lpazienza26's review against another edition
3.0
Received this as part of a giveaway in exchange for an honest review .
I normally like this kind of book- I love Rebecca Solnit, so when I saw the book described as being like her writing , I was intrigued. My issue is that I think this book tried to do too much- I would have preferred either leaning more into the California history and nature study or more of the memoir of her family and town. While these concepts intersect, the way the book was written made them feel disparate. I can’t fully articulate what was missing, but I found myself wishing the narrative was rearranged.
I did learn some new things about CA, and I enjoyed the memoir components, but I think Atleework relied a little too much on the thoughts of other authors. The constant references to Solnit and Didion made it seem like the author didn’t have anything new to add.
I normally like this kind of book- I love Rebecca Solnit, so when I saw the book described as being like her writing , I was intrigued. My issue is that I think this book tried to do too much- I would have preferred either leaning more into the California history and nature study or more of the memoir of her family and town. While these concepts intersect, the way the book was written made them feel disparate. I can’t fully articulate what was missing, but I found myself wishing the narrative was rearranged.
I did learn some new things about CA, and I enjoyed the memoir components, but I think Atleework relied a little too much on the thoughts of other authors. The constant references to Solnit and Didion made it seem like the author didn’t have anything new to add.
itsrhea's review against another edition
3.0
I love the reminder that we cannot move forward without remember where we came from. The feel of this book was both heartwarming and heart breaking. The images painted in this read were beautiful although sometimes wordy.
theoverflowingbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
In her debut memoir, Kendra Atleework discusses what life was like for her growing up in a desert-like terrain in a very small town. Miracle Country, which comes out July 14th, is eye-opening and allows you to view the world from someone else's mind.
This memoir dives deep into the history of California, Nevada, and the development of water aqueducts and how a desert region developed into a city. Atleework shows she did her research and references many historians and writers whose stories intertwine with her own. While Atleework does add a personal touch to this book by recounting stories of her childhood to the historic and present state of this desert region, I think this novel places a lot of focus on history which I found to be a bit boring at times; however, if you’re a history buff who love to view the world from a first person point of view, then Miracle Country blends past and present in a way that makes this story feel more personal.
If you enjoy learning about the environment and how certain landscapes have changed over the course of history because of humans, then this book will definitely peak your interest. However, if you’re looking for a deep dive into someone’s life, you might not find what you’re looking for.
*I received an ARC from Algonquin Books in exchange for my honest opinion.
This memoir dives deep into the history of California, Nevada, and the development of water aqueducts and how a desert region developed into a city. Atleework shows she did her research and references many historians and writers whose stories intertwine with her own. While Atleework does add a personal touch to this book by recounting stories of her childhood to the historic and present state of this desert region, I think this novel places a lot of focus on history which I found to be a bit boring at times; however, if you’re a history buff who love to view the world from a first person point of view, then Miracle Country blends past and present in a way that makes this story feel more personal.
If you enjoy learning about the environment and how certain landscapes have changed over the course of history because of humans, then this book will definitely peak your interest. However, if you’re looking for a deep dive into someone’s life, you might not find what you’re looking for.
*I received an ARC from Algonquin Books in exchange for my honest opinion.
rgaiovnik's review against another edition
3.0
Book review! I was given a copy of this book by Algonquin Books in exchange for an honest review.
I really went back and forth on this review, much like the book itself did. When Kendra speaks of her family, the loss of her mother, and how she uses nature to convene with her feelings of togetherness, I’m all in. The author writes in a gorgeous prose that you can fall into and feel every feeling she wants you to feel.
Then she diverges and talks about something like water rights for a very very long time. I understand the need of having history for context, but this road was a little bit too windy for me. I found myself bored for chapters at a time before I was excited about the story again. It was almost as if sometimes it was a memoir and sometimes it was a nature book and sometimes it was pure historical fact.
I wouldn’t turn this author away by any means for future work, and maybe this book just wasn’t right for me! I’m still giving it three stars because the way she writes about her mother moved me to my core. I would love some sort of follow up or more stories with her family in the future.
I really went back and forth on this review, much like the book itself did. When Kendra speaks of her family, the loss of her mother, and how she uses nature to convene with her feelings of togetherness, I’m all in. The author writes in a gorgeous prose that you can fall into and feel every feeling she wants you to feel.
Then she diverges and talks about something like water rights for a very very long time. I understand the need of having history for context, but this road was a little bit too windy for me. I found myself bored for chapters at a time before I was excited about the story again. It was almost as if sometimes it was a memoir and sometimes it was a nature book and sometimes it was pure historical fact.
