This is a spoiler free review.
The Black Coats
Written by Colleen Oakes
Written by Colleen Oakes
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary/Fantasy
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 12, 2019
Pages: 400
Source: Library
Source: Library
Places to Get this Book: Amazon Barnes and Noble Book Depository
Recommended Age: 13 and up!
Summary:
Roses are read, violets are blue, if you hurt us, we’re coming for you.
The deeply secretive Black Coats have been exacting vengeance on men who hurt girls and women for years. And Thea has just received an invitation to join them. This is the opportunity she’s been waiting for to finally get justice for her cousin Natalie, whose killer went free.
Thea dives head first into the group, training every day with other girls whose stories rival hers. Together they carry out Balancings—acts of revenge guaranteed to teach a lesson. With every predator threatened, every blackmailer exposed, and every date rapist punished, Thea can feel herself getting closer to avenging Natalie’s death.
But then the Balancings begin to escalate in brutality, and Thea discovers that the Black Coats are not all they seem to be. Thea must confront just how far she’s willing to go for justice—and what kind of justice Natalie, and Thea herself, deserve. Because when the line between justice and revenge is razor thin, it’s hard not to get cut.
(Summary from Goodreads)
Review:
The Black Coats by Colleen Oakes is a different genre than any of the other books by her. This book includes morally grey characters/plot where the fine line between justice and vengeance gets crossed.
Roses are read, violets are blue, if you hurt us, we’re coming for you.
The deeply secretive Black Coats have been exacting vengeance on men who hurt girls and women for years. And Thea has just received an invitation to join them. This is the opportunity she’s been waiting for to finally get justice for her cousin Natalie, whose killer went free.
Thea dives head first into the group, training every day with other girls whose stories rival hers. Together they carry out Balancings—acts of revenge guaranteed to teach a lesson. With every predator threatened, every blackmailer exposed, and every date rapist punished, Thea can feel herself getting closer to avenging Natalie’s death.
But then the Balancings begin to escalate in brutality, and Thea discovers that the Black Coats are not all they seem to be. Thea must confront just how far she’s willing to go for justice—and what kind of justice Natalie, and Thea herself, deserve. Because when the line between justice and revenge is razor thin, it’s hard not to get cut.
(Summary from Goodreads)
Review:
The Black Coats by Colleen Oakes is a different genre than any of the other books by her. This book includes morally grey characters/plot where the fine line between justice and vengeance gets crossed.
COVER
I really like that the cover has lots of symbols that relate to the story. I also like how it's simplistic and only a couple of colors are used.
I really like that the cover has lots of symbols that relate to the story. I also like how it's simplistic and only a couple of colors are used.
WORLD-BUILDING
The Black Coats is set in the modern day, however they do have a couple flashbacks from the past which help add to the story and learn about the Black Coats group.
Then there are the characters.
THEA
Thea is a smart and strong female character who always wants to do the right thing even if sometimes it doesn't seem like she does. She is battling with fresh, intense pain throughout the book as her cousin/best-friend Natalie was murdered and the case has been cold and the killer never brought to justice. Thea is asked to join the Black Coats because she wants to get justice for her best-friend. However, she realizes she won't cross the thin line between justice and vengeance which really made me admire her. Thea is very relatable and was a character that I rooted for throughout the entire story.
DREW
Drew is the love interest for Thalia but he was also his own individual character. While he didn't get as many scenes as Thea did, I still really enjoyed his character. Drew is a very caring friend/boyfriend for Thea and I thought he was really supportive. He was a refreshing male character when so many of the other male characters talked about in this story weren't painted in a good light.
OTHER CHARACTERS
Though the book mostly focuses on Thea, we get a bunch of other side characters such as Thea's group of Black Coats. Her group is made up of a couple of girls who are all very interesting and I really would have liked to have more pagetime for all of them. Bea is one of the interesting girls who is described as chubby and shy and has a very unique gift that she contributes to the book. I thought she was interesting because she immediately connects to Thea. Mirabella is one of the other members of her Black Coats group who is originally seen as the stereotypical "popular high school mean girl," but she was such an interesting character and was really different from how we all perceived her at the beginning. I would have loved it if we had gotten more page time for these side characters.
The Black Coats is set in the modern day, however they do have a couple flashbacks from the past which help add to the story and learn about the Black Coats group.
Then there are the characters.
THEA
Thea is a smart and strong female character who always wants to do the right thing even if sometimes it doesn't seem like she does. She is battling with fresh, intense pain throughout the book as her cousin/best-friend Natalie was murdered and the case has been cold and the killer never brought to justice. Thea is asked to join the Black Coats because she wants to get justice for her best-friend. However, she realizes she won't cross the thin line between justice and vengeance which really made me admire her. Thea is very relatable and was a character that I rooted for throughout the entire story.
