wrenl's review against another edition
5.0
22529157
Amazon / Goodreads
If you could trade your biggest burden for someone else’s, would you do it?
Five teenagers sit around a bonfire in the middle of the New Mexico desert. They don’t know it yet, but they are about to make the biggest sacrifice of their lives.
Lo has a family history of MS, and is starting to come down with all the symptoms.
Thomas, a former child soldier from Liberia, is plagued by traumatic memories of his war-torn past.
Kaya would do anything to feel physical pain, but a rare condition called CIP keeps her numb.
Ellen can’t remember who she was before she started doing drugs.
Kit lost his girlfriend in a car accident and now he just can’t shake his newfound fear of death.
When they trade totems as a symbol of shedding and adopting one another’s sorrows, they think it’s only an exercise.
But in the morning, they wake to find their burdens gone…and replaced with someone else’s.
As the reality of the ritual unfolds, this unlikely group of five embarks on a week of beautiful, terrifying experiences that all culminate in one perfect truth: In the end, your soul is stronger than your burdens.
I really liked this book. It was achingly heartbreaking. A tale of true understanding and forgiveness. It was a story about friendship and staying together. About bravery in the worst, and best, of times. Of loss and gain. Of love and hate. Of truly finding your soul among the lies and deceit.
It was diverse. We have Kaya who is the descendant of the Native Americans who came before the European settlers. We have Liberian child soldier Thomas. We have MS-riddled Lo. Drug-addicted Ellen. (I said there were two with health problems and three with psychological ones. Kaya and Lo had the health problems. Kit had depression. I think Thomas had PTSD. And Ellen had a drug addiction.) We had more than Caucasian males. We had a Native American girl. And an African. (If I got my geography right. Liberia is in Africa.)
I liked the diversity. We had many different people. I like that. The world is diverse. We need diversity. We can't just accept the guidelines. We need to break free and become a new generation of writers and readers. This book is the epitome of diversity. (Well...for this year...) Thank you, Willa Strayhorn. Thank you for that.
The characters are more human. They have problems. They have pasts. They aren't two dimensional.
I didn't particularly like Lo. She was caring, though. She cared for her friends. She was worried for them. (In her own special way.) She was just a bit...too annoying at first. A tad whiny. Just a tad. She grew into a new character, though. Someone entirely different. She saw the world differently. She wasn't whiny. She was brave.
Kaya was interesting. Her analgesia was fascinating to read about. (Even though I hadn't heard of it before.) She was interesting. But her personality wasn't set in stone before the ritual. And after? I don't know. She seemed to be jumping from out of it to hyper. It was confusing. She was supposed to have taken Thomas's burden. But it didn't seem that way. I still liked her, though.
Kit...I'm not sure what to think. He doesn't seem that mopey in the beginning. Out of it, maybe. But mopey? And depressed? Not exactly. He seemed to think too much. But...I really liked hyper-Kit. Man. That was just amazing to read. I loved it. I wanted to laugh and smack him on the head at the same time. Kit was actually pretty well written. But a bit too flirty with Ellen. And a bit too reminiscent. Also, I felt like the brotherhood between Kit and Thomas was missing.
Thomas. Wow. Thomas. Great character. Absolutely fantastic. I adored his character. A haunting backstory. Aloof personality. He was fantastic. He had a dark past he was trying to hide. And it kept running at him. He couldn't hide his past. And when he took on Kit's fear? Wow. He turned into a new person. And while he had to be comforted, he was still brave. He is a brave and strong character. Anyone has to be when they go through the pain of war. I am mildly reminded of two people as I think of Thomas. One is my brave friend. (I won't name names.) But I also think of Shin from the nonfiction book 'Escape from Camp 14'. Stuck in real life, these two had to become someone else. Someone who didn't have compassion. (No offense to them, of course.) They had to turn off their minds and just fight. Some might even say they aren't human. (Even though they are. Emotionless or not.) This is what I look for in characters. A character you can care for. Someone who grows on you. Someone who makes you care and feel for them.
