THANK YOU to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read "We Rip the World Apart" before its release date on 1/28!

"We Rip the World Apart" is a multi-generational story about a biracial family navigating their lives in Toronto Canada, after their son, Antony is murdered by the police at a rally.

The story moves back and forth between the past and the present, from the multiple point of views of the mom, Evelyn, her daughter Karina and Karina's grandmother and Evelyn's mother in law Violet. The story touches on race, identity and motherhood and shows how Antony's murder impacts his family.

While I enjoyed this one, it did take a while for me to get into the story, but was an excellent story, nonetheless!! This was my first time reading about the political conflict in Jamaican during the 80s and I was so intrigued that I wanted to research it once I was done reading this book.

Great story! Highly recommend!

Special thanks to the author, @bookmarked for my gifted copy, & @recordedbooks for my ALC‼️

I have to give it to Ms.Carr she is without a doubt an amazing writer. If you’ve read Hold My Girl then you’ll understand why I say that after reading this book. She knows how to craft a story that will pull you in and fiddle with your emotions and make you think. Her stories and characters are always so complex to the point you don’t know if you should be angry with them for their choices or sympathize with them because certain things are out of their control.

The novel follows Kareela as she struggles to find her place in the world. Born half-Black and half-white she doesn’t feel she belongs or fits into either ethnic group. Then coming from a family who raised her to conform to society in order to make others comfortable. Kareela has lost her sense of identity and now being pregnant with a child she doesn’t know if she wants this kind of life for her baby.

When I first started reading this I literally had to restart the book out of confusion not realizing that all of the characters were connected. I did not agree with many of Evelyn’s choices for most of the book but in the end I found myself sympathizing with her a little. I felt she turned a blind eye to the experiences lived by her son Antony and daughter Kareela way too much.

It’s like she wanted to make the racism and discrimination they encountered less than what it was. Always making an excuse or having a reason for why someone may have stereotyped them. She couldn’t teach them what it meant to be Black (Jamaican) or how to carry themselves only how to blend in and not draw unwanted attention. Then their father Kingsley was a different story smh!!!

Overall, I did enjoy this book just not as much as Hold My Girl but it’s still a very thought-provoking read. The author delved deep into themes of motherhood, race, police brutality, self-identity, and generational trauma. If you’re looking for a good multigenerational story add this to your TBR.

Rating: 4.5/5⭐️

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Charlene Carr's "We Rip the World Apart" is a raw and unflinching exploration of grief in all its messy, unpredictable glory.

This isn't a neatly packaged story of healing; it's a visceral journey into the depths of despair, the fragile threads of hope, and the enduring power of human connection.

Carr's prose is brutal yet beautiful, capturing the rawness of grief with a searing honesty that leaves an indelible mark. The characters, flawed and deeply human, feel achingly real, their struggles and triumphs resonating with a profound authenticity.

"We Rip the World Apart" is a testament to the enduring strength of the human spirit. It's a poignant reminder of the fragility of life and the enduring power of love and resilience.

Thank you Sourcebooks for my #gifted copy and thank you Recorded Books for my #gifted listening copy of We Rip The World Apart! #sourcebooks #bookmarked #sourcebookslandmark #WeRipTheWorldApart #CharleneCarr #RecordedBooks #rbmedia

𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: 𝗪𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗽 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗿
𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿: 𝗧𝗲𝗯𝗯𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿
𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟴, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 - 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝘄!

𝟱★

This book left me speechless. It is an extremely emotional and powerful multi-generational story about motherhood, race, family dynamics, and secrets. We Rip The World Apart is told in multiple timelines, with multiple POVs. Kareela, a 24 year old biracial woman who is pregnant and unsure if she wants to keep the baby. She has just learned more about the death of her brother, who was shot by the police a long time ago, and is unsure of how she fits in with those around her. Her mother, Evelyn, has many secrets of her own. She fled to Canada with her husband and their first born child from Jamaica during the politically charged exodus in the 1980s. Violet, Evelyn’s mother-in-law, moved in after the murder to help the family and served as a link between Kareela and her Jamaican heritage. In the present day, Kareela must determine if she is going to keep her baby, after everything she finds out about family and the past.

