|
|
None of us can escape our backgrounds; and just like the half-sisters Dana and Chaurisse in Silver Sparrow I was a teenager in the 80's.
But our experiences couldn't be further apart. And in writing this review I am going to reveal ignorance, so le...moreNone of us can escape our backgrounds; and just like the half-sisters Dana and Chaurisse in Silver Sparrow I was a teenager in the 80's.
But our experiences couldn't be further apart. And in writing this review I am going to reveal ignorance, so let's be up front about that.
The Atlanta neighborhoods of this story are far removed, culturally and geographically from my Jewish/White suburb of Cleveland.
It was hard to remember, in some ways, that this was a modern story. The characters mention Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, and it's like a little pinch to the cheek. For me the story read like something from the 60's or 70's...not something that could have happened when I myself was a teen.
Don't get me wrong, this isn't a reflection of poor writing, on the contrary, it's the result of writing deeply entrenched in Black culture of that time and place.
Dana and her mother live together in a neighborhood of Atlanta. Her father, James, visits them when he is not with his other, more legitimate wife and daughter.
Dana grows up constantly forming her self-identity as not-Chaurisse, not-legitimate, not-the chosen one. We encounter her voice in the first half of the book, watching her growing up barred from classes and part-time jobs where Chaurisse might be, dragged on "surveilling" trips to spy on the other family by her mother. Dana has to constantly prove to herself she's "just as good."
The second half of the book is Chaurisse. A plain jane (her mother weaves extensions into her hair) and well aware of it, she begins to make friends with a "silver" (what Chaurisse calls pretty people) girl that we come to realize is Dana. Chaurisse is mystified by Dana's hot/cold behavior, and it is painful to experience her raw and vulnerable attempts at friendship.
On the way to a party outside of Atlanta (The problem with leaving Atlanta is that you might end up in Georgia) Chaurisse and Dana's lives will be changed forever when their car breaks down and their father must come and save them.
Each of the women in this story, the daughters, and the mothers, have somewhat non-traditional relationships with their men. Even Chaurisse's mother, Laverne, although on the surface the traditional wife, first married her husband because she was pregnant. The actual acts of sex are glossed over, summarized, the focus of the book not passion or love between man and woman, but more on the effects of those relationships on the women themselves.
Dana's mother is the other woman. Dana ends up herself as a kind of teen "other woman" as well. But what matters is not angsty, unrequited love, nor the reasons why the women find themselves returning time after time to men that treat them badly. (Or at least in my eyes they are treated badly, but this is colored by my own cultural background about what "traditional" and "good" romantic relationships are)
The focus here is the women themselves; how they cope, how the web of their friendships and female relatives buoy them up, sustain them.
The book has a line that says "we are all hogtied together" meaning the women and James, and James' complicit foster brother, Raleigh. These ties are the ones that Silver Sparrow excels at making real and fleshly, the obligations and joys and yearnings between us.
This Book's Snack Rating: 85% Cocoa dark chocolate covered cacao nibs, for the bitter, bitter bite of raw feelings coupled with a crunch of strong characters between your teeth.(less)
|
|
|
" I started this book totally drawn into Saba and Lugh's world by the folksy voice, the hints of their Pappa's prescience, Saba's ignoring of her younge...moreI started this book totally drawn into Saba and Lugh's world by the folksy voice, the hints of their Pappa's prescience, Saba's ignoring of her younger sister, Emmi in favor of her golden twin, and the bleak setting of Silverlake.
And when the Tonton come in ther dustcloud, destroying Saba's home and taking away the only thing she ever loved, it seemed the start of a glorious adventure.
Indeed, Blood Red Road has all the makings of a glorious adventure. A feisty heroine, a smart, pet Raven, the growth and change of Saba's feelings for her sister and brother, cage-fight scenes, and wacky villains. With added, bonus deathwurms!
Saba must go rescue her brother, and she will fight everyone (including her friends!) to get him back from a crazy King, his warriors, and his drug-addled slaves. At her side are some warrior girls, her stubborn sister, and a ne'er do well sometime-thief named Jack who makes her special heart's desire necklace burn.
Unfortunately, for me, there may be too much packed into this book. Each one of the mini-quests within this book deserved to be fleshed out more. Saba and Emmi in the sand desert. Saba as the cage fighter. Saba and friends burn Hopetown to the ground and battle the King. Saba and friends and the quest for Freedom Fields. Saba and friends battle Tonton and drugged slaves for her brother.
