What do readers think of No One Is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts? Write your own review.

I could definitely see similarities between this book and The Great Gatsby. The author did a good job of developing the characters throughout the entire book. The start did hold my interest and I was very interested in the outcome of each individual character. I found myself sympathizing with Ava the most-  probably more so because of our closeness in age. Without giving too much away, although I hurt for her situation, it was nice to see a happy 'ending' for her just not in the way you might expect. I highly encourage readers to take the time to read this book. It's not The Great Gatsby but I think it's a …more good story and has a lot of wisdom and practical life advice. By the end of the book, I had highlighted my fair share of meaningful quotes ! (less)

I'm not sure why the publisher decided to promote this as an African American, Southern Great Gatsby because I just didn't see it. That's not to say that it wasn't good, though a little tightening wouldn't hurt. In the end I'm glad I read this and look forward to seeing what's next from this author.

I am giving this book an average rating - comparing this book to the Great Gatsby is quite a stretch. The plot is similar perhaps but the character development and overall flow of the book is sorely lacking. Where long paragraphs in this book start with one topic, we are left at the end of the paragraph with something entirely different.

I did not find the characters developed fully enough. Henry and Jay in particular felt almost thrown into the story. And the repetitious dialogue became quite tiring throughout the book.

Though the quality of the writing is high it wasn't enough to overcome my ultimate lack of emotional connection with the people/story. Not identifying with the character's life experiences/situations probably played a part in my reading experience --though that's not always a prerequisite for relating to a book—though I also found the lack of story drive weighing down the read. Ultimately, --and this may be more of a commentary on my current state of mind-- I found myself not wanting to spend time with these characters in this depressing world.

Sorry to say I found no connection to this book. I did not connect with the characters or the story. I saw little to no resemblance to the classic The Great Gatsby. I was however able to make each character's association to this book title. They all had varying problems and were looking for a savior.
I think the author did a good job of making you visualize her characters. You could even see them through their speech, although there were parts of this story that for me just did not make any sense. One conversation between Jay and Sylvia, about Barack Obama, went from him saying he "missed his mother and they …more weren't making him president" to Sylvia saying, in the very next line, that she "had not changed her phone number. " I saw absolutely no connection there, nor in a couple of other instances where this separation of thought happened.
Other than a basic liking of Jay - aka J J - I did not like any other character. Sylvia was worn out and boring. She did not seem to have a very good grasp at times. She did things that the normal woman her age would never do - however desperate she was. Ava was a spoiled brat, too good for those around her. She had had her share of problems, but gave me the impression she expected others to clear them up for her as she whined about her life's position. Jay seemed to be the only smart one of the bunch, even though he was deceiving himself that what he originally ran from, would wait for him. Most of these characters make a shift towards the end of the book, but for me it was way too late by then.

I will try this author again, in hopes of relating better to a different book. Thank you to Book Browse for the book in exchange for an honest review. (less)