A review by camilaariasb
Miracle Country by Kendra Atleework
3.0
I read this book between June 15th and July 1st, 2020 as part of a blog tour I was invited to participate in by Algonquin and gave it three stars, but it's more like 3.5, really. I'd like to thank them, the author, and NetGalley for this opportunity. Now, this is nonfiction but it is nothing like what I've read before. I say this because it seems as if the main character in this book, other than being Atleewood herself or her family, is the place where they all live. I might be wrong, and if I am, please correct me, but the author is from Bishop, which is a desertic land in California.
To me, it was interesting to read about the weather, and the elements, and nature itself as characters, especially in an autobiographical book. It is especially interesting considering I have only lived in the city, and Colombia is a tropical country so the climate, biodiversity, and pretty much all other natural factors are very different from what the author experienced growing up. I think for that reason it took me a bit to get into the book, to really connect with what Atleework was narrating and describing, but I've hit that point and now I feel like everything is flowing.
That's something important I want to say to potential readers of this book: it is slow and, honestly, kind of boring at first, but once you get past that, the author narrates more of her family life and history and focuses less on describing the landscape with excuciating detail. She still does, but I think by that point, the readers are used to that.
I've said this before, but I'll explain it a little bit better because I think that way you'll understand my three-star rating. Although I didn't find anything particularly *wrong* with this book, I didn't think it was my type of book at all, so I didn't connect with it in ways other people would. That's why I gave it the rating that I did. I didn't think it was really fair to give it four stars because, other than entertaining me and teaching me about another place's geography, it didn't do much for me.
There are a few content warnings that I think you should consider before reading this book. You can perfectly skip the sections where they are mentioned, so it's not like you can't read the entire book because of them. There are mentions of self-harm and attempted sexual assault, both, I think, in the same chapter. If you can, get someone else to read it before and let you know what to skip.
To me, it was interesting to read about the weather, and the elements, and nature itself as characters, especially in an autobiographical book. It is especially interesting considering I have only lived in the city, and Colombia is a tropical country so the climate, biodiversity, and pretty much all other natural factors are very different from what the author experienced growing up. I think for that reason it took me a bit to get into the book, to really connect with what Atleework was narrating and describing, but I've hit that point and now I feel like everything is flowing.
That's something important I want to say to potential readers of this book: it is slow and, honestly, kind of boring at first, but once you get past that, the author narrates more of her family life and history and focuses less on describing the landscape with excuciating detail. She still does, but I think by that point, the readers are used to that.
I've said this before, but I'll explain it a little bit better because I think that way you'll understand my three-star rating. Although I didn't find anything particularly *wrong* with this book, I didn't think it was my type of book at all, so I didn't connect with it in ways other people would. That's why I gave it the rating that I did. I didn't think it was really fair to give it four stars because, other than entertaining me and teaching me about another place's geography, it didn't do much for me.
There are a few content warnings that I think you should consider before reading this book. You can perfectly skip the sections where they are mentioned, so it's not like you can't read the entire book because of them. There are mentions of self-harm and attempted sexual assault, both, I think, in the same chapter. If you can, get someone else to read it before and let you know what to skip.