A NON-EXHAUSTIVE LIST OF ALL THE THINGS I LOVED ABOUT IT:
Quickly swept up & away
Didn’t want to put it down.
Genuinely sweet & funny moments
Didn’t have any issues keeping up with the narrative, flash backs, transitions. (This has been an issue in other books lately)
Torrey’s VOICE. Holy Forking Shirtballs!
Love the straight roommate that doesn’t make it weird having a gay roommate, it just is! Just a big ol’ teddy bear.
Love CAKE, collectively and individually, with or without Torrey
All the bee facts sprinkled throughout
Aunt Lisa
Fuck you Theo.
Good for you Torrey!
Torrey drinks for the first time
Protesting
the Collective
I sees you literary references!! re: Lilly Anderson and Amal Unbound
London!
Gabriel!
That glorious mane gets a whole line to itself
And so does all the dancing
And all the little things Torrey loves about him & describes so wonderfully.
The breaking the fourth wall like moments re: white readers & privilege.
That cop interaction left me cold and sweating when reading, and every time I think about it afterwards *shudder*
Afro-latinx characters rep!
BLACK AF
Black woman love and recognition!!
I love how there’s no sympathizing with the slimy fuckers, never, not once. Not after Torrey retaliates. There’s no moralizing or hand wringing about what he did. Just caring about Torrey and how the consequences will affect him.
Really handles so many intersections and issues so well, in an organic everyday way. It’s fucking hard to live it, and to write it.
There’s no one way or right way to juggle things personally and it doesn’t fall into the trap of presenting itself as the only correct way
Tender and careful about the delicate way these factors all weave together, without pulling how hard those punches land.
Totally want more of this crew, maybe a bit of that queer CAKE next?




five-stars

Stop making me cry and just go read it already, damn.



FYI: Here’s a helpful tip I found on the internet long ago to remember how to spell necessary: one collar, two sleeves.

Love the representation and the ideas this book explores.

Nevertheless, I thought the relationships (friendships & romantic) seemed a bit too instant and convenient. (And none of the CAKE members ever felt fully actualized except Emery.) The writing took a while to draw me in, and in the end I was left somewhat confused about the overall message.

Spoilers: At the end, Torrey talks about battling gentrification by “any means necessary” and helps to orchestrate a protest, using others’ fear as a weapon in the fight. Then in the epilogue, he envisions a world in which he only has to focus on today, and love, and the world isn’t “pressuring me to fight a thing I am helpless to win.”

I don’t think this was meant to sound defeatist or lessening of his previous actions, but sounded strange after emphasizing (at least as I interpreted it) that fighting for the cause is not, in fact, hopeless or “helpless to win.” And the move to, in the epilogue, solely focus on how his world is so much brighter because of Gabe seemed too much like love as a cure all.

IDK, the dynamic between their romantic relationship and the book’s message of battling gentrification just felt disjointed and unbalanced at times. The parts were all there (I loved their love story for the most part!), but the parts just didn’t come together in the right way for me.

By Any Means Necessary delves deep into a story of passion and love, of growing up and learning to let go. Written in an easy to read narration, the book failed to grab my attention right away. I loved the starting line, though. But then it fell flat and lost me somewhere.

I really did not enjoy the middle part, and I'll be honest here. The story shifted from one thing to romance and well, no doubt it was adorable. But I constantly kept wishing there was more. Like, I understand that the romance was a running theme but I felt like somewhere deep down, it was kinda forced. It went and happened too fast for my liking. I just wished there was some more back story and elaborate description of what happened and why and how.

The MC's voice was like any other – easy to understand and relate. It did get whiny at times and at times, I also couldn’t exactly relate to his undying attachment to the apiary. I wish the author did some more story to it to give us readers a more comprehensive understanding of his attachment. Personally, I’d have loved it. The elaborate story.

But I really did get into the story towards the later half when it got intense. It gave of THUG feels and I absolutely loved that. There was revolt and fight and voice spoken and I enjoyed those parts thoroughly. It was intense and I loved how well the author dealt with the situation. Kudos!

Overall, the book was good and managed to tell an important story of black lives and being open and speaking up for your rights. And how the privileged tends to threaten and undermine. It was an enjoyable story and I loved that it was told in such an easy way. It wasn't gut wrenching per se, but I believe it had a great representation of culture and gentrification.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-arc. All opinions expressed are fully mine.

By Any Means Necessary is a book about found family, friendship, love, and the harrowing impacts of gentrification on members of a community. Written in first person, the reader lives inside Torrey’s head for the duration of the book, experiencing his stream-of-consciousness and also being addressed by Torrey himself. He calls out the racist microaggressions that non-POC are guilty of, foreshadows what’s going to happen and even makes direct jokes to the reader. The voice is so strong in this novel that it feels like you’re friends with Torrey by the time you flip the last page. In fact, the characters are drawn so realistically, it was actually kind of sad to finish the book and realize I’m not really friends with Torrey, Gabe, CAKE and Desh. By Any Means Necessary is a compelling read full of lovable tropes, diverse characters and fierce passion, all while using a critical eye on how gentrification can destroy lives.

