**spoiler alert** The pile of shame grows. I couldn't finish Solo by Kwame Alexander. Maybe I'll try it again later.**spoiler alert** The pile of shame grows. I couldn't finish Solo by Kwame Alexander. Maybe I'll try it again later....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Suicide mentioned Score: Five out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
In Paris With You by**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Suicide mentioned Score: Five out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
In Paris With You by Clémentine Beauvais is like a novel where the presentation is incredible but the story itself is more than lacking. I wanted to read another novel-in-verse after previously enjoying one, so my expectations were high until I saw negative reviews. When I closed the final page, it was underwhelming despite the premise.
It starts with Eugene and Tatiana initially living separate lives in 2006, but there's a catch, they start to develop a relationship but then they head off in different directions, but that feels like an extended prologue to the central storyline. Now it's 2016, but it doesn't feel like anything significant changed other than people using different social media platforms. Why not show more? The pacing is slow for a book lasting 340 pages, but it feels like 400.
Remember the presentation? That is in the form of the poetry, and it uses various poetic devices (like rhyming and concrete poems) and not spaced out prose. If the story was as excellent as the poetry, I would give it a higher score than five out of ten and be done with this review. Unfortunately, I'm not done yet. The characters are a prominent flaw as it was difficult to connect or relate with them, much less believe they had chemistry. A unique aspect is the narrator, which is a character themselves. I thought I would get a third omniscient POV but then the narrator started talking to the characters.
I don't go outside of Paris, but I should've expected that considering Paris is literally in the title. I don't get to see any side characters like Lensky, who only occasionally and briefly appears for a few pages. Dedicating more page time to him and adding depth could improve the reading experience, though. Anyway. This narrative is a second chance romance, meaning those looking for literary value should look elsewhere. As the term implies, the couple comes back together, and they do, which should've created a heartwarming conclusion but I was done with Beauvais' creation. It could've been better....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Biracial (half Black and half Latino/a,) Latino/a and Black characters Trigger warnings: Implied PTSD, death of a chi**spoiler alert** Representation: Biracial (half Black and half Latino/a,) Latino/a and Black characters Trigger warnings: Implied PTSD, death of a child and brother in a hurricane in the past, grief and loss depiction, bullying, child abuse, physical assault and injury, chronic and physical illness, near-death experience Score: Eight out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
This one wasn't perfect. But it was close. The library only had Aniana del Mar Jumps In in eBook form so it was more difficult to get but I got it anyway. The blurb seemed intriguing, so I headed in hoping for an enjoyable read, but when I closed the final page, I found it a lot heavier than expected.
It starts with a flashback involving Aniana 'Ani' del Mar experiencing swimming for the first time when she was six (better late than never) before cutting to part one of the central storyline (there are six parts) with her now being a competitive swimmer, at least for her age (12.) Everything looks ordinary in the opening pages until she says something's wrong with her body, as she feels pain in her joints, but she doesn't know what it is yet.
There's a subplot that soon turns out to be a critical part of the narrative, where Aniana's mother remembers a traumatic event where she lost her brother, Mateo, in a hurricane and she never completely moved on ever since. I get that losing someone is difficult, but the way Aniana's mother tries to cope makes her look like a helicopter parent. Let me get this straight: the protagonist's family is dysfunctional, as her father is barely there and her mother doesn't want her to swim, fearing she may lose Aniana too. Aniana's father takes her away to swim in secret, but that didn't last forever as her mother found out, and now banned swimming. Is it me or does it feel like an antithesis to another novel I've read before? Aniana's mother forced her out of swimming instead of in.
I liked Aniana as a character the most, but her parents aren't role models, and the side characters like Maria Tere and Delilah only appear for a few pages, but I would've liked to see more. The pacing is slow, with the book lasting 400 pages, but I didn't mind, since it was enough to keep the creation going. The writing style is unique and Jasminne Mendez executed it well. Finally! Actual poetry! It took me long enough to find one after reading spaced out prose for a while.