Ellen. Ah. I don't know what to think of Ellen. She is like...a female Kit. If that makes any sense. I didn't exactly like her. She wasn't someone I would like. In general. She was a bit annoying. And a little whiny. And she didn't really shake that. But...people will like her. I just didn't.
These characters all changed. That was something amazing. They all became someone else. They found the path. That was truly amazing.
It wasn't too heavy with the romance. The romance was, actually, kind of cute. (Between Thomas and Lo, I mean.) They were two people who were struggling through life. They complemented each other. One was darker. Another breaking in the darkness. They were like two halves of the same whole. And, if you know me, I don't like romance. (Practically ever. There are only a handful of couples I don't mind. Only a few I like. Only...one or two I ship undoubtedly.)
They weren't absolutely adorable. They were cute. Not bad. But not fantastic. There were things I didn't like. For example, how fast they moved things along. They were fast. They kissed. And barely did any talking before it. Wow. Physical attraction is a lot these days.
Other than that, I was fine with the romance. Between Lo and Thomas.
Ellen and Kit is a whole other story. I didn't like that. Where is the spark? The chemistry? When did they ever talk? I don't see it.
The only thing I didn't like was the ending. I mean...wow. The action tumbling over your head in the last few chapters. Things were thrown at you. It was a surprise ending. And then...things rolled down the resolution. And it wasn't the best resolution. I wish there was something better.
I didn't want Kaya to die. (Not a spoiler, guys. It's within the first chapter. I didn't ruin anything.) She wasn't a bad character. She was important to Lo. Lo had too much pain to begin with. (Aunt Karine. Hint hint.) There was so much happening. Goodness...
And how the story started at the end. I didn't like that. It was a bit odd for me. I prefer to have stories that start with the beginning. Chronological order is better for me. It's confusing when you just jump into the end, or the middle. It's just a nuisance, though. Not completely terrible. Only...meh.
Weather:
Clear skies
5/5
Amazon / Goodreads
If you could trade your biggest burden for someone else’s, would you do it?
Five teenagers sit around a bonfire in the middle of the New Mexico desert. They don’t know it yet, but they are about to make the biggest sacrifice of their lives.
Lo has a family history of MS, and is starting to come down with all the symptoms.
Thomas, a former child soldier from Liberia, is plagued by traumatic memories of his war-torn past.
Kaya would do anything to feel physical pain, but a rare condition called CIP keeps her numb.
Ellen can’t remember who she was before she started doing drugs.
Kit lost his girlfriend in a car accident and now he just can’t shake his newfound fear of death.
When they trade totems as a symbol of shedding and adopting one another’s sorrows, they think it’s only an exercise.
But in the morning, they wake to find their burdens gone…and replaced with someone else’s.
As the reality of the ritual unfolds, this unlikely group of five embarks on a week of beautiful, terrifying experiences that all culminate in one perfect truth: In the end, your soul is stronger than your burdens.
I really liked this book. It was achingly heartbreaking. A tale of true understanding and forgiveness. It was a story about friendship and staying together. About bravery in the worst, and best, of times. Of loss and gain. Of love and hate. Of truly finding your soul among the lies and deceit.
It was diverse. We have Kaya who is the descendant of the Native Americans who came before the European settlers. We have Liberian child soldier Thomas. We have MS-riddled Lo. Drug-addicted Ellen. (I said there were two with health problems and three with psychological ones. Kaya and Lo had the health problems. Kit had depression. I think Thomas had PTSD. And Ellen had a drug addiction.) We had more than Caucasian males. We had a Native American girl. And an African. (If I got my geography right. Liberia is in Africa.)
I liked the diversity. We had many different people. I like that. The world is diverse. We need diversity. We can't just accept the guidelines. We need to break free and become a new generation of writers and readers. This book is the epitome of diversity. (Well...for this year...) Thank you, Willa Strayhorn. Thank you for that.
The characters are more human. They have problems. They have pasts. They aren't two dimensional.
