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A review by erinlcrane
Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
4.0
This was good! The writing was nothing fancy, but I enjoyed the story and was pulled along. I’m somewhat familiar with Haitian Vodou, so I was mixing up my lwa, but I enjoyed how the story pulled those elements in. It’s a nice change from the typical fantasy. Maybe this would be more magical realism? Not sure.
I was genuinely surprised a few times in this story. I wish there were /more/ of the story. One of my complaints would be that it felt like she could have said more about the setting. The little side plot with the Premier feels incomplete.
My other main complaint is that I didn’t really buy the appeal of Tony. I needed to see more sweetness from him or something. I do appreciate that he doesn’t get back with Ti-Jeanne at the end. After he killed her grandma, I was like, please do not tell me she forgives him and opens herself back up to him. That was one of the surprises of this story for me - Tony is not really redeemed at the end, doesn’t come to the rescue. He fails. She saves herself with her power. Love that!
I actually started Midnight Robber before this but found the Creole too difficult, so I tried this book instead. Given that I enjoyed this one, I think I’d give Midnight Robber another try.
I was genuinely surprised a few times in this story. I wish there were /more/ of the story. One of my complaints would be that it felt like she could have said more about the setting. The little side plot with the Premier feels incomplete.
My other main complaint is that I didn’t really buy the appeal of Tony. I needed to see more sweetness from him or something. I do appreciate that he doesn’t get back with Ti-Jeanne at the end. After he killed her grandma, I was like, please do not tell me she forgives him and opens herself back up to him. That was one of the surprises of this story for me - Tony is not really redeemed at the end, doesn’t come to the rescue. He fails. She saves herself with her power. Love that!
I actually started Midnight Robber before this but found the Creole too difficult, so I tried this book instead. Given that I enjoyed this one, I think I’d give Midnight Robber another try.