This is an emotionally charged read. There is so much grief and trauma packed into this book. It is so heartbreaking at times. It is not an easy read. It’s not meant to be. But it’s the type of book that you can still find hope in. Carr is a beautiful storyteller and I loved watching this one unfold. You will not want to miss this one.

This book would make an excellent book club pick, with dynamic discussions. If you enjoyed Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson, I think you will enjoy this book too!

🎧I read this book both with my ears and my eyes. Tebby Fisher was so dynamic in her role as narrator. In this multiple POV book, she did an excellent job distinguishing each character and I loved my time listening to her bring each character to life. Fisher made me fall even more in love with this book, and I cannot recommend the audio enough!

Posted on Goodreads on January 28, 2025: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around January 28, 2025: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on January 28, 2025
**-will post on designated date

𝑊𝑒 𝑅𝑖𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝐴𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 is a story of race, identity, acceptance, grief, and trauma. What I can say about Charlene Carr is that she knows how to tell a story and weave the past and present together to engage her readers, keeping them in the story. I absolutely loved her novel 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑀𝑦 𝐺𝑖𝑟𝑙 last year, and while this one read a bit differently, I loved it too. Told from multiple POVs from Kareela, a biracial girl in search of her place in the world while dealing with a huge decision, her mother Evelyn who is dealing with grief and trauma past and present. It also sprinkles in the POV of Violet who brings added depth to the story as well.

I paired this one with the audiobook of course and loved that version as well. I enjoyed the Jamaican accent of Violet and what it brought to the story’s past. The audio was an added piece to hear Kareela and Evelyn’s voices as they make the most difficult decisions and deal with the hardships. I will say I had a love hate relationship with Evelyn’s character given some of the choices she made in the story, but I also have a slight understanding for her decisions by the end. I was a little conflicted.

Perfect for book clubs! There were so many raw and tough topics including racism, trauma & grief but the book did not push me out of my comfort zone as it was more thought provoking than punishing. I finished a week or so ago and I’m still thinking about it constantly.

Where do I begin with the book?? We’ve known atrocities in our lifetime and prior….

This book is nothing I haven’t read already, or learned about already. However, what’s different about this one is that it provides and inside to what happens to a family when life deals them a bad hand such as this one. How one single moment in life, defines you and the rest of your existence.

I really thought this was well written. It’s very raw, and sad. But it needs to be for this kind of story. The FMC break my heart. I was angry at times with this book. But the anger directed at an incident, not the writing.

TW: racism, rape, self sabotage, depression, to name a few.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to let me read this.

Charlene Carr’s bestselling novel, HOLD MY GIRL was one of my favorites of 2023, so naturally, I’ll be reading everything she writes from here on out. Her latest, WE RIP THE WORLD APART releases tomorrow, and trust me, you’re gonna want to grab a copy.

It’s told from the perspective of three different women: Twenty-four-year-old Kareela, her mother, Evelyn, and Kareela’s grandmother, Violet. Their story is an emotional and heavy one that deals with some deep-rooted generational trauma involving some of their male family members.

Spanning decades, the reader learns how racism and prejudice has impacted the family for years. Through past and current events, we see firsthand the injustice inflicted upon Kareela’s brother and father. I truly appreciated the insight and history lesson on the Jamaican exodus in the 1980s, which I admittedly knew very little about. It made for a heartbreaking, yet informative and eye-opening read.

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:

- Multiple POVs and timelines
- Multigenerational stories
- Reflections on motherhood
- Mother/daughter relationships
- Complex family dynamics
- Dealing with loss and grief
- Social justice activism
- Politically-charged novels
- Themes of race, identity, and belonging

If you found THE HATE U GIVE and CONCRETE ROSE by Angie Thomas impactful, then you don’t want to miss this one. It’s powerful, timely, and I can’t recommend it enough. 4/5 solid stars for WE RIP THE WORLD APART! Out tomorrow, January 28th!