I didn't particularly like Lo. She was caring, though. She cared for her friends. She was worried for them. (In her own special way.) She was just a bit...too annoying at first. A tad whiny. Just a tad. She grew into a new character, though. Someone entirely different. She saw the world differently. She wasn't whiny. She was brave.
Kaya was interesting. Her analgesia was fascinating to read about. (Even though I hadn't heard of it before.) She was interesting. But her personality wasn't set in stone before the ritual. And after? I don't know. She seemed to be jumping from out of it to hyper. It was confusing. She was supposed to have taken Thomas's burden. But it didn't seem that way. I still liked her, though.
Kit...I'm not sure what to think. He doesn't seem that mopey in the beginning. Out of it, maybe. But mopey? And depressed? Not exactly. He seemed to think too much. But...I really liked hyper-Kit. Man. That was just amazing to read. I loved it. I wanted to laugh and smack him on the head at the same time. Kit was actually pretty well written. But a bit too flirty with Ellen. And a bit too reminiscent. Also, I felt like the brotherhood between Kit and Thomas was missing.
Thomas. Wow. Thomas. Great character. Absolutely fantastic. I adored his character. A haunting backstory. Aloof personality. He was fantastic. He had a dark past he was trying to hide. And it kept running at him. He couldn't hide his past. And when he took on Kit's fear? Wow. He turned into a new person. And while he had to be comforted, he was still brave. He is a brave and strong character. Anyone has to be when they go through the pain of war. I am mildly reminded of two people as I think of Thomas. One is my brave friend. (I won't name names.) But I also think of Shin from the nonfiction book 'Escape from Camp 14'. Stuck in real life, these two had to become someone else. Someone who didn't have compassion. (No offense to them, of course.) They had to turn off their minds and just fight. Some might even say they aren't human. (Even though they are. Emotionless or not.) This is what I look for in characters. A character you can care for. Someone who grows on you. Someone who makes you care and feel for them.
Ellen. Ah. I don't know what to think of Ellen. She is like...a female Kit. If that makes any sense. I didn't exactly like her. She wasn't someone I would like. In general. She was a bit annoying. And a little whiny. And she didn't really shake that. But...people will like her. I just didn't.
These characters all changed. That was something amazing. They all became someone else. They found the path. That was truly amazing.
It wasn't too heavy with the romance. The romance was, actually, kind of cute. (Between Thomas and Lo, I mean.) They were two people who were struggling through life. They complemented each other. One was darker. Another breaking in the darkness. They were like two halves of the same whole. And, if you know me, I don't like romance. (Practically ever. There are only a handful of couples I don't mind. Only a few I like. Only...one or two I ship undoubtedly.)
They weren't absolutely adorable. They were cute. Not bad. But not fantastic. There were things I didn't like. For example, how fast they moved things along. They were fast. They kissed. And barely did any talking before it. Wow. Physical attraction is a lot these days.
Other than that, I was fine with the romance. Between Lo and Thomas.
Ellen and Kit is a whole other story. I didn't like that. Where is the spark? The chemistry? When did they ever talk? I don't see it.
The only thing I didn't like was the ending. I mean...wow. The action tumbling over your head in the last few chapters. Things were thrown at you. It was a surprise ending. And then...things rolled down the resolution. And it wasn't the best resolution. I wish there was something better.
I didn't want Kaya to die. (Not a spoiler, guys. It's within the first chapter. I didn't ruin anything.) She wasn't a bad character. She was important to Lo. Lo had too much pain to begin with. (Aunt Karine. Hint hint.) There was so much happening. Goodness...
And how the story started at the end. I didn't like that. It was a bit odd for me. I prefer to have stories that start with the beginning. Chronological order is better for me. It's confusing when you just jump into the end, or the middle. It's just a nuisance, though. Not completely terrible. Only...meh.
Weather:
Clear skies
5/5
mildhonestbonsai's review against another edition
3.0
This is a full on after school special of a teenager story. There were some elements that I did like from the book. One of those elements is learning some of the Native American folklore that was sprinkled within the story. It was something that I normally don't come across in the books I read and it was really cool to read about. Also, one of my favorite things about setting the story in New Mexico or somewhere in the Southwest is that people always want to emphasize the setting as it's own character with a detailed description.
