Scan barcode
wordnerdy's review against another edition
3.0
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2015/08/2015-book-199.html
The second book in Glassman's Mangoverse series is stronger than the first. It takes place a few years later, and finds all the characters from the first one getting involved with a prince from a neighboring kingdom, who has come to find help for his engineer boyfriend, sentenced to death by the king (for both political and homophobic reasons). The writing here is a lot more confident, although some of the dialogue is still awkward, and the engineer's "hilarious" jokes were . . . not. The characters are all likable, though, and I like the use of magic in this world. B/B+.
The second book in Glassman's Mangoverse series is stronger than the first. It takes place a few years later, and finds all the characters from the first one getting involved with a prince from a neighboring kingdom, who has come to find help for his engineer boyfriend, sentenced to death by the king (for both political and homophobic reasons). The writing here is a lot more confident, although some of the dialogue is still awkward, and the engineer's "hilarious" jokes were . . . not. The characters are all likable, though, and I like the use of magic in this world. B/B+.
devrose's review against another edition
3.0
Fluff. Jewish lesbian fluff. Remind me of these books' existence next time I need something light to read.
unwise_samwise's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Religious bigotry
undertheteacup's review against another edition
4.0
Though the writing feels clumsy and lacking in maturity, particularly in the characterization of Aviva, and words like ridiculous, cheesy, and corny often came to mind while reading, I feel a strange affection for this book. The author really does manage to leave you with a distinct impression of the world she's created, and it's very sensual: tied in with food and spices and smells that she describes. It's so nice to see a world that isn't based on medieval europe, to see queer protagonists of color, and religion take such a prominent and positive role in the lives of queer people. After all developing a more nuanced writing style is something one can only do with practice, and to me at least it seems like the worldbuilding foundation here is a solid one.
mousegoddess's review against another edition
4.0
I've got a sinus infection and this was exactly the type of story I needed to get into a happy space. recommend.
elianamargalit's review against another edition
5.0
This is such a wonderful book. I love being able to visit the world Shira Glassman has created because it's so beautiful and loving. It's so refreshing to have a book with such a diverse cast of characters whose plotline extends beyond the struggles of being diverse. Climbing the Date Palm absolutely lives up to the first book, The Second Mango, so if you haven't read The Second Mango yet, you should do that and then read this book!
kite's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
bluejayreads's review
5.0
This story was very similar to the first book in the series, The Second Mango - in feel, that is, not in plot. Like the first book, Climbing the Date Palm was a fun, entertaining, not-very-deep story. However, it did go a bit darker than the first book.
Climbing the Date Palm introduces a whole new set of characters in a whole new kingdom, the main one being the bisexual Prince Kaveh, whose main personality trait seemed to be "being head-over-heels for this one guy." Although, considering the circumstances of this one guy being sentenced to death, that can be forgiven. He kind of had that weak, wimpy younger prince trope going on, but overall I didn't mind him.
I loved Shulamit again in this book. She's brave, kind, and getting better at wielding her queenly power for the good of others. She feels scared and uncertain, and then she does what's right anyway, and I admire her. The other major characters from The Second Mango, namely Rivka, Isaac, and Aviva, also play important roles, and they're still great. Isaac gets a bigger part in this book, and he's clever and fun to read about. Rivka is still awesome. And Aviva gets a bigger role and she's sweet and supportive and a great complement to intellectual Shulamit.
As far as plot goes, this book mostly fixed the problem I had with book one - namely, that the problems didn't have very high stakes. The stakes in this book involved a man's life, war (if Shulamit and company can't find a peaceful way to save Farzin) and the fate of an entire country (Perach if Shulamit doesn't get a legitimate heir somehow). While it is pretty straightforward without any real twists, it was enough to keep me interested and thoroughly entertained.
There's still not a whole lot about the setting in this book, but again, what you do get is great, and I love how Perach's culture is based on Judiasm. Since this is the second book with not a lot of setting details, I don't have super high hopes for getting more in future books, but I can dream.
