Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
How Cat Winters isn’t the biggest name in YA fiction I will never understand. As with every one of her books I’ve read thus far, The Steep & Thorny Way is an absolute stunner of a book.
A retelling of Hamlet, if Hamlet were a biracial girl in the Pacific Northwest in the 20s and the real villain were bigotry all along, this book will grab you by the heart and refuse to let go. I devoured the entire book in a single sitting, in a way I haven’t since I was in middle school.
I could write more, but I honestly do not want anyone to spend any more time reading this review when that time would be better spent reading this book (and then the rest of Cat Winters’ oeuvre). Go. Now.
A retelling of Hamlet, if Hamlet were a biracial girl in the Pacific Northwest in the 20s and the real villain were bigotry all along, this book will grab you by the heart and refuse to let go. I devoured the entire book in a single sitting, in a way I haven’t since I was in middle school.
I could write more, but I honestly do not want anyone to spend any more time reading