Did I mention Aniana's family is Christian? The middle four parts feature Aniana trying to cope with the swimming ban, and when a doctor diagnosed her with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA,) all Aniana's mother can do is to pray it away, but advice from a therapist to do physical therapy also helped. The therapist says swimming can reduce the effects of JIA, but Aniana's mother is steadfast, even when she tries out for an elite swim camp, her mother caught her again since the ban still applies (she resorted to physical measures once.) However. The conclusion, part six, felt like an afterthought. It took Aniana's mother to almost lose her son, Matti (to the sea,) for her to change her mind? Really? At least the prohibition is gone now and the finish is heartwarming.
Addendum: Matti started swimming at age four (which isn't too late.) There's no exploration of intersectionality (since Aniana is a young biracial Dominican American girl with a chronic illness.) Why is this?...more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Implied Brown character Trigger warnings: N/A Score: Six out of ten.
Turn the Tide by Elaine Dimopoulos could've been m**spoiler alert** Representation: Implied Brown character Trigger warnings: N/A Score: Six out of ten.
Turn the Tide by Elaine Dimopoulos could've been much better. I wanted to read this one, but it was hard to get it as no library had it physically, so I resorted to getting an eBook edition instead. I glanced at the intriguing blurb, and the high ratings yet mixed reviews painted a picture of uncertain expectations, and when I closed the final page, it was okay.
It starts with Demetra 'Mimi' Laskaris, a Greek American, having to move from Massachusetts to Wilford Island in Florida since her parents thought that might improve their business, but that's beside the point. The central point is Mimi sees plastic pollution, and inspired by people like Greta Thunberg, decides to do something about it. Her idea is to get a law passed in Wilford Island to ban plastic and promote better options like using paper bags by getting people to sign a petition, if only she can get past a preemption law, meaning bans are banned (fortunately, she does.)
I liked the theme of climate change and the message advocating for more community action, but if there's one aspect that irritates me the most, it's the sledgehammers, and unfortunately, Dimopoulos used a sledgehammer to shove her ideas into my head, and even though banning plastic is a start, the unsubtlety and preachy tone frustrated me when I read Turn the Tide. I get it. Plastic harms the environment. Why would you repeat that, though? I'm not done yet though, as there are other problems that need addressing, first, the writing style, writing Turn the Tide all in verse is an uncommon choice, and it takes authors who write genuine poetry and not spaced out prose for this to work, but Dimopoulos fell into the trap of the second category. There are few poetic devices. I liked the characters, but Mimi has no other traits other than being an activist, even if it takes over her studies. Writing Mimi so her schoolwork and protesting share equal importance would've been a better decision. The pacing is slow too, with a length of over 300 pages, but at least the climax was engaging, with a protest against plastic and other scenes with Mimi being a step closer to achieving her goal....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Asian characters Trigger warnings: Physical injury in the past, blood depiction, self-harm, anxiety, near-death exper**spoiler alert** Representation: Asian characters Trigger warnings: Physical injury in the past, blood depiction, self-harm, anxiety, near-death experience Score: Six and a half out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph. It looks like I finally got around to reading this one. Mirror to Mirror by Rajani LaRocca was a novel-in-verse I hadn't heard of, but it was a recommendation. It was difficult to get this one as no library had it physically, so I got an eBook edition instead. I glanced at the intriguing blurb, but when I closed the final page, the book wasn't what I expected.
It starts with a prologue where I see Maya and Chaya, before it cuts to the story after a few pages. The plot describes Maya as down-to-earth while Chaya is more extroverted, and the POV switches between them each chapter. Mirror to Mirror is surprisingly heavy for a narrative targeted at a younger audience, especially in the first half spanning 200 pages, where Maya does self-harm (and gets away with it,) all in the guise of achieving perfection. Maya has anxiety, but at no point in Mirror to Mirror does she receive any mental health support, which concerned me, and sent a message that it's acceptable to ignore mental illnesses.
The beginning started off well, but the last 150 pages dampened the mood with a jarring juxtaposition, as Maya had had enough, so she switched classes with Chaya, even when they attend the same summer camp. The characters were likable, but hard to connect or relate with, and the multiple first POVs got confusing--I almost couldn't tell which was which. Perhaps the 3rd POV would've worked better, but the Indian American representation was an appreciated touch. The pacing is slow, too. Did the work need that part when it detracted from the central storyline? I felt LaRocca wrote that as an afterthought, and a copy of The Parent Trap, but without the parents. The climax is dramatic, yet predictable, as I knew the plan would fall apart in the end. It did, as the twins' parents discovered they swapped and lived each other's lives for the entire time. Maya's anxiety is magically gone as well, which I didn't find satisfying.