They were all such meaty, interesting situations, and they went by too fast. For instance, Saba-as-Angel of Death cage fighter: alot of the fights are kind of summarized, and her life in virtual prison mostly glossed over. Yet it would be here, in the details of how she handled being caged up and basically being responsible for the deaths of other girls that would have been fascinating. By not letting us into the gritty details, I felt somewhat removed emotionally from the action.
So when she's constantly cranky and "I don't need your help, I didn't ask you to come" I just felt like swatting her instead of being sympathetic to her pride and stubborness, I just didn't feel it was a genuine expression of Saba because I wasn't let in to see why she'd willingly lessen her chances of saving her brother by alienating potential helpers.
Same with her feelings towards Jack. I loved the part in the cage prison where they size each other up. Their banter was great...their (Jane Austen Emma-esque) interactions where Jack admonishes her to be a better person were terrific...but just not enough.
Don't get me started on the King...he was whacked out crazy, which isn't to my personal taste. I like subtly nuanced, sly craziness better. So the impact of scary DeMalo (his TonTon body guard) and his possible disdain for the King got lessened because of lack of DeMalo facetime (a shame because he was one seriously intriguing dude).
So because of that "glossed over" feeling, this book gets the 4 star treatment. But by no means should you infer this book is not worth your time. Even just glossed over, Saba's journey is a rapid-paced fun ride of characters in a post-apocalyptic dystopia.
This Book's Snack Rating: a bag of those double flavored Doritos where you get half ranch and half original flavor in the same bag and just when you start to savor one flavor, your next handful comes up with a different one before you were really ready to go on...(less)"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Let's be up front; I love most everything I've ever read by Maureen Johnson, so there was very little chance this book would get anything less than 4 stars. It was more a matter of the 4 vs 5 star rating.
Rory's a Southerner arrived at a boarding scho...moreLet's be up front; I love most everything I've ever read by Maureen Johnson, so there was very little chance this book would get anything less than 4 stars. It was more a matter of the 4 vs 5 star rating.
Rory's a Southerner arrived at a boarding school in London just as some gruesome murders take over the London media. The killer seems to be taunting the media, deliberately retracing Jack the Ripper's steps. Rippermania takes over, forcing a virtual shutdown of entertainment districts and Rory's school, but Rory might be the only one who has seen the actual killer...she just needs to convince herself and everyone else what she saw was real.
Rory's got the semi-deprecating dry humor down pat: "Apparently there were some mornings I was more American...and this was one of them" and "This is when it dawned on me that he hadn't brought me in here for the sole purpose of watching a video of someone being murdered (although that was probably part of the reason)". She's got two very interesting room mates: Jazza and Boo, and the way Rory's personalities mix with the other two is quite typical girl-friend jostling and positioning.
And watching her get caught up in the Ripper media frenzy is quite interesting. I feel like I've secretly gotten a crash course on Jack the Ripper and certain neighborhoods of London where he used to hang out. (Although the somewhat gritty/gory description of the Ripper's victims precludes me recommending this book to my fourth grade daughter) There's even a hint of romance with classmate, Jerome (although quite tame and run-of-the mill hookup, nothing to make one blush)
Plus, we get the excitement of the hint of Paranormal. But therein lies the crux of the reason I couldn't give this story the whole hog (5 stars). Her paranormal police crew (Shades) friends were twenty times more interesting than the boarding school politics, but we didn't get nearly enough time to appreciate their awesomeness. Callum's debilitating fear despite his physical prowess, Stephen's deep-seated need to be perfect in atonement for a past mistake, and Boo's rough-natured fierce loyalty were very compelling traits...that never quite (in this book) got to shine to full advantage. Secondly, instead of full on sly portrayals of the paranormal nature of certain people Rory encounters, we get somewhat heavy-handed (for me) hints, taking away some of the fun of figuring things out along with Rory.
And then there's the villain monologue at the end, that, while informative, was a bit too monology for my taste.
But despite the lack of Callum, Stephen, and Boo camera time, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this as an interesting, and somewhat unique twist on YA urban paranormal for anyone at a mental age equipped to deal with some gory murder victim details. While the Jack the Ripper story is neatly tied up at the end, there is a bit of a cliffhanger in regards to Rory that I hope is setting up another book in the series that will see more of the Shades.