DREW
Drew is the love interest for Thalia but he was also his own individual character. While he didn't get as many scenes as Thea did, I still really enjoyed his character. Drew is a very caring friend/boyfriend for Thea and I thought he was really supportive. He was a refreshing male character when so many of the other male characters talked about in this story weren't painted in a good light.
OTHER CHARACTERS
Though the book mostly focuses on Thea, we get a bunch of other side characters such as Thea's group of Black Coats. Her group is made up of a couple of girls who are all very interesting and I really would have liked to have more pagetime for all of them. Bea is one of the interesting girls who is described as chubby and shy and has a very unique gift that she contributes to the book. I thought she was interesting because she immediately connects to Thea. Mirabella is one of the other members of her Black Coats group who is originally seen as the stereotypical "popular high school mean girl," but she was such an interesting character and was really different from how we all perceived her at the beginning. I would have loved it if we had gotten more page time for these side characters.
FRIENDSHIP/FAMILY
Thea is close with her family and what we establish in the beginning is how much she cares about her cousin who was murdered. The whole plot and story revolves around her wanting to get justice for Natalie (her cousin) which is why she ends up in these situations. She really cares about her family and though she distances herself from her parents sometimes, she still shows how much she cares about them.
The friendships in this book are very interesting because Thea doesn't have any friends at the beginning of the book as her best/only friend is murdered before the events of the story. However, she manages to make friends at the Black Coats and I really loved those friendships because at first they were simply there for a common goal and then they began to bond through their intensive training and outside activities.
Thea is close with her family and what we establish in the beginning is how much she cares about her cousin who was murdered. The whole plot and story revolves around her wanting to get justice for Natalie (her cousin) which is why she ends up in these situations. She really cares about her family and though she distances herself from her parents sometimes, she still shows how much she cares about them.
The friendships in this book are very interesting because Thea doesn't have any friends at the beginning of the book as her best/only friend is murdered before the events of the story. However, she manages to make friends at the Black Coats and I really loved those friendships because at first they were simply there for a common goal and then they began to bond through their intensive training and outside activities.
PLOT
The Black Coats is essentially about a group of morally grey, vigilante women who get revenge on men who mistreat women. The story is told from the POV of Thea who is a high school student during modern day. Thea, along with a couple of other girls her age are initiated into the group because all of them have been hurt in some way, shape, or form by men. Each of the girls have their own special skill sets and they work as a group to go on missions to exact revenge. Each mission is handled differently depending on the severity of the man's crime. In a way, as a woman, it was very empowering to read about women giving men their just desserts. However there is a very fine line between justice and vengeance and when it gets crossed, Thea isn't sure if she wants to cross it.
The Black Coats is essentially about a group of morally grey, vigilante women who get revenge on men who mistreat women. The story is told from the POV of Thea who is a high school student during modern day. Thea, along with a couple of other girls her age are initiated into the group because all of them have been hurt in some way, shape, or form by men. Each of the girls have their own special skill sets and they work as a group to go on missions to exact revenge. Each mission is handled differently depending on the severity of the man's crime. In a way, as a woman, it was very empowering to read about women giving men their just desserts. However there is a very fine line between justice and vengeance and when it gets crossed, Thea isn't sure if she wants to cross it.
ROMANCE
As I mentioned before, the romance is between Thea and Drew and I actually thought it was cute. Drew doesn't know about Thea being a part of the Black Coats when they get together and he isn't sure about the traumatic events that Thea went through. However he is very kind and supportive towards her and I thought their relationship was a breath of fresh air considering this book talks about how much a lot of men suck.
WRITING
Colleen Oakes' writing in this book is fairly simple however it makes the book seem a lot more realistic. I really liked how she still managed to completely pull the readers in. The pacing was slow at the beginning which made it take a little longer for me to get through it, but I think the slow pacing really fit the book.
As I mentioned before, the romance is between Thea and Drew and I actually thought it was cute. Drew doesn't know about Thea being a part of the Black Coats when they get together and he isn't sure about the traumatic events that Thea went through. However he is very kind and supportive towards her and I thought their relationship was a breath of fresh air considering this book talks about how much a lot of men suck.
WRITING
Colleen Oakes' writing in this book is fairly simple however it makes the book seem a lot more realistic. I really liked how she still managed to completely pull the readers in. The pacing was slow at the beginning which made it take a little longer for me to get through it, but I think the slow pacing really fit the book.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Black Coats is a feminist, empowering read about women standing up for themselves and other women. I really enjoyed the plot and the characters and I highly recommend reading it if you want something new and different to try.
Quotes from the Book:
“It’s a shame...that sometimes even the strongest women are not strong enough to endure the wickedness of average men.”
The Black Coats is a feminist, empowering read about women standing up for themselves and other women. I really enjoyed the plot and the characters and I highly recommend reading it if you want something new and different to try.
Quotes from the Book:
“It’s a shame...that sometimes even the strongest women are not strong enough to endure the wickedness of average men.”
My Rating: 4 out of 5 Crowns