I expected a deep exploration of mental health, but this was not it. The poetry was okay, but it was more spaced-out prose than real poetry. Adding poetic devices would improve Mirror to Mirror....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Jewish characters Trigger warnings: Death and murder of parents, mass death, antisemitism, World War Two, military vi**spoiler alert** Representation: Jewish characters Trigger warnings: Death and murder of parents, mass death, antisemitism, World War Two, military violence and war themes, imprisonment, concentration camps, poverty, explosions, displacement, refugee experiences Score: Six and a half out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
Well. Alias Anna circled my recommendations till I saw it on a library display shelf when I decided to pick it up. I glanced at the blurb, making it seem unique as it was a biography-in-verse about a young musician set in World War Two. I picked the book up and when I closed the final page, I enjoyed most of it, except for one part.
It starts with the first person I see, Zhanna, living peacefully as a child in the late 1920s and early 1930s in what is now Ukraine in the opening pages. Everything changed in the late 1930s when the war began, but not much happens initially until 1941, when the Germans invaded Ukraine, forcing Zhanna and her family to leave. There is a crucial subplot involving Zhanna becoming a pianist from her early childhood and her sister, Frina, later joins her, which I found intriguing.
Soon enough, Zhanna and Frina were alone and the only action they could do is escape to any safe place they could find, but most prominently, they had to change their names to Anna and Marina respectively, so no one could discover who they were. Zhanna and her sister continued to use their aliases until the end of the war when they found peace in Berlin due to other helpful people, but I had a problem with one page. The narrative says music was a way to bring the Nazis and the Jews on the same level away from the war on that page.
The authors, Susan Hood and Greg Dawson, could've removed it, but it stayed there. What is the point of this passage? Is it trying to say that all people are equal and music is a way to bring them together and a coping strategy to ignore the war? The Nazis and the Jews are not on the same level. I could've given Alias Anna eight out of ten, but those words alone made me knock off a point and a half. I liked the writing style, which is all in poetry and not spaced out prose like other novels-in-verse, the overarching theme of resilience and the extra reading material in the end. The conclusion is a high note when Zhanna moves to America after the conflict. That's it....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Asian characters Trigger warnings: Physical injury in the past, near-death experience, bullying, divorce, anxiety, ni**spoiler alert** Representation: Asian characters Trigger warnings: Physical injury in the past, near-death experience, bullying, divorce, anxiety, nightmares, implied PTSD? Score: Seven out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I've read from Karen Comer before when I read and enjoyed Grace Notes so I hoped I would also enjoy her second book, Sunshine on Vinegar Street. It was difficult to get this one as no library had it in physical form so I settled with an eBook edition from a library instead. The blurb seemed intriguing, but when I closed the final page I found it flawed yet enjoyable (not as much as Grace Notes.)
It starts with Freya having to move to Abbotsford in Victoria from another location in the opening pages and the situation looks bleak to her as everything is new to Freya. She has to live in an apartment even though she's scared of lifts and has to be part of a new basketball team, which felt similar to Hoops and New Kid in a way. I liked some parts of Sunshine on Vinegar Street but I can't say the same for other parts. The pacing is easy to follow for a book under 300 pages since it never feels too overwhelming, but the plot can get disjointed sometimes with all the different themes and subplots like coming-of-age, basketball, mental health, fear and, most prominently, IVF. It turns out Freya is a donor-conceived person and not born traditionally like most people. The plot tries to do too much and focusing on one theme would improve the reading experience, but at least I liked the poetry style including text messages, onomatopoeia usage and sizing up the words for emphasis, but it's mostly spaced-out prose.
More poetry devices would've made leaps and bounds in terms of poetry. I'm not in the target audience, but I'm sure other younger people could relate to Sunshine on Vinegar Street. I could root for the characters since they were likable but I couldn't connect or relate with them. Freya fears lifts for most of the narrative except for the end. Is that childhood PTSD? If so, why didn't she receive any mental help for that and the times when she struggled to adjust to her new life? She had to face these issues alone, but supportive adults could've made the creation more realistic, fortunately, the conclusion is a high note where Freya gets used to everything....more
Representation: Black characters Trigger warnings: Death of a friend from a heart attack and another person in the past mentioned, grief and loss depicRepresentation: Black characters Trigger warnings: Death of a friend from a heart attack and another person in the past mentioned, grief and loss depiction Score: Seven out of ten.