Some of the dialogue was very eye rollling in the sense that they were really corny. Their though process was also an issue for me since at one time the characters sounded so wise and beyond their age then to turn around and act like a teenager or even more immature than that. There really was no consistency behind it. The characters lacked any dimension as well. Thomas was my only favorite of the characters and ironically the lack of character background made him the most fleshed out and developed in the story.
The death of Kara bothered me because I feel like this was unnecessary for the story. I feel like that the characters would have gotten to their epiphany just fine without having her kill herself. They were already halfway to achieving that epiphany when she decided to jump off the cliff.
Some of the dialogue was very eye rollling in the sense that they were really corny. Their though process was also an issue for me since at one time the characters sounded so wise and beyond their age then to turn around and act like a teenager or even more immature than that. There really was no consistency behind it. The characters lacked any dimension as well. Thomas was my only favorite of the characters and ironically the lack of character background made him the most fleshed out and developed in the story.
The death of Kara bothered me because I feel like this was unnecessary for the story. I feel like that the characters would have gotten to their epiphany just fine without having her kill herself. They were already halfway to achieving that epiphany when she decided to jump off the cliff.
emjrasmussen's review
I cannot help it; I have grown achingly, increasingly bored with basic YA storylines. You know the drill. A girl trapped in a dystopian society realizes she is different and overtakes the government with the help of a capital-R Resistance. Meanwhile, a girl in our world meets an enigmatic bad boy whose secrets threaten to tear her apart. I have read so much YA that these tropes fail to impress me, even when executed well.
That is why I am so drawn to unique concepts in fiction—I am so much more inclined to enjoy a book that explores a completely new idea. And that is why, when I first heard about The Way We Bared Our Souls, I knew I had to read it.
To some extent, Willa Strayhorn's debut delivers on its creative premise. The author does a fantastic job of describing each burden, painting a vivid picture of the symptoms of MS, the trauma of being a child soldier, and more. Even better, after the switch, Strayhorn creatively applies each new issue to each character. None of the burdens affect their new owners in quite the same way as their old owners, and I loved watching the impact of a given issue vary from person to person.
But, much like the lives of its main characters, this book's plot is not perfect. It lacks one key element: plausibility. At the start of the story, the burden-swappers are perfectly non-magical individuals living normal lives in the Santa Fe suburbs. But once they realize their burdens have been shuffled, they accept the situation as if it magic is a day-to-day event. Of course, they panic a bit as they grapple with each other's issues, but they barely seem surprised that they have been involved in an act of successful sorcery. I would have liked to see more confusion, more incredulity—I could not believe that they could simply brush off their situation with an "oh, that's strange."
Additionally, Strayhorn completely glazes over one major plot point: other characters who might realize that Lo, Thomas, Kaya, Ellen, and Kit have changed dramatically. No one—not even the protagonists' parents—notice anything different after the burden switch, another element I did not find believable. To be fair, some of the characters have rather absent parents, and others have small social circles, but with five main characters, someone should have noticed something was off. The fact that the author did not include this conflict makes the story seem a bit lazy and underdeveloped.
All of this could have worked if Strayhorn had given the story an atmospheric magical realism feeling, hinting that the characters do live in a world blurred at the corners by magic. However, Strayhorn's writing style does not achieve any kind of mystical mood. Instead, it reads as if the author was trying too hard to meet a set of YA criteria. At times, the voice of the narrator, Lo, comes across as slightly forced as she describes the requisite high school social hierarchy that too many YA novels emphasize. Even worse, The Way We Bared Our Souls includes an awkward romance with no real chemistry, only to meet the unspoken romance requirement in YA. The writing style is safe, never straying from established conventions, but it needed to be as bold, unique, and magical as the plot it accompanies.
However, as negative as my review may sound, I did enjoy this book. I just cannot ignore the lack of plausibility and nuance. Of course, Strayhorn is a debut author with plenty of time to grow—and with her incredible story ideas, I have high hopes for her future novels. I will absolutely pick up her next book, and I cannot wait to watch her style blossom.