3.75

This took to me a little while to get in to as it is written as the characters would speak in real life.

It shows the journey of Torrey, a black college guy who has to battle between choosing college (as the first person in his family to go) and running his late uncle’s bee farm that is in foreclosure.

Torrey struggles to follow his heart as he doesn’t want to let anyone down.

Oh, this book. If you know me you probably know how much I loved this author's previous work. Montgomery's writing is fantastic, I could get lost in their clear and sharp prose forever. This is their second novel and while it is very different in style and tone from their first one, HOME AND AWAY, it is just as much a love letter to Black women and if anything it got even more enjoyable for me. If this were a play, Torr as a character would break the 4th wall constantly. I know some people will love it, others will struggle with being addressed by the MC a lot. I belong to the first group, I absolutely adored Torr and him talking to me as a reader was not only fun and *funny*, but also deeply moving and made this novel personal on a level I have a hard time describing.

The plot is not a huge, interwoven structure of story arcs, it's rather quiet and character driven, the end never really clear and yet almost always tangible in its significance. Torr goes through a lot in the relatively short time we spend with him, and the decisions he has to make are important and not easy. He is so used to doing things on his own, it was a treasure to watch not only him figuring out who he wants to be and where he wants to go, but also that with the right people at your side you do not have to fight every battle alone and by yourself. And it is okay to mess up and make questionable life choices along the way. And I especially appreciated how his journey also included severing ties with the most toxic influences in his life, and the most abusive people, biological family or not.

This is also one in a line of books this year I've read that throw an unmasked and sharp look at gentrification, the racism behind it all, and what far-reaching consequences it has for the communities getting displaced by it ‐ emotionally, financially and physically. Where the sharpness and emotional punches stole my breath away, there was also a lovely queer romance though, for the soothing and heart-warming touches inbetween. As well as Torr's amazing friend group that made my heart burst with love and tenderness more than once.

I think the only thing I actually struggled with is the emotional connection to anyone but Torr in the beginning. Whereas in later parts of the novel the reading between the lines and beyond the words was a wonderful reading experience for me, in the beginning I didn't know enough and didn't have a good enough grasp on the characters yet to always feel what I wanted to feel and it resulted in me struggling to connect with everyone and everything when I started. Torr's love for the bee farm and for Gabriel are so clear and gripping later on, but in the beginning I would've loved a little more guidance to really *feel* it immediately.

I do think part of it was the formatting issues of the ARC, which will hopefully all be gone by the time this book is released, but I still wish the publisher had distributed the file with a little more care and love for the manuscript, because this wonderful story did deserve better than it got.

Overall I really loved this book. In huge parts because of the author's voice and tone, their wit and sharp tongue, their humor and the love for the characters and details shining through every page. I adored the quiet pointedness and the incredible vulnerability and strength of the main characters and the human messiness of their relationships. And the sharp as knives social commentary. A definite winner for me and I cannot wait to read more books by this author.

I seem to like to pick these books that offer diverse characters. Torrey is a black, gay boy and bloody heck, has his life been tough. We are thrown right in the deep end (just as he is). He has just arrived at his college campus and he receives a phone call from his beloved Aunt Lisa telling him the land on which his bees reside is about to be taken from him due to unpaid land taxes.

There are so many backstories and family threads that Torrey weaves between his narrative of now and present. Sad but realistic situations involving his bed-bound mother (due to a coma), his deceased uncle Miles and his narrow-minded grandfather Theo (one of the reasons the taxes have not been paid). These flow in and out of his worries. One thing, Torrey is an over thinker, a worrier, a boy who burdens the problems of the world. So really, he’s an achiever. He gets things done. But this, it’s way out of his league. Luckily, he has CAKE—four STEM girls, black girls, loyal friends—with knowledge and connections he draws on to try to find a way to keep his bees.

Torrey’s voice is full of modern slang and acronyms. Sometimes I felt quite old, unable to take meaning even with context and a solid vocabulary. But that’s ok. I am old. Younger, hippier and edgier readers will immerse themselves completely in Torrey’s determination and resilience.

The beginning of the novel moved slowly through his first few days of College. He connects to a friend and potential love interest, and his roommate is another support person. He draws the ire of one of his lecturers, who develops into an interesting character, although we can presume she challenges and supports him, unfortunately, the relationship is under-developed.

This is how I felt about the last third of the book, actually. It rushes past and problems are solved quickly, and the love story miscommunication sorted easily. The storyline involving his mother is left open, although we have no doubt how Theo feels (‘and don’t come back!’). I wanted the conclusion to feel stronger. I wanted to see Torrey more grounded, and I wanted to see more of those darned bees!