I did not know of The Order of Things by Kaija Langley until a few days ago when I briefly discovered it circling my recommendations. It was hard to get it as no library had this one physically but one had it in eBook form, so I picked it up. The blurb made it seem heartbreaking, and when I closed the final page, it delivered.
(view spoiler)[It starts with April and Zee, a violin player, living as friends and even going to the same school. April pursues playing the drums after the opening pages. As April keeps working on that, Zee suffers from some close calls, until he dies from a sudden cardiac arrest, darkening the mood from there. April deals with the situation by grieving over the loss of Zee and trying her best to move on, but April keeps thinking about Zee when she tries to live her typical life, and that's where the narrative takes a turn. April decides to work as a mailer since Zee's father took a break after losing his son. He never moves on in the end as he leaves April behind, much to my dismay. The writing style is alright--it's enough to keep the story going but it's more like spaced out prose than real poetry. Inserting more poetic devices or switching to prose would be an improvement. The characters are likable and Langley wrote April well as she was flawed (adding depth) but still an enjoyable character to read, yet I didn't relate to the characters, but it's most likely that I hadn't lived through this exact experience. The plot is simple as it's nothing but another work of fiction about grief. I've read a lot of those. Few are in verse like this one like Call Me Adnan. That makes it stand out. The pacing is engaging, albeit a little slow as Langley takes time developing the characters and the conclusion is bittersweet. (hide spoiler)]...more
Representation: Latino/a characters Trigger warnings: Bullying, kidnapping and imprisonment mentioned, substance addiction, parental abandonment, adoptRepresentation: Latino/a characters Trigger warnings: Bullying, kidnapping and imprisonment mentioned, substance addiction, parental abandonment, adoption Score: Seven out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I haven't heard of Something Like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango, a verse novel targeted at a younger audience, until a few days ago, when I found an eBook edition in a library when it was difficult to get it physically because no library had this one in that form. After glancing at the intriguing blurb, I read and enjoyed it.
(view spoiler)[It starts with Laura having to move to her aunt's house in a faraway location in the opening pages after her parents had issues that had been going on for who knows how long, but it's not a good sign. Laura struggles to adjust to living with her aunt and going to a school as the new kid, but at least she makes some friends there. Laura thinks the situation looks bleak for her until she comes across a dog, whom she hopes to train to become a therapy dog to improve her life. I'm not sure where to begin with Something Like Home, but I'll start with the positives, I liked the positive moments, especially the ones where Laura is with her dog and tries to start a relationship with her aunt (she has to anyway.) The characters are likable but I couldn't relate to them since I don't live the same experience as Laura, yet others could relate. I appreciated the narrative trying to bring hope to Laura's parents when they tried therapy to get over their drug addiction, but unfortunately that doesn't pan out well. The plot is simple--most likely targeted for a younger audience, however, I can't get over the writing style as Arango used few poetry devices and instead made her work look like spaced out prose. Incorporating more devices could've made Something Like Home more engaging, and for a book under 300 pages, it's slow paced sometimes with filler pages that needed removal. The conclusion is bittersweet as Laura had to live with her aunt forever despite her best efforts to reside with her parents again.(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)](hide spoiler)]...more
Representation: Minor Asian character Trigger warnings: Disappearance of a brother, death of a grandmother and a father in a car crash in the past mentRepresentation: Minor Asian character Trigger warnings: Disappearance of a brother, death of a grandmother and a father in a car crash in the past mentioned Score: Seven out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I haven't come across Everywhere Blue until a few days ago. No library had this one in physical form, but fortunately, I got an eBook edition from a library, so I picked it up. I glanced at the blurb, making it seem intriguing yet emotional. When I finally read Everywhere Blue and closed the final page, it was compelling.