I only have one real problem, and it's kind of nitpicky - the subtitle. I appreciate what Shira Glassman was trying to do with the whole pro-union message, but the banding together of the workers against the king didn't actually work. That was the whole plot, that the king just ignored the workers' attempts to unionize, imprisoned the person he felt was responsible, and Shulamit had to step in.
Overall, while it did have its problems, Climbing the Date Palm was fun, mostly lighthearted, entertaining, and just a great light read when you want something simple but enjoyable. I'm excited for book three.
Climbing the Date Palm introduces a whole new set of characters in a whole new kingdom, the main one being the bisexual Prince Kaveh, whose main personality trait seemed to be "being head-over-heels for this one guy." Although, considering the circumstances of this one guy being sentenced to death, that can be forgiven. He kind of had that weak, wimpy younger prince trope going on, but overall I didn't mind him.
I loved Shulamit again in this book. She's brave, kind, and getting better at wielding her queenly power for the good of others. She feels scared and uncertain, and then she does what's right anyway, and I admire her. The other major characters from The Second Mango, namely Rivka, Isaac, and Aviva, also play important roles, and they're still great. Isaac gets a bigger part in this book, and he's clever and fun to read about. Rivka is still awesome. And Aviva gets a bigger role and she's sweet and supportive and a great complement to intellectual Shulamit.
As far as plot goes, this book mostly fixed the problem I had with book one - namely, that the problems didn't have very high stakes. The stakes in this book involved a man's life, war (if Shulamit and company can't find a peaceful way to save Farzin) and the fate of an entire country (Perach if Shulamit doesn't get a legitimate heir somehow). While it is pretty straightforward without any real twists, it was enough to keep me interested and thoroughly entertained.
There's still not a whole lot about the setting in this book, but again, what you do get is great, and I love how Perach's culture is based on Judiasm. Since this is the second book with not a lot of setting details, I don't have super high hopes for getting more in future books, but I can dream.
I only have one real problem, and it's kind of nitpicky - the subtitle. I appreciate what Shira Glassman was trying to do with the whole pro-union message, but the banding together of the workers against the king didn't actually work. That was the whole plot, that the king just ignored the workers' attempts to unionize, imprisoned the person he felt was responsible, and Shulamit had to step in.
Overall, while it did have its problems, Climbing the Date Palm was fun, mostly lighthearted, entertaining, and just a great light read when you want something simple but enjoyable. I'm excited for book three.
notagreatreader's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'm really enjoying this series! It's just such a comforting read. I've read someone describe it along the lines of the best kind of corny, and I agree. That's not to say that it doesn't deal with some tough stuff but you just feel that things will always work out and they do. In this book one of such issues was Shulamit's need for an heir and her dislike of men in the context of sex and romance. All too often it is somehow assumed that in fantasy settings such things as magical contraception or conceiving don't exist even though people can literally make themselves fly and turn into animals and heal with magic; it stands to reason that someone would figure out spells for those other things too. So I'm glad they exist in the Mangoverse.
I also love all the little and bigger twists that keep happening, in this book two stand out in particular: the connection between the women who can turn into animals. Here I have to say that I'm usually not a fan of the 'woman making the man she's in love with better' narrative, because the implications of that are kind of problematic (it puts all the emotional/moral work on the woman in the relationship). However, I can rationalize it in this case, especially as a whole kingdom and peace is at stake, so I agree that whatever peaceful solution may be found is better than the alternative.
I also love all the little and bigger twists that keep happening, in this book two stand out in particular: the connection between the women who can turn into animals. Here I have to say that I'm usually not a fan of the 'woman making the man she's in love with better' narrative, because the implications of that are kind of problematic (it puts all the emotional/moral work on the woman in the relationship). However, I can rationalize it in this case, especially as a whole kingdom and peace is at stake, so I agree that whatever peaceful solution may be found is better than the alternative.