“I’d rip the world apart to keep her safe.”

A heart-wrenchingly raw and beautiful generational novel about women, family, and race, Carr writes with nuance and depth creating a story that I will think about long after the final page has been read. Moving between the past and the present, Carr adeptly covers the topics of race, discrimination, violence, identity, grief, family, unplanned pregnancy, and parenthood as we see first hand what Evelyn, Kareela, and Violet have overcome and the ripple effects of the tragedies they’ve faced. Each of these three women are paragons of strength and resilience as they struggle to survive to live another day.

“We Rip the World Apart” is necessary and oh-so-important. It is meant to be savoured, absorbed, pondered, and shared.

I alternated between the ebook and audiobook. Narrator Tebby Fisher brought the characters to life giving each character a distinctive voice including a Jamaican accent which I loved. I have to confess I mainly listened to the audio, only occasionally switching to the ebook because I found Tebby’s narration so compelling.

Thank you @bookmarked for the ebook and @rbmedia.groupvc for the audiobook which I read on @netgalley The ebook contains a reading guide and bibliography for further reading, which I really liked.

When Kareela finds out she’s pregnant, she isn’t sure what to do. She struggles understanding her place in the world as a half black and half white woman. She learned of her Jamaican culture when her grandmother moved in, after her brother’s murder by the police.

This is a hard one to read in these times, but important. I liked that I learned about the turmoil of Jamaica in the 1980’s; I had no idea about it. If you enjoy mother daughter relationship stories, this is a good one thay explores why their relationship is strained. There’s history and trauma to be revealed that shapes the family.

“We can’t change what most needs to be changed: the way they see us. That, more than anything, is on them. But we can’t change stand against the injustice. Show the world who we are and what we want.”

We Rip the World Apart comes out 1/28.

A novel about the search for identity. Kareela, Evelyn and Violet- three generations of women-all struggle in some way with their race and history. Evelyn, mother of Kareela and daughter in law of Violet, is white. Violet is Jamaican. Kareela is biracial and careening after the death of her brother only now she's pregnant. This is poignant, timely, and thought provoking. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

Here we have a riveting story across three timelines, each with equally interesting events.

First we have Kareela, who is in the midst of Covid and has found herself pregnant. She isn't sure whether she wants it in the middle of all this hate and when she hasn't quite found her footing yet.

She is half-white, half-black, who was taught from a young age to appear more white. This is because her mother, Evelyn, encountered more hate crimes and fled from them than most people have in their lifetimes.

One specific hate crime ended with the death of her son when Kareela was only six, which sent Evelyn into a deep abyss for years.

And finally, we have Violet, Evelyn's mother-in-law, who tries to piece everything back together.

This book taught me that Black hate crimes are everywhere and still very existent even today. I love the parallelism we see throughout the storylines.

DNF at 15%. Felt quite slow and boring. I’m typically a fan of multigenerational stories, but I just couldn’t get into this one.

This is an unsettling book about the way Black and Brown people are treated, not only in the US, but in Canada. The story revolves around a mixed race family in Canada. The husband has a PhD and is a college professor. His wife is originally from Canada, but moved to Jamaica, where the couple met. They have two children, years apart in age.

The story moves through time jumps, back in time and then forward again. The timeframe is clear from the chapter titles and from the stages of the couple and their children.

Antony is angered and motivated by racial injustice. He sees himself as a "zebra" neither white, nor black. He is at odds with his parents, particularly his father. The timeline moves from a young couple meeting and falling in love, through the joy of marriage and a new baby and continues through tragedy and the family coming apart at the seams.

It isn't an easy story to read, but it's an important book about love, racial strife, and the destruction of a family. I have both the e-book and the audio book. The narrator is excellent.