This review originally appeared at www.foreverliterary.blogspot.com.
That is why I am so drawn to unique concepts in fiction—I am so much more inclined to enjoy a book that explores a completely new idea. And that is why, when I first heard about The Way We Bared Our Souls, I knew I had to read it.
To some extent, Willa Strayhorn's debut delivers on its creative premise. The author does a fantastic job of describing each burden, painting a vivid picture of the symptoms of MS, the trauma of being a child soldier, and more. Even better, after the switch, Strayhorn creatively applies each new issue to each character. None of the burdens affect their new owners in quite the same way as their old owners, and I loved watching the impact of a given issue vary from person to person.
But, much like the lives of its main characters, this book's plot is not perfect. It lacks one key element: plausibility. At the start of the story, the burden-swappers are perfectly non-magical individuals living normal lives in the Santa Fe suburbs. But once they realize their burdens have been shuffled, they accept the situation as if it magic is a day-to-day event. Of course, they panic a bit as they grapple with each other's issues, but they barely seem surprised that they have been involved in an act of successful sorcery. I would have liked to see more confusion, more incredulity—I could not believe that they could simply brush off their situation with an "oh, that's strange."
Additionally, Strayhorn completely glazes over one major plot point: other characters who might realize that Lo, Thomas, Kaya, Ellen, and Kit have changed dramatically. No one—not even the protagonists' parents—notice anything different after the burden switch, another element I did not find believable. To be fair, some of the characters have rather absent parents, and others have small social circles, but with five main characters, someone should have noticed something was off. The fact that the author did not include this conflict makes the story seem a bit lazy and underdeveloped.
All of this could have worked if Strayhorn had given the story an atmospheric magical realism feeling, hinting that the characters do live in a world blurred at the corners by magic. However, Strayhorn's writing style does not achieve any kind of mystical mood. Instead, it reads as if the author was trying too hard to meet a set of YA criteria. At times, the voice of the narrator, Lo, comes across as slightly forced as she describes the requisite high school social hierarchy that too many YA novels emphasize. Even worse, The Way We Bared Our Souls includes an awkward romance with no real chemistry, only to meet the unspoken romance requirement in YA. The writing style is safe, never straying from established conventions, but it needed to be as bold, unique, and magical as the plot it accompanies.
However, as negative as my review may sound, I did enjoy this book. I just cannot ignore the lack of plausibility and nuance. Of course, Strayhorn is a debut author with plenty of time to grow—and with her incredible story ideas, I have high hopes for her future novels. I will absolutely pick up her next book, and I cannot wait to watch her style blossom.
This review originally appeared at www.foreverliterary.blogspot.com.
jkropik06's review
4.0
3.75/5 Stars. This book was beautiful... the first half was pretty slow going, which is the reason for the Ranking, but the ending was amazing.
This book had a lot to do with spirituality, native Americans and US History in general, which I LOVED. The ending was great, and I feel it did great as a less than 300 pages stand alone.
This was literally such a bad review, but if the first half was faster and more interesting it would have been a 4.5 maybe even five star read.
This book had a lot to do with spirituality, native Americans and US History in general, which I LOVED. The ending was great, and I feel it did great as a less than 300 pages stand alone.
This was literally such a bad review, but if the first half was faster and more interesting it would have been a 4.5 maybe even five star read.
islandgeekgirl's review
3.0
It all started with Lo, who was told about an ancient ritual that could relieve her burden and the burdens of four others. Lo, who's aunt died of MS and is starting to show symptoms. She recruits Kit, who's afraid of death even since his girlfriend died; Kaya, who can't feel pain due to her CIP; Thomas, an orphan and former child soldier plagued by memories; and Ellen, too lost in her haze of drugs to feel anything real. It doesn't seem like the ritual works, until the next morning when they each wake up with their burden gone, and a new one having replaced it.
