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A review by aw21594377
Stranger by Sherwood Smith, Rachel Manija Brown
4.0
Generally really enjoyed this one and I'm not sure why I didn't give it a 5. I'm not usually into world building, but I've become more attuned to what that means and what I like and dislike in how authors craft that aspect of their stories. I liked the racial and ethnic representation within the range of characters. Smith and Brown did a good job of showing how someone with PTSD would react and struggle with integrating themselves into a "normal" community. It made me think about how war veterans struggle with re-integrating themselves into their home life after being away, consumed by a high-stress environment. I actually liked Ross a lot; I'm a sucker for the trope of (street) smart, but not necessarily formally educated. I related to his fear of being mocked for not knowing about subjects he feels like he "should", whether that was in sparring or in the classroom. His trust issues are also very relatable. Only when he was in a safe environment could he start to relax; words don't soothe the nervous system, actions do. As someone who has done A LOT of therapy, I've realized just how much work and time it takes to unlearn and persist through trauma. When you've operated under certain assumptions and fear of being hurt, mentally and physically, the body holds onto memories on a conscious and subconscious level. Getting it to relax and create new associations/reactions (or no longer reacting to perceived threat) takes a lot of immersion and repeated experiences of safety to "undo" the previous harm.
I also liked Mia and Jennie a lot, though perhaps a little less relatable/memorable for me. Felicite's storyline was a little less original for me, but I still felt like she and her father helped to flesh out the community. Even within their nuclear family, the authors made sure to add nuanced details, such as, her mother's perceived neutrality about Changed people and her father's outright prejudice. Felicite seems to have somewhat internalized both. Superficial appearance matters to her a lot, and it masked a deep insecurity/identity crisis/self-hatred that caused her to lash out and feel a ton of anxiety about. Her fear of rejection, especially by her father, was palpable.
I also really enjoyed the secondary characters -- Sera, Mia's father, Paco, Jennie's family, Meredith, etc. This was a large cast of characters and I think choosing to focus on a few key people was smart. It didn't feel too ambitious to me, which is often a trap that many authors fall into. Yuki was the emo boy trope that reminded me a lot of Zuko. I didn't love some aspects of his character, even if they were understandable. His harshness and resentment towards Ross was hard for me to read, but I also understood why he felt that way -- his prior terrible experience with the prospector who strung him out to dry, his own desire to be a prospector and leave Las Anclas, feeling like an outsider in the town. When he and Ross actually start to connect, I respected Ross's complete openness to Yuki's friendship. Maybe at one point I would've found that unrealistic, but I've learned that some people are capable of not being petty at all. I particularly liked Dr. Lee; he showed the most empathy and compassion towards Ross. While he never explicitly diagnosed Ross' having PTSD, he still recognized immediately the symptoms and manifestations; he advises Mia on how to interact with Ross safely, for both their sakes.
Anyways, overall really enjoyed being immersed in this book's world. I found myself excited to come back to it, especially the further I got. I guess in some ways this felt comfy, not exactly Becky Chambers comfy, but its own style of comfy.
I also liked Mia and Jennie a lot, though perhaps a little less relatable/memorable for me. Felicite's storyline was a little less original for me, but I still felt like she and her father helped to flesh out the community. Even within their nuclear family, the authors made sure to add nuanced details, such as, her mother's perceived neutrality about Changed people and her father's outright prejudice. Felicite seems to have somewhat internalized both. Superficial appearance matters to her a lot, and it masked a deep insecurity/identity crisis/self-hatred that caused her to lash out and feel a ton of anxiety about. Her fear of rejection, especially by her father, was palpable.
I also really enjoyed the secondary characters -- Sera, Mia's father, Paco, Jennie's family, Meredith, etc. This was a large cast of characters and I think choosing to focus on a few key people was smart. It didn't feel too ambitious to me, which is often a trap that many authors fall into. Yuki was the emo boy trope that reminded me a lot of Zuko. I didn't love some aspects of his character, even if they were understandable. His harshness and resentment towards Ross was hard for me to read, but I also understood why he felt that way -- his prior terrible experience with the prospector who strung him out to dry, his own desire to be a prospector and leave Las Anclas, feeling like an outsider in the town. When he and Ross actually start to connect, I respected Ross's complete openness to Yuki's friendship. Maybe at one point I would've found that unrealistic, but I've learned that some people are capable of not being petty at all. I particularly liked Dr. Lee; he showed the most empathy and compassion towards Ross. While he never explicitly diagnosed Ross' having PTSD, he still recognized immediately the symptoms and manifestations; he advises Mia on how to interact with Ross safely, for both their sakes.
Anyways, overall really enjoyed being immersed in this book's world. I found myself excited to come back to it, especially the further I got. I guess in some ways this felt comfy, not exactly Becky Chambers comfy, but its own style of comfy.