The Color of Water - Period 4 by AMBER TESH

2025-08-18 17:55:54 UTC

I liked the author's descriptive writing style and how he retold his mother's life story with such care that it kept his mother's own voice. However, I was frustrated that McBride's siblings were not written about more. I didn't find much of the book confusing other than the initial switch between perspectives.

klopez0521 — 2025-08-18 17:56:43 UTC

What I liked about the book was that it goes into depth of the characters in the book & their backstory & how it made them the person they are that the readers view them. What I didn't like about the book was that there is a part in Ruth's background that she was sexually assaulted by her father & I did get a little uncomfortable & also upset while reading the text as well. The thing that was confusing to me while reading was the switch of both Ruth & James perspectives in each chapter

2025-08-18 17:58:07 UTC

I enjoyed the book because I love how real James's life got after the death of his step father and how the book writes on how his life changed and how much that death really affected him to a deeper level. I didn't like how long some parts dragged on I feel like he was just putting filler words for some paragraphs and trying to extend the topic he was talking about. One element that really confused me was the two different perspectives and why they didn't put the names of who was speaking at the beginning of the book and instead of just changing the font.

jcabrera0205 — 2025-08-18 17:58:07 UTC

Something I liked about the book is the amount of detail the author puts in. Something I didn't like about the book is how it switched perspectives and topics without easing into it. Something I found confusing was when the setting changed because I didn't realize till I was midway with the chapter.

2025-08-18 17:58:16 UTC

What I liked about the book is the fact that Ruth always cared about her children and cared for them even though she came from a terrible background. Something I did not like from the book is when Ruth talked about what her father was like and what he did, it left a feeling of disgust about what had happened. The number one element that confused me is the transition between himself and his mother.

2025-08-18 17:58:41 UTC

Something I liked about the book was the diversity in the characters, a lot of books have all their characters the same race or ethnicity while this book had different races. Something I didn't really like what the book was about because it was a bit confusing to read and there where a lot of pages. Something that confused me about the book where the transitions between the mom and the son because it was a bit hard to understand when they where switching the characters.

2025-08-18 17:58:55 UTC

I liked that the author would switch from the characters but shown it is a different person in some form. I wasn't confused with these switches because I've read books that switch between characters before.

Kai Valdez

2025-08-18 17:58:57 UTC

I liked how the book was telling 2 peoples stories simultaneously where one ended basically where the other started. What I didn't like about the book was that it started out kinda slow and wasn't holding my attention but later it did pick up. One element that confused me was at the beginning when it switched perspectives as I was confused on who the narrator was.

slealdia0002 — 2025-08-18 17:59:00 UTC

I really liked that ''The Color of Water'' shows the reality of the years when people of color were not respected equally, this impacting their identity and understanding of race. I dislike that Ruths father sexually abused her and her sister, that they were exploited them at work, and he also cared only for himself, and being mean to his mother. and not for her family. I don't dislike it at all, but it's a bit uncomfortable how he switches perspectives a lot, from his mother's first person to his own.

rortiz0161 — 2025-08-18 17:59:54 UTC

I liked that the book was nonfiction yet was able to include more than a single perspectives which is kinda hard because you can't make it up and to have it non fiction you have to interview all these characters and their interactions. Though because it was non fiction some endings led some things unclear because it cant have perfect endings. For example the Jewish dad life was kinda unclear after he left. Something that confused me was that why couldn't they add more perspectives I know the book is about their history but they could've done a game of thrones kinda things and made a lot of perspectives not just tid bits to add more depth.

mvelasqu0129 — 2025-08-18 18:00:42 UTC

I like how the book talks about real life situations and how Ruth gives us a breakdown of growing up as a jewish child expressing her feelings and emotions. I also llike how the book added a bit of tension when death of James stepfather made him wanna become a bad person. Something I didnt like in the book was Ruths father and what he did . What confused me alot was the switches between Ruth and James but that also made that book intresting.

rjorgens0005 — 2025-08-18 18:00:53 UTC

I liked learning about Ruth's Jewish upbringing, and her relationships with people in the town.

I did not like the part where Ruth had to choose between staying in Suffolk and supporting her crippled mother, or following her dreams and moving to New York.