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for advancing me a copy. Torrey has really put up with a lot in life, mostly grief and rejection, so he absolutely deserves all the excellent things that come his way. Recommended for readers who like their novels diverse and inclusion. These characters are out of school, and it’s lovely to read about college-aged young adults. We really thought New Adult was going to be a thing, but it seems to have stayed in the romance realm and hasn’t really taken hold in the ‘contemporary issues’ space (let me know if I am wrong here). I loved Torrey and Gabe, Desh, Clarke, Auburn, Kennedy and Emery (the aforementioned CAKE), and Aunt Lisa. They are all terrific people. Any Means Necessary is out on October 8 in the US.

I ENJOYED…
☂️

- By Any Means Necessary is set in college! I can’t tell you how much I need these kind of books set in college. We see Torrey, our main character, getting to college and settling in, finding his classes and trying to figure it all out while having left a big part of him behind, too. It’s such a great storyline…
- that is beautifully told, too. The writing and Torrey’s voice is really unique, inclusive to the reader, witty and fun to read and I had such a great time reading it, too. It made it easy to feel involved in the story and to care even more for the main character.
- I loved the originality of it, too. Torrey has an apiary and is really, really passionate about his bees back home and I loved seeing that.
- Overall, Torrey was such a great main character, too. I loved how passionate, caring, a little lost and confused he was just as well. It was so easy to root for him and to fall in love with him.
- By Any Means Necessary gives a big place to family and friendships, too, something I really loved. The close friendship with Emery was lovely to read about and Torrey’s closeness with his aunt made me happy, too.
- This book did such a great job at juggling in between everything without making it feel too… crowded, somehow. It included friendships and romance, complex family relationships. Torrey is juggling between the past and present as he’s about to lose his bee farm, between what he feels like he’s expected to do and his own self-care. The book dealt with important social issues, gentrification, being a black gay guy and more. I loved that.

I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…
☂️

- As much as I loved the friendships, I feel like they could have been explored a little more. I felt like, from the writing, we were already supposed to know everything about Emery and I would have wanted to know even more about her. Same thing goes for the love interest in the story, which I appreciated a whole lot, but feel like I wanted to know more, too.

OVERALL
☂️

By Any Means Necessary was my first Candice Montgomery book, but it certainly won’t be my last. From the writing to the endearing main character, to the important issues of gentrification… this book seems to pack a punch, yet you never feel like it’s too crowded. A beautiful book and certainly the kind of book we need more of in young adult reads.

I have so much love for this book, I’m not even sure where to start. Let’s just make a list and get through it step by step.

1) The writing style is really cool. It’s first person pov, which I know isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it works perfectly here. It’s clear that Montgomery knows how teenagers think, so it’s never awkward in that particular way only some YA books can be. Instead, it’s fresh & funny & casual. It’s like hanging out with a friend, basically. And then you get treated with a beautiful sentence here and there & it becomes magical.


2) From the first word to the very last, this book is just unapologetically Black. You can feel that pride in the culture seeping out of every paragraph, but it also doesn’t shy away from dealing with some uncomfortable parts of belonging to the community. It’s actually a whole arc, with Torrey trying to save the apiary and not always getting the support he’s looking for from members of that community.

3) At the same time, there are still a lot of people who are willing to help him. And the majority of them are women, which Torrey is very much aware of in his narration. It basically feels like a love letter to Black women & it doesn’t just stop with that one arc or just one generation of women – Torrey appreciates the friends he made at college just as much as the women he grew up around. It’s woven into the whole book, into the very essence of Torrey even – this deep appreciation of all the work that Black women do.

4) This social awareness he displays doesn’t stop there, either. The book full-on calls out white people on all the little (and big) ways we exhibit racism in our day to day lives. Personally, I appreciated that a lot. It always worked perfectly well the topic at hand, too. Actually, one of the main topics of the book is pretty much a call-out of white, western culture: gentrification. The book shows how this “trend” destroys whole communities, while also saying “hey, you can fight back”.

5) The romance is kind of central to the plot, only by central I don’t mean that it’s the tired “will they, won’t they” dance. The opposite, really. Torrey and Gabriel get together pretty soon in the book and it’s their love that helps Torrey to push forward. The romance is central in a way that it acts as an anchor for Torrey. It’s central in a way that it’s a big part of Torrey’s life and focuses him. It’s never the magical cure for all his problems & actually causes some of its own, but it’s important. It’s shown as the complex thing that it should be.

I’m not trying very hard, but I just can’t find any faults in this book. If you’re Black, I’m pretty sure reading it would feel like a warm hug, like someone is looking out for you, but also like a push to action. If you’re not, like me, you might just learn something. In any case, it’s a really well written book about a Black gay freshman in college trying to balance all the things in his life & you don’t wanna miss out on that.

I am so glad this book exists. I loved reading about a response to gentrification from the inside. I also loved reading about two boys falling in love. The voice was incredible and will be hard to forget.