This Book's Snack Rating: McVitie's chocolate digestive biscuit for a sturdy, down-to-earth heroine coated in the a sweet coating of interesting Ripper facts and fun friends.(less)
|
Blackwood
by
Gwenda Bond (Goodreads Author)
|
|
|
|
I had to go online and google Susan Ee after I read the first 10 pages of Angelfall....it was that smooth, that instantly submerging into a post-apocalyptic California where night time is the only safe time to emerge from the broken remains of civili...moreI had to go online and google Susan Ee after I read the first 10 pages of Angelfall....it was that smooth, that instantly submerging into a post-apocalyptic California where night time is the only safe time to emerge from the broken remains of civilization.
Because otherwise the street gangs might get you. And if they don't....the Angels will.
I had thought I'd gotten myself a self-published distraction to read while my daughter was at ballet, but what I got was a seriously believable teenish voice in the narrator, Penryn. We first experience her mad dash into dangerous territory with her schizophrenic/paranoid mother and crippled little sister. She comes across a group of Angels attacking one of their own.
When Penryn's sister is taken, her only hope to save her is to save the Angel whose wings were shorn and left for dead.
An Angel--one of the very beings whose sudden, destructive appearance in our world precipitated mass killings and a world-wide descent into chaos.
But Raffe needs her help to survive, and the two of them form an uneasy alliance, trusting out of necessity, and sharing some snarky banter that put a smile on my face.
Penryn has a unique and totally believable reason for being so good at taking care of herself. And despite her years of martial arts, she hurts and whines when she is punched, and never quite wins when the odds are against her.
That's what I enjoyed so much about this story, how Penryn felt real, not a some super-beautiful Mary Sue that everyone instantly falls in love with. (Although there were glimmerings of a forbidden romance--it wasn't quite developed enough beyond some appreciation of physical beauty to really keep me hooked.) And she was smart. Not just jumping into fights out of adrenaline, but weighing her chances of success.
And just at the end when it looks like things are going to get all predictable and HEA, the author throws in some pretty horrific twists that complicate matters all to Hell. Literally.
So why not 5 stars? Well...let's just say that there were some writing-level issues such as pacing was a bit breakneck, and despite pieces of information dribbled to the reader at just the right rate for us to figure out the action, I wanted more time to savor the post-civilized landscape to understand Penryn.
Definitely be on the lookout for the next installment.
This Book's Snack Rating: a bowl of chex mix with varied and interesting flavors of fun characters and fast paced action in each bite, but the bowl's empty before you know it!(less)
|
K. Bird
is now following Wendy Darling's reviews
|
|
|
It took me longer than usual to finish Daughter of Smoke and Bone...not because it was difficult to read, but the opposite.
It was gorgeous. And I wanted to savor it slowly. In the same way that you don't gobble up a box of Godiva truffles, you don't ...moreIt took me longer than usual to finish Daughter of Smoke and Bone...not because it was difficult to read, but the opposite.
It was gorgeous. And I wanted to savor it slowly. In the same way that you don't gobble up a box of Godiva truffles, you don't zip through the lush description of Prague, the zippy and realistic banter between main character Karou and her puppeteer friend, Zuzana, nor do you want to read so fast you miss all the clues about who and what Karou is.
We meet Karou in Prague, on her way to an art class, surrounded by friends and an ex lover, and amazing hangouts like Poison (a cafe serving legendary goulash populated by statues in gas masks).
But Karou is no normal art student. Her sketchbook is full of fantastical images of half-human, half-beasts that she weaves into stories for her friends. And there's those strange, sudden "errands" Karou must go on, returning sometimes one day, sometimes days later sunburned or bruised...
I don't want to go into any more detail of the plot here. This book is best read blind, letting the layers of story reveal themselves to you one drop at a time.
The writing is simply...spot on. Karou's feelings before she meets the being who will change everything she has ever known:
"Yearning for love made her feel like a cat that was always twining around ankles, meowing Pet me, pet me, look at me, look at me."
And like all good fantasy (urban or fantastical or like this one, a hybrid), the language is driven by the rhythm of wit and possibilities not open to realistic fiction:
"There was a world that was perfectly made and full of birds and striped creatures and lovely things like honey lilies and start tenzing and weasels-"
"Weasels?"
"Hush."
Lovely and funny and compelling. Although the end leaves me on the cusp of a Happily Ever After, I didn't mind so much because the ending unfolded as a logical result of clues given to the reader from the very beginning, not just an artificial break in the action right when things get interesting.
This Book's Snack Designation: A box of assorted chocolates from a high-end chocolaterie where you eat each one without looking at the packaging so there is a surprising burst of flavor for the slow unraveling of Karou's secrets across your tongue with each bite, the lovely writing flavoring your world a little brighter, and taking you some rich, exotic place.(less)
|
to:
to:
