✨✨ more bad parenting ✨✨
As is unfortunately the norm in these books, Sag Harbor is yet again full of ✨ problematic family dynamics ✨ This book generally really reminded me of Fun Home, so I have really similar analyses of the families/criticisms of the adults. In one disturbing scene, Benji's father asks "can he hit you harder than this" while repeatedly striking Benji. The point was to not be afraid of other kids when they're racist, and to instead stand up for yourself. However, in addition to being generally physically abusive, this response is not encouraging critical thinking or teaching his kid how to recognize racist social cues. There's also no explanation on how to best deal with/protect against racists/bullies. It's basically saying you better react in this specific way, with no other justification or thought process other than "I'll punish you if you don't" and "no one can hurt you more than I do," which is a really heartbreaking interpretat