(view spoiler)[It starts with the first person I see, Maddie, living her life with her family, which consists of a few distinctive characters. Aria's strong suit is music, Strum advocates for climate action while Maddie's father is a climate change denier. Strum disappears in the opening pages of the narrative, much to everyone's shock. Maddie spends most of the story trying to find Strum, initially to no avail. The fallout soon shows in the rest of the family as they fall apart and grow increasingly distant, especially with arguments that happen sometimes. Toward the final stretch of Everywhere Blue, Maddie finds a clue on Strum's whereabouts when she discovered he's studying a special type of butterfly in another country. Maddie soon spreads the news that Strum is alive in Mexico, but unfortunately, he won't return. The conclusion is bittersweet as Maddie is overjoyed upon seeing Strum again, while the rest of the family moved on from him. Wow. (hide spoiler)]...more
Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Animal death, grief and loss depiction, implied PTSD and imprisonment of a father, child abuse Score: Seven pointsRepresentation: N/A Trigger warnings: Animal death, grief and loss depiction, implied PTSD and imprisonment of a father, child abuse Score: Seven points out of ten.
I never heard of this one till now. It was difficult to get a hold of The Road to After since no libraries I know of had a physical edition of this book. However, one library had an eBook edition of this, so I immediately wanted to pick it up. I glanced at the blurb, making it seem like a heavy, yet intriguing read. When I closed the final page of The Road to After, it was enjoyable.
(view spoiler)[It starts with the first character I see, Lacey, who has to escape her home after her grandparents arrived to pluck her from her abusive father. She and her mother go to a new, yet temporary place to live in called Caring Unlimited, where people can try their best to recover from their traumas. The opening pages feature Lacey and her mother staying at that location, but Lacey still remembers the trauma she had to experience living with her father. It's almost like she has childhood PTSD, but I don't know for sure. No child should experience that. The writing style is okay, but I appreciated the simile and metaphor usage. For a story that falls short of 200 pages it packs a punch, a brilliant example of what happens when the author utilises every single page rather than filling pages in with insignificant events. I thought The Road to After was emotional and hard-hitting, but ultimately, it was hopeful as it shows Lacey moving on from the events in the past. (hide spoiler)]...more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Black characters Trigger warnings: Death of a father and uncle in the past and a brother, blood, grief and loss depic**spoiler alert** Representation: Black characters Trigger warnings: Death of a father and uncle in the past and a brother, blood, grief and loss depiction, gun violence Score: Six points out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
Well. I finally read the original version of Long Way Down. I read an adaptation before this one and enjoyed it so I hoped this edition lives up to the hype. I glanced the blurb, which made me think it would be a heavy yet intriguing read, all in poetry to boot. Unfortunately, when I closed the final page of Long Way Down, it underwhelmed me.
The plot is similar to the other adaptation, but here's a quick recap: Will sees his brother, Shawn, die from a gunshot, so he consults the three rules on what to do next. Don't cry. Don't snitch. Get revenge. He enters an elevator and everything looks typical except that Will can see ghosts of people who died in the past. They were victims of the rules and the cycle of gun violence and when the elevator reaches the ground floor, the ending is open. It's not clear if Will will follow the third rule. The concept is outstanding, but the execution--not so much. The art in the other version added impact and even though I liked some pages of Long Way Down, most of them were monotonous and felt like what happened when someone pressed the Enter key many times. I liked the message in Long Way Down, which is that gun violence kills many but the delivery is only okay, but I appreciate that it isn't too preachy. I wonder what the author's other fictional compositions are like.
To summarise, Long Way Down initially seemed like a promising narrative about gun violence in verse, but in the end, it dissatisfied me, making me feel like this novel isn't the best example of poetry ever. Maybe if it was written in prose it would've been better....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Asian characters Trigger warnings: Hospitalisation and death of a brother and a child in a body of water, grief and l**spoiler alert** Representation: Asian characters Trigger warnings: Hospitalisation and death of a brother and a child in a body of water, grief and loss depiction Score: Seven points out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
Someone recommended Call Me Adnan to me but I thought no library had it. That is until I discovered an eBook, not physical, edition of Call Me Adnan, so I picked it up. When I read and finished Call Me Adnan, it was enjoyable but a heavy read, and I felt the story borrowed elements from others whilst remaining original.
