City of Saints & Thieves in Hype or Like Friday

Nov 14, 2017 Larkin (Wonderfilled Reads) rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, own, stand-alone, young-adult, mystery-and-thriller, putnam-for-young-readers, 2017-release

This is one of those books that everyone needs to read. It highlights very real issues that exist in the DRC, and does so in a way that shows how much hope and courage comes from the women that deal with these struggles there daily. Wonderful book.

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Nov 05, 2017 Kirsty rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-ebook, arc-galley, diverse, reviewed

Content warning: rape, death, murder, civil war, war violence, kidnapping, sexual assault, slavery

Tina's mother was killed in her employer's (Mr. Greyhill) study and all signs point to him being the killer. Tina leaves the place she called home and lives on the streets while her sister goes to a catholic school. When the gang she is allied with asks her to run a job on Mr. Greyhill she is happy to accept. What she does not expect is for this job to lead her back to the war storm country of Congo ...more

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Jun 15, 2018 Zezee rated it really liked it

Shelves: library-books, mystery

So. I’m not a fan of revenge stories. I get quickly annoyed by protagonists who are motivated by revenge and that’s exactly what happened while I read this. I just do not like revenge as a motivator. I think it gets stale very quickly and becomes easy for the character to run out of steam. I do not like it.

I can’t remember if I read the synopsis before starting the book (probably not), so I didn’t realize Tina, the protagonist, was seeking revenge for her mother’s death until I was well into the So. I’m not a fan of revenge stories. I get quickly annoyed by protagonists who are motivated by revenge and that’s exactly what happened while I read this. I just do not like revenge as a motivator. I think it gets stale very quickly and becomes easy for the character to run out of steam. I do not like it.

I can’t remember if I read the synopsis before starting the book (probably not), so I didn’t realize Tina, the protagonist, was seeking revenge for her mother’s death until I was well into the story. Back then in those early chapters, I didn’t care. I liked Tina’s attitude as she tells us how best to be a thief and how her confidence that bordered on arrogance. I liked that the story is set Kenya, the descriptions of the settings, the characters, the hints at the current political climate, and that the story touches on corruption, so the revenge plotline didn’t stand out to me then. I was enjoying myself reading the book.

But then it did. It began gradually. Tina comes off as a cocksure character, especially when she compares herself to Greyhill’s teenage son (I forgot his name), so I was lured into believing that Tina was sure of all she believes. Now I don’t mind unreliable characters or characters who are operating on limited information, but I do get annoyed by characters who act like a badass and believes they know all but overlook major obvious things that will later bite them in the ass. That happens a lot in YA stories and it always annoys me. I wouldn’t say it’s a major fault with this story; it’s just a big pet peeve of mine that, with this book, I realized I can’t bypass. So, after realizing that Tina isn’t the badass she believes herself to be and that after a point the story became very predictable, I started to skim the book.

I no longer cared what became of the characters or how the plot unfolded. I was tempted to give up on the story, but I wanted to know who murdered Tina’s mom, so I skimmed the book until I found that out. However, I wouldn’t say this is a bad book. It’s well written, the story immediately draws you in, and the plot is fairly fast-paced. It just didn’t work for me because my pet peeves annoyed me.

Overall: ★★★☆☆ 1/2

Pet peeves aside, it’s a decent read and an engaging story set in Kenya that focuses on refugees and corruption.

As posted on Zezee with Books. ...more

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