Margin Notes

I Don’t Wish You Well, by Jumata Emill, is one of those books that really gets someone back into reading. I picked this book thinking, “It’s just some boring book for a boring project.” I really underestimated this book because it got me, a person who hated reading, back into reading! But let’s talk more about the book…

Our story begins in the world of Pryce Cummings. He’s Black, gay, and trying to get a major in journalism. It’s getting close to summer, so he decides to do a podcast but doesn’t know what about until he remembers an incident five years ago in his hometown, Moss Pointe, a football-loving and gay-people-hating town. The “Trojan Masked Murders” happened there, where five well-known football players were murdered and the accused murderer was Deuce Beals.

Deuce was gay, and after the murders, many people in town began stereotyping gay people as crazed maniacs, which created more hatred toward the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in town. Pryce was set on proving Deuce’s innocence and restoring the reputation of people like him in his hometown. To do all of this while making a podcast, over the summer he interviews witnesses, survivors, and parents of the victims to see what truly happened. Along the way, Izzy, who was Deuce’s boyfriend, comes along to help find the true killer. Soon they get into hot water with old rivals, new enemies, corrupt police, and maybe even the true killer…

Also, can’t forget the writing style because it’s mwah, chef’s kiss. I love how it switches from a normal story told in third person to making the podcast sections look like you’re reading lyrics off Spotify. It also changes the style of the pages to look like news articles, police files, and text messages. I’ve never seen any book do this, and it’s 100 times better than making it look like regular text.

As a person who hated reading, this is an amazing book to get back into reading. Whether you’re setting a goal for yourself or doing a school project, this has something for everyone. I’d say this book is for high school freshmen and older as it does contain some strong language and mature themes.

This book recommendation must come to an end so y’all who are reading can go have a wonderful day. This book is amazing and you don’t have to take my word for it. But if you want to decide whether this book is good or not, you have to read it yourself. I highly recommend reading it. It has been a game changer for me, and I feel it can also be one for you. If you hate reading like I did, you have to read it. “It’s just some boring book…” Oh, was I so wrong.

Hayden Macdonald has been adding humour and comedy to his writing for five years now, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to stop. He’s no Shakespeare, but he really cares about entertaining his audience. His proudest accomplishment as a writer was making his Grade 6 teacher, who was known for being very strict, burst into laughter while reading one of his assignments. Hayden does his best writing while listening to music. He is also the tallest member of his family at six feet tall, with his brother coming in second place. Pretty short family! Heh.