I wouldn’t turn this author away by any means for future work, and maybe this book just wasn’t right for me! I’m still giving it three stars because the way she writes about her mother moved me to my core. I would love some sort of follow up or more stories with her family in the future.
marisatn's review against another edition
4.0
Growing up out west (in Montana), I know the effect drought and forest fires have on the landscape, as well as the desire of folks to rebuild after devastation. Kendra Atleework paints a brilliant picture of the landscape I love and her book is a stirring tribute to both her family and her land base.
jdscott50's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
5.0
The desert always provides its own set of mysteries and miracles. A barren landscape blooms purple in the summer. Rocks race each other where it seems that no life could even thrive. In the high desert, a pine can only drop seeds when a pinecone reaches a specific temperature. It is in this land where the author and her family live and grow. Kendra Atleework's life is inextricable from this place, and she tells these stories together just as a wildfire threatens her town.
Owens Valley is a forgotten place. Likely referred to as a place for the newlywed and nearly dead, it had the potential to be a thriving community at the turn of the 20th century. Until Mulholland and his dream of water for Los Agenelses nearly killed the community. Atleework jumps back and forth, telling us the history of water in the west and California. She also tells her own story of being raised in Owens Valley. The wonder and miracle in growing up in the community, but then as a teen, claustrophobic and yearning for escape. Adding to this, her mother would fight cancer for seven years until Kendra turned sixteen.
Her life and land are intertwined, and even as she yearns to escape it, she soon wishes to return after college. It is a way home has a grip on you. You have no choice but to return and defend it. A heartfelt story that should be added to the history of water in the west. We see the community and personal impacts by the demands of the powerful.
Owens Valley is a forgotten place. Likely referred to as a place for the newlywed and nearly dead, it had the potential to be a thriving community at the turn of the 20th century. Until Mulholland and his dream of water for Los Agenelses nearly killed the community. Atleework jumps back and forth, telling us the history of water in the west and California. She also tells her own story of being raised in Owens Valley. The wonder and miracle in growing up in the community, but then as a teen, claustrophobic and yearning for escape. Adding to this, her mother would fight cancer for seven years until Kendra turned sixteen.
Her life and land are intertwined, and even as she yearns to escape it, she soon wishes to return after college. It is a way home has a grip on you. You have no choice but to return and defend it. A heartfelt story that should be added to the history of water in the west. We see the community and personal impacts by the demands of the powerful.
abookolive's review against another edition
3.0
Though this is one of those nonfiction books that I'd classify as subgenre-bending (is that a thing? I'm making it a thing), I can tell you that is a book that is deeply of a specific place.
That place is the Owens Valley, located to the east of California's Sierra Nevada mountain range, to the north of the Mojave desert, and in the backyard of Los Angeles, as the author Kenda Atleework says. She should know. She grew up on this arid land and her history with the region as well as the region itself is what she focuses on throughout this memoir/history/nature writing chimera.
The author interweaves her story and her family's story with the history of the region. How this land was taken from native populations, how the city of Los Angeles came to suck water out of it like an overenthusiastic kid with a straw, and how climate change is liable to change it going forward.
There are many touching moments, including the memories the author shares of her mother, who died when she was only sixteen and her two siblings even younger still. And the way the author describes nature and the emotional connection she feels to this land is remarkable. Yet the whole way through the book, I felt like I was wandering without a guide; though the book is beautiful, it lacks a central story or purpose that keeps the reader focused and the narrative from meandering too far off.
I've read a number of novels in my life that were clearly drawn so heavily from the author's life that I find myself wondering, "why didn't you just write a memoir?" This is the very first memoir I've read that I think would have actually made a better novel. A story set in the Owens Valley using all this historical information and nature writing? Would have been sublime. As nonfiction, it's a 3.5 star book.
Click here to hear more of my thoughts on this book over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!
That place is the Owens Valley, located to the east of California's Sierra Nevada mountain range, to the north of the Mojave desert, and in the backyard of Los Angeles, as the author Kenda Atleework says. She should know. She grew up on this arid land and her history with the region as well as the region itself is what she focuses on throughout this memoir/history/nature writing chimera.
The author interweaves her story and her family's story with the history of the region. How this land was taken from native populations, how the city of Los Angeles came to suck water out of it like an overenthusiastic kid with a straw, and how climate change is liable to change it going forward.
There are many touching moments, including the memories the author shares of her mother, who died when she was only sixteen and her two siblings even younger still. And the way the author describes nature and the emotional connection she feels to this land is remarkable. Yet the whole way through the book, I felt like I was wandering without a guide; though the book is beautiful, it lacks a central story or purpose that keeps the reader focused and the narrative from meandering too far off.
I've read a number of novels in my life that were clearly drawn so heavily from the author's life that I find myself wondering, "why didn't you just write a memoir?" This is the very first memoir I've read that I think would have actually made a better novel. A story set in the Owens Valley using all this historical information and nature writing? Would have been sublime. As nonfiction, it's a 3.5 star book.
Click here to hear more of my thoughts on this book over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!