It starts with the titular character, Adnan, living with his family, and most importantly, his younger brother, Rizwan (he plays a role later on.) It turns out that he trained himself to be a professional at table tennis according to the book, and now he and his family will go to Florida for the Ultimate Table Tennis Championship. The author dedicates part one to Adnan's run in the tournament, eventually reaching the finals before losing to another sportsperson, finishing as a runner-up. Did I mention Adnan is colourblind and does not prefer to lose?
Part two revolves around Adnan and his relatives celebrating until the worst happens—Rizwan dies. I knew something tragic would happen according to the blurb, but I didn't expect that event to catch me by surprise. Call Me Adnan got heavier from there as Adnan and others process what happened and weather through the storm of grief. I liked Adnan as a character and the other people, which made it hurt more when one person died. The poetry is also remarkable as it is never too repetitive or unimaginative. Parts three and four concern the later stages of grief, as Adnan recovers and moves on from Rizwan's death. Adnan has a new sister now, Nusaybah. The conclusion is about Adnan's family learning from the mistakes that killed Rizwan so that a similar incident will never happen again. What a story.
To summarise, Call Me Adnan is a novel in verse that initially sounded promising, but this time the author's latest fictional composition fulfilled my expectations....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Biracial (half Black and half white) and implied Latina and Asian characters Trigger warnings: Death of a father in t**spoiler alert** Representation: Biracial (half Black and half white) and implied Latina and Asian characters Trigger warnings: Death of a father in the past Score: Six out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
It turns out that a library I went to hasn't run out of poetry. Yet. That's when I thought when I found out that Reckless, Glorious, Girl was in verse, so I picked it up alongside another one. Unfortunately, both of them were only okay and not without flaws. Neither was as outstanding as Alone or Under the Broken Sky.
It starts with the first character I see, Beatrice Miller, living with her mother and grandmother during the summer before seventh grade. Reckless, Glorious, Girl has a tedious beginning spanning half of the text. It soon picks up when Beatrice goes to seventh grade but worries about the events that could happen there and all the physical changes she must experience. Reckless, Glorious, Girl shines in its quick chapters and engaging pacing. It was unputdownable.
I liked that Beatrice was flawed and experienced character development and her dynamics with her mother and grandmother. However, my most frustrating gripe with Reckless, Glorious, Girl is the writing style because it's like what happens when someone presses the Enter key many times. It's so repetitive. The author doesn't need to repeat herself to prove her point. It's like she needed a sledgehammer to do that. The middle 200 pages were only about Beatrice journeying through seventh grade when another character, Chloe, invited her to a sleepover. The last 100 pages were dramatic, but there's a high note at the end....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Bullying Score: Six points out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I saw Rhyme Schemer cir**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Bullying Score: Six points out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I saw Rhyme Schemer circling my recommendations a few months ago, and soon after, I observed that one library I went to had this one, so I immediately seized the opportunity to get it by picking it up. Afterwards, I picked it up and read it. When I finished it, I thought it was an okay piece of literature.
It starts with the first person I see, Kevin, whose last name remains undisclosed, spending the opening pages thinking about who to bully, much to my dismay. I disliked him, but eventually, he was not what he seemed to be at first glance. Soon enough, the school suspended Kevin for his actions, and I thought he deserved that, but after I read a few pages, Kevin showed a side I previously knew nothing of: his poetry. He likes to take words from existing texts and make new creations, which I found fascinating. Rhyme Schemer shines in the character development involving Kevin and the engaging pacing, which never made me put the book down. However, the author didn't give as much attention to the other people in Rhyme Schemer, which was a missed opportunity as I wanted to connect with them. The ending is dramatic....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Black characters Trigger warnings: Death of children in a boating accident and a mother in the past from cancer, refu**spoiler alert** Representation: Black characters Trigger warnings: Death of children in a boating accident and a mother in the past from cancer, refugee experiences, physical assault and injury, hospitalisation, racism, grief and loss depiction, bullying Score: Five out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I picked up The Crossing from the library. The ratings were high, so I headed in with equally high expectations. I enjoyed it when I finished it. However, The Crossing is flawed.