At first I was confused about the switching of perspectives.

moredina0001 — 2025-08-18 18:01:19 UTC

I liked that The Color of Water was non fiction, and that James put so much detail in every character in his life. James and Ruth were real and down to Earth about their problems and what they went through as children, although obviously growing up in different eras. However, I would've liked to know more about James' situation at home with his siblings, and more about his fathers. I was confused about the switch of perspectives in the beginning of the book which were between James and his mother, Ruth.

mmunozqu0001 — 2025-08-18 18:01:30 UTC

From the amount that i did read from the book I liked that it switched perspectives between McBride and his mother and how it was talking about what they went through in their lives. I didn't like that it was a little confusing reading the book because of the switch in perspectives as it was something that was new to me but after getting used to it, it wasn't as confusing as it was before.

2025-08-18 18:01:33 UTC

What I liked about the book is a scene when James had to walk back to his home but he didn't know where it was but after some time his siblings picked him up since it showed that his mother can't always be with him. What I didn't like about the book was that there wasn't that much background of the other characters like James siblings and only showed them when James was there. The one element that confused me at first was the different perspectives but I was able to tell them apart because of the font.

2025-08-18 18:01:48 UTC

What I liked about the book was how easy it was to make these visuals in your head a good example of this is when you can picture Ruth riding her bike. This showed a lot of characteristics about each symbol of the story. The only thing I didn't really enjoy was for me, understanding who was talking in the beginning but after a good while I was able to understand. The element that confused me was really the beginning where I didn't know who was narrating at first but I was able to understand as I went though.

2025-08-18 18:02:09 UTC

What I liked about the book was the overall story of what difficulties Ruth Mcbride and Jordan Mcbride went through like race, violence, and death. What I didn't like about the book was some overall thinking which made them make dumb mistakes like when Jordan punched a kid because he thought the kid's dad was going to kill his mom. What I got confused with the book was some parts where Jordan wrote back and forth on where his older and younger but it wasn't really a big deal.

2025-08-18 18:02:25 UTC

What i like about the book, is that the author had a different writing style/font from both the mothers and McBride's perspectives. An element that i did not like about the book is where I got to where Ruth talked about her getting sexually assaulted, the part in the book made me feel disgusted and uncomfortable. One element that confused me about the book was how the author was changing perspectives it made me confused because i didn't know who was who.

cgomez0398 — 2025-08-18 18:03:35 UTC

I like how James got to find out that there were other Jewish people in the world. James was mistreated by his teachers receiving rounded down test scores and slurs from his other classmates because of his skin color. Although is is upsetting, it shows the hard situations that James went through. I don't know what Kaddish means.

avazquez0107 — 2025-08-18 18:04:29 UTC

I liked the book for the story line and that the narrator was switching the characters every chapter it got interesting quickly because of that. Although something that was a bother to me was Ruth getting sexually assaulted by her father which was very unsettling. Where I was a bit confused was how the narrators were switching every chapter even though I do like the switch of the narrators it did get confusing on who's telling the story between James and Ruth.

dsarceno0003 — 2025-08-18 18:04:32 UTC

What I liked about the book is the backstory of the characters giving us they truly are and their personalities. I liked this because it got us the readers more invested in the character while reading the story. What I did not enjoy the book was when the characters kept getting killed off in the book. An element I got confused about was who the narrator was when the perspective changed.

nfuentes0043 — 2025-08-18 18:05:18 UTC

Something I liked about the book was how it would change perspectives every chapter. One chapter would be about James and the next chapter about Ruth. I liked this because it would keep me interested in the book. Something I didn't like about the book was when Ruth would talk about what her father would do to her because I would start to feel uncomfortable. At first, I was confused on who would be narrating the chapters but then I figured out that James and Ruth would take turns. I really enjoyed reading the book with 2 perspectives.

kdesderi0001 — 2025-08-18 18:05:33 UTC

I liked how the book transitions to each chapter. I also feel like the book being nonfiction fits the book perfectly. My favorite chapter was chapter 1 because that is how the book started. Chapter 1 is the foundation for the story. I wish that McBride's siblings were more included in the story. The part that made me confused while reading the book was how the book was written from different perspectives. I like how McBride added the different perspectives into the story. It was a good touch to the book although it was confusing at first.

2025-08-18 18:06:28 UTC

What I liked about the book was that we had a lot of backstory's from the characters. What I didn't like about the book was how they switched on to different perspectives. I was confused in the beginning because I didn't really know who was talking and the different perspectives.

2025-08-18 23:25:08 UTC

What I liked about the book most was definitely the different moving parts with the different perspectives to the chapter. it added a new layer of depth and made James struggles all the more gripping when you realize what his mother also went through. One thing I mildly disliked about the book was that the other sibling should have definitely gotten more character development and more screen time. Also. one more element that confused me when reading was keeping track of every sibling and their names, it was struggle but you could kind of understand each persons personality and key narrative.