I enjoyed Hold My Girl, so I was looking forward to this book. As an African American woman, I wanted to connect with this book based on the subject matter, but unfortunately I couldn't. This book was tough to read at times because it tackled some heavy but important topics - racism, police brutality, interracial relationships, etc. Make no mistake, the writing was amazing.

My biggest issue was wuth the characters. I didn't like any of them. Kareela seemed like a caricature of a woman. She was way too indecisive and unsure of herself. I also didn't like Evelyn. I believe the character was supposed to be written in a positive light, but I felt like she never understood her family's struggles as Black people. She came across as privileged and slightly condescending.

This story grabbed my attention initially, but it dragged on for far too long. The constant switching between POVs also made it hard to stay in the story. I was disappointed with the ending. I felt that there needed to be more and I walked away unsatisfied. I'm still a fan of this author but this wasn't my favorite book.

From the little I read, it was clear this book is both beautiful and deeply meaningful. However, I found it to be a bit too raw and heavy given recent and upcoming events in my life. I decided to pause at about 10% and plan to revisit it when I have more emotional space to fully appreciate it.

Kareela, pregnant and unsure if she wants the baby, is struggling to find her place in the world as a biracial woman following the death of her brother in a police shooting.

Moving between the past and the present, Charlene Carr tells a beautiful and heartbreaking story about the impact of generational trauma and the struggles of being of two different races. While Kareela tries to figure out where she belongs, she is in a constant struggle (not black enough to be Black, not white enough to be white).

As the mom of a biracial son also of Jamaican heritage, at times this book was especially hard to read, particularly as it dealt with her brother’s death at the hands of the police. The impact of his death on their mom Evelyn broke my heart into a million pieces more than once. There is a whole lot of emotion tucked into these 400 pages and a family you can’t help but feel connected to both in the past and the present.

Read if you like:
▪️intergenerational stories
▪️complex mother/daughter relationships
▪️exploration of racial identity and racism
▪️dual timelines/POV

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark, Recorded Books, and Charlene Carr for the gifted copies.

We Rip the World Apart was a powerful generational story of a Jamaican Black woman, a white woman married to a Black man, her mixed race daughter, and the things they do to survive. As a white woman, I know I’ll never fully understand the lived experiences described in the book, but this book was powerful in ways I wasn’t expecting. It’s raw, heartbreaking, and so beautifully written—like you’re being let into this family’s deepest truths.

The way it explored the weight of generational trauma and the lengths mothers go to protect their families was well done. It made me reflect on privilege, sacrifice, and the complexities of making choices in a world that feels stacked against you. It’s uncomfortable at times (as it should be) but it’s so necessary.

This isn’t an easy read, but it’s powerful and important.

I decided not to rate this book, but was required to for this feedback.

We Rip The World Apart is a multi-generational story following three women (Kareela, Evelyn, and Violet) and the ways grief and pain can be passed through lineage when it is held on to. We open up with Kareela, who has just discovered that she is pregnant and doesn’t know if she really wants to be. We are set in the pandemic years when police brutality is at the forefront of the world’s consciousness. Kareela is a biracial woman who is in the middle of her own identity crisis as the subject matter hits too close to home. We meet Kareela’s mother, Evelyn, through the lens of the past as she is dealing with the aftermath of losing her firstborn to police brutality. Violet is Kareela’s grandmother and Evelyn’s mother in law , who was tasked with holding this family together while wading through her own trauma.
 
I almost put this this book down twice because it has a LOT of trigger warnings for me as a black woman in the United States (racism, police brutality, sexual assault). I kept reading because the story kept me interested. I really had to know how it ended (though I must confess….as the first book of 2025 on the brink of inauguration day it was A LOT). This book would be a great book club read because of all the discussions that can come from it. This book will be released on January 28, 2025. Happy early publication day! 🎉🎉

Thank you, Sourcebooks Landmark, for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was such a moving and heartfelt story of generational trauma, familial relationships and so much more including racism, motherhood, immigration.

This is one of those stories that everyone should read. With that said, I did struggle at times with the pacing. Still a great read.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.