It starts with the Nat and Sammy, living their separate lives. Nat lost her mother to cancer and her brother to right-wing extremism. Sammy lives in Eritrea. Nat's only refuge is swimming. That explains why she likes that. Sammy and Tesfay, long to go to Europe. Nat's life deteriorates with the housing crisis.
The Crossing shines as it's one of the few pieces of literature that gets poetry right. Most authors try to do poetry, but they press the Enter key many times and call it 'poetry.' Fortunately, The Crossing doesn't do that as it utilised ingenious literary devices to keep me reading, especially the transitions between the lives of Sammy and Nat.
Despite that, The Crossing feels inauthentic as Mann is not Black. At least there's no white saviours. Sammy starts his journey to Europe by going to Sudan, the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea.
The sea is the most difficult part for Sammy and Tesfay, leading to Tesfay's death. Nat tries to swim the English Channel. She sees Sammy and feels like she knows him. Meanwhile, Sammy dies in the conclusion. Nat's brother commits a hate crime and is imprisoned. That was unnecessary....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Sexist slurs, death of a person in the past, sexual harassment and assault, online harassment Sc**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Sexist slurs, death of a person in the past, sexual harassment and assault, online harassment Score: Seven out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
Oh, look, the first poetry novel I read in 2024. I wanted to read this, but I missed an opportunity to get it the first time around, but not the second time. Lawless Spaces is timely since it covers a prominent issue, but several aspects worked against its favour. However, it does score some points for originality and engagement. A review said there were trigger warnings before the story began. Where were they? I couldn't find them.
Lawless Spaces starts with the first two characters I see, Tiffany and Mimi Dovewick, living a typical life in the opening pages, until Tiffany leaves Mimi to experience late adolescence alone. Mimi starts journaling about the events happening in her life, like cyberbullying, while simultaneously looking back at the journals her ancestors wrote. All while the news ubiquitously reports on an assault case rattling Tiffany. Did I mention Lawless Spaces is non-linear?
The narrative's biggest flaws lie in its characters and writing style. Other than stretching words, the poetry is more like what happens when someone randomly presses the Enter key. I appreciate the author for writing so engagingly but did Lawless Spaces have to clock in at over 500 pages, hampering its pacing? The story jumps around when Mimi reads the diaries of those who came before her, and it would've been intriguing, but the similarly monotonous voices of characters like Betty and Virginia let me down. The men mistreat the women in Lawless Spaces mostly due to their body type, but what if they had dissimilar ones yet still suffered the same fate? That would've made a more enjoyable read. I would've loved Lawless Spaces more if there were more than only white people in there, making room for intersectionality between race, gender and class. However, the conclusion was a high note....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Side Asian character Trigger warnings: Hospitalisation, physical injury, death of a mother in the past from an illnes**spoiler alert** Representation: Side Asian character Trigger warnings: Hospitalisation, physical injury, death of a mother in the past from an illness Score: Seven points out of ten. This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.
I found out that one of the two libraries I go to still had verse novels up their sleeve like this one and after reading some I thought sometimes they were a hit and other times they were a miss. Not long after I picked it up and read it, and when I finished it swiftly I felt it had a great execution making it stand out from other novels like this I've read. It starts with the main character Lucy (This is the fourth character with that name I saw this year. Coincidence? Probably.) whose last name I don't know who recently moved to a new place (presumably somewhere in Australia) with her father. Lucy transfers to a new school (who knows how many schools she went to before leaving since her father moves a lot?) but this time she wants to stay because of all the new characters. I noticed a few titbits about the narrative which I didn't mind (I only found them intriguing.)
The story said Lucy is in Year Two (the Australian equivalent of second grade because school works differently here) which means that she'd be seven or eight. With that out of the way Lucy tries to convince her father to stay here and initially he wants to move again to someplace else but I don't know why until much later on. The other integral part revolves around a snail called Snail (Out of all the names in the world the snail is called Snail. Really?) Snail is a side character which I enjoyed reading but wasn't significant but some references to snails are in the writing style and even some poems are in the shapes of snails and hearts which I don't see that often but good for me I suppose. There's also a plot point about cane toads and killing them with 'kindness' as they are an invasive species (which is true.) There is a revelation where the father says Lucy's mother died from an illness and he could never fully move on from that but in the end he decides to stay ending the narrative on a high note....more
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