A review by smiley7245
The November Girl by Lydia Kang

adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

More like 4.5*. The only thing I didn't like was the ending; it felt rushed and unfinished. Left unanswered questions. <spoilers>Finding out about the abuse Hector suffered was a gut punch. It fit with the blackouts, but in a world where a girl is born from the water and can control the storms I was not expecting such human brutality, even though I should because you don't just run away to live in the wilderness during the winter for no reason. The friendship between Hector and Anda was sweet. Each was confused by the other and yet still drawn to them and that had nothing to do with the fact that they were the only two people on the island. Them learning how to open up to each other, learning how to trust another person was wonderful. The house being somewhat alive was adorable. Anda communicating with the lighthouse and learning how her actions impacted it and making peace together was nice, and the lighthouse being the thing that helped her truly understand herself; that there is more than just November was great. Watching her stand up to her mother, to try to determine who she wants to be without having to pick just her mother or just her father was amazing. The sacrifice her father made was devastating. He didn't even like Hector, but he saved him in the end. Hector being in the hospital and finally opening up to the social worker was much needed. But, that aftermath was what was missing. His birthday came and went. His father made an appearance, briefly. As did his mother. But we didn't get any closure on any of those stories. Just Anda waiting desperately for him. And then he shows up and we don't get an explanation. I wish we would have gotten an explanation. The end of this book would set up a sequel nicely, and I would devour it.