I absolutely loved the concept of this book. There was the 'grass isn't always greener' lesson that so many people have to learn(sometimes more than once) in their lives but there was also the lesson of everyone's pain should count, it shouldn't be dismissed just because someone else has it worse. And it left a very good question in: if you could get rid of your burden for a week but had to take on someone else's, would you?
The whole book was told from Lo's POV. We stayed with her as she struggled to cope with the emerging symptoms of MS, her desperation to find four others for the ritual, her fear as she realized what the ritual had done. Her growth through the book was great to see and I loved how much she cared about her friends. She wanted to ritual to work not only for her, but for them all. She wanted them all to be okay.
I do wish we had gotten to spend a little more time with the other characters before the ritual to get a better sense of how their burdens were affecting them and who they were as people. And being restricted to Lo's POV, we only saw them after the ritual when she was with them. Though they each managed to show growth and it was really interesting to see how each character dealt with their new burden, and what they eventually came to realize about their past burden. But it did feel like seeing everything from Lo's POV lessened the impact of the other characters' lessons.
The book started out with a very interesting and high stakes first chapter and then flashed back to a little over a week prior. Almost the whole book was set within that week. It was very character driven, the plot was centered around their growth in the week between the rituals. It wasn't a long book, under 300 pages, and was a surprisingly fast read even though it dealt with a lot of issues.
Even though it was a short read, it still made me think and left an impact.
I absolutely loved the concept of this book. There was the 'grass isn't always greener' lesson that so many people have to learn(sometimes more than once) in their lives but there was also the lesson of everyone's pain should count, it shouldn't be dismissed just because someone else has it worse. And it left a very good question in: if you could get rid of your burden for a week but had to take on someone else's, would you?
The whole book was told from Lo's POV. We stayed with her as she struggled to cope with the emerging symptoms of MS, her desperation to find four others for the ritual, her fear as she realized what the ritual had done. Her growth through the book was great to see and I loved how much she cared about her friends. She wanted to ritual to work not only for her, but for them all. She wanted them all to be okay.
I do wish we had gotten to spend a little more time with the other characters before the ritual to get a better sense of how their burdens were affecting them and who they were as people. And being restricted to Lo's POV, we only saw them after the ritual when she was with them. Though they each managed to show growth and it was really interesting to see how each character dealt with their new burden, and what they eventually came to realize about their past burden. But it did feel like seeing everything from Lo's POV lessened the impact of the other characters' lessons.
The book started out with a very interesting and high stakes first chapter and then flashed back to a little over a week prior. Almost the whole book was set within that week. It was very character driven, the plot was centered around their growth in the week between the rituals. It wasn't a long book, under 300 pages, and was a surprisingly fast read even though it dealt with a lot of issues.
Even though it was a short read, it still made me think and left an impact.
lau_m25's review against another edition
3.0
More reviews at Beautiful Books
I will always show up for magical realism, but this one disappointed me. I was expecting to walk away loving this book, but I walked away feeling meh about it.
The first chapter was intriguing and it piqued my interest quite fast, but I found it dwindling as the book moved along. For one, the coyote guy with his mystical coyote seemed far-fetched and kind of forced. Also, kind of a lot of spiritual mumble jumble that I just couldn't get behind not because of my own religious views but because it all seemed pretty forced. A thing I've learned about magical realism is that the magic can't feel forced and for this book it felt everything but natural.
The aspect I liked the most about the book was that there were some beautiful passages. Writing wise sometimes the words just took my breath away, but in the over all context of the story they didn't feel quite right and they felt like something that had been included in just for lyrical aspect instead of actually bringing something to the story, the plot or the character development.
The relationship between our five protagonists also felt forced at times and I didn't really grow to care for them that much. Sure, their situation was messed up and they all had something to carry (as we all do) but I didn't really feel connected to them.
There's a Native American aspect to this book, as well, and I don't think it's my place to speak of it since I'm not Native American nor am I well informed on the matter, but sometimes I felt kind of cringey about it. That might just be me, I don't know. This book did have Native American characters and it also had the use of Spanish, which were two good points, in my book.
