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A review by thelittlestacks
The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kelly
4.0
I read this book because it won a literary award in 2016-2017 by the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association. I was quickly drawn in by Erin Entrada Kelly's narration of the main protagonist Sol, a 12 year old girl who lost a sister, Amelia, and mother and was abandoned by her father. This is a sad story.
Sol is a complicated but good natured character. She behaves badly at times (bullying and stealing) but shows time and time again that she's thoughtful about the consequences of her actions. I appreciated that Sol was imperfect since it made her seem very real. As I learned about her tough circumstances, I empathized with her more and more as I continued to read. Having blamed herself for her sister's death, she dedicates much of her time to taking care of her other little sister, Ming. Sol's big imagination allows her to tell Ming stories--a talent inherited from her mother who had told her fantastic stories that transported her from the mundane reality of the Philippines that she had hoped to leave someday.
The ending left me with the feeling that I wanted more. I wanted to learn more about the adult characters like Blackbeard, Mrs. Yeung, her father, and even about Sol's evil stepmother Vea. I understand as much about them as Sol but perhaps that's the point. Still, I enjoyed this book and Kelly's way of writing which seemed more about thought and less about plot. It seemed pretty mature for a children's book due to the heavy subject matter. I'd recommend it for anyone looking for something like Cynthia Kadohata's Kira-Kira.
Sol is a complicated but good natured character. She behaves badly at times (bullying and stealing) but shows time and time again that she's thoughtful about the consequences of her actions. I appreciated that Sol was imperfect since it made her seem very real. As I learned about her tough circumstances, I empathized with her more and more as I continued to read. Having blamed herself for her sister's death, she dedicates much of her time to taking care of her other little sister, Ming. Sol's big imagination allows her to tell Ming stories--a talent inherited from her mother who had told her fantastic stories that transported her from the mundane reality of the Philippines that she had hoped to leave someday.
The ending left me with the feeling that I wanted more. I wanted to learn more about the adult characters like Blackbeard, Mrs. Yeung, her father, and even about Sol's evil stepmother Vea. I understand as much about them as Sol but perhaps that's the point. Still, I enjoyed this book and Kelly's way of writing which seemed more about thought and less about plot. It seemed pretty mature for a children's book due to the heavy subject matter. I'd recommend it for anyone looking for something like Cynthia Kadohata's Kira-Kira.