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heather_renae's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
bookish_calirican's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
corriejn's review against another edition
4.0
A girl living in New Jersey spends every summer in Puerto Rico with her mother's family-- a mother who is struggling with alcohol addiction, and so her daughter increasingly has to take care of herself (and her mom) when at home. Starts when the MC is a child, but most of the story takes place during the summers of her teen years, when after the death of an elderly relative she begins learning more about family secrets in an unexpected way.
An enjoyable read with multiple nuanced characters, though I didn't find the family-mysteries aspects to be especially engaging-- I didn't find I was dying to learn the answers.
An enjoyable read with multiple nuanced characters, though I didn't find the family-mysteries aspects to be especially engaging-- I didn't find I was dying to learn the answers.
adanisan's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Racism
immabehazzie's review
5.0
We are our stories. We tell them to stay alive or keep alive those who only live now in the telling.
- Niall Williams
The Storyteller’s Death is an incredible story about grief, family, the secrets the ones we love bury, and how no matter the intentions how those secrets will always find a way to come out and either hurt or heal us or both.
Ann Dávila Cardinal crafted and magical and heartbreaking story about family, love, grief, and a personal struggle to connect with one’s culture.
Going into this book I expected it to be fantastical, I wasn’t expecting to be as moved as I was upon finishing it. Isla’s, the main character, emotions are raw and real throughout the entire novel. So much so that at times I forgot that she was a fictional character. Her sense of loneliness and her yearning to be a part of her culture that she doesn’t fully understand are palpable and the way that Cardinal weaves in the mystical element of the Sanchez’s visions feels less like a way to make the story more like a fantasy and more like a way to communicate to the reader how family secrets can o cause pain and how as a family you will always be connected- even if you don’t fully understand each other.
It’s a beautifully woven story that, while focusing on one character, manages to span decades. The story understands the ache we all feel to have a connection with those we share blood with and how we even when someone we love is gone they will live on as long as their stories are being told.
- Niall Williams
The Storyteller’s Death is an incredible story about grief, family, the secrets the ones we love bury, and how no matter the intentions how those secrets will always find a way to come out and either hurt or heal us or both.
Ann Dávila Cardinal crafted and magical and heartbreaking story about family, love, grief, and a personal struggle to connect with one’s culture.
Going into this book I expected it to be fantastical, I wasn’t expecting to be as moved as I was upon finishing it. Isla’s, the main character, emotions are raw and real throughout the entire novel. So much so that at times I forgot that she was a fictional character. Her sense of loneliness and her yearning to be a part of her culture that she doesn’t fully understand are palpable and the way that Cardinal weaves in the mystical element of the Sanchez’s visions feels less like a way to make the story more like a fantasy and more like a way to communicate to the reader how family secrets can o cause pain and how as a family you will always be connected- even if you don’t fully understand each other.
It’s a beautifully woven story that, while focusing on one character, manages to span decades. The story understands the ache we all feel to have a connection with those we share blood with and how we even when someone we love is gone they will live on as long as their stories are being told.
punkgremlin's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
tschonfeld's review
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kkgoods's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0