I thought I was going to enjoy this book way more than I actually did and there were some things in here I wasn't comfortable with or that I just didn't like.
I will always show up for magical realism, but this one disappointed me. I was expecting to walk away loving this book, but I walked away feeling meh about it.
The first chapter was intriguing and it piqued my interest quite fast, but I found it dwindling as the book moved along. For one, the coyote guy with his mystical coyote seemed far-fetched and kind of forced. Also, kind of a lot of spiritual mumble jumble that I just couldn't get behind not because of my own religious views but because it all seemed pretty forced. A thing I've learned about magical realism is that the magic can't feel forced and for this book it felt everything but natural.
The aspect I liked the most about the book was that there were some beautiful passages. Writing wise sometimes the words just took my breath away, but in the over all context of the story they didn't feel quite right and they felt like something that had been included in just for lyrical aspect instead of actually bringing something to the story, the plot or the character development.
The relationship between our five protagonists also felt forced at times and I didn't really grow to care for them that much. Sure, their situation was messed up and they all had something to carry (as we all do) but I didn't really feel connected to them.
There's a Native American aspect to this book, as well, and I don't think it's my place to speak of it since I'm not Native American nor am I well informed on the matter, but sometimes I felt kind of cringey about it. That might just be me, I don't know. This book did have Native American characters and it also had the use of Spanish, which were two good points, in my book.
I thought I was going to enjoy this book way more than I actually did and there were some things in here I wasn't comfortable with or that I just didn't like.
readsbykayla's review
2.0
Oh man...what do I say about this book? I bought this a couple months ago from BookOutlet and I was very excited to start it. The synopsis sounds fascinating and unique; like something I've never read before, and it is. I have to give props to Strayhorn for the overall uniqueness of her book. That's about all I can commend though.
This had the potential to be so freaking good. Unfortunately, it was poorly written. The characters are poorly designed and it does more telling than showing. Each of the characters are tragically flawed and I wish that they had been fleshed out more rather than being props.
My biggest grievance is with Thomas, a former child soldier from Liberia who struggles with his past and the things he had to do. If written properly, this would have been an amazing story. However, the first time we're introduced to Thomas, it's with shallow superficiality. The first thing to describe him is, "In brief, [Thomas] was a really hot student from Africa who looked half the time as if he wanted you dead the other half as if he was about to hand you a bouquet of flowers and sweep you off your feet." Seriously, what the hell???? Of all the things you could introduce a character with, this is how you choose? I'm not sure if Strayhorn was attempting to be "cool" or "hip" but this was unnecessary.
Also, the entire issue with
The only reason I'm giving this two stars instead of one is because it was a quick read. I wanted to know how it ended, even though I didn't like it. So I guess there's that.
This had the potential to be so freaking good. Unfortunately, it was poorly written. The characters are poorly designed and it does more telling than showing. Each of the characters are tragically flawed and I wish that they had been fleshed out more rather than being props.
My biggest grievance is with Thomas, a former child soldier from Liberia who struggles with his past and the things he had to do. If written properly, this would have been an amazing story. However, the first time we're introduced to Thomas, it's with shallow superficiality. The first thing to describe him is, "In brief, [Thomas] was a really hot student from Africa who looked half the time as if he wanted you dead the other half as if he was about to hand you a bouquet of flowers and sweep you off your feet." Seriously, what the hell???? Of all the things you could introduce a character with, this is how you choose? I'm not sure if Strayhorn was attempting to be "cool" or "hip" but this was unnecessary.
Also, the entire issue with
Spoiler
Kaya's death was unnecessary. It was interesting how she was interpreting her ancestors' tragedies but it was done so poorly that it wasn't believable. The ONLY reason that she died was because it didn't fit within the couple model. Thomas and Lo were 'in love' and Kit started having feelings for Ellen so in order to make this work, Kaya had to die! I'm sorry but that's not how writing works...The only reason I'm giving this two stars instead of one is because it was a quick read. I wanted to know how it ended, even though I didn't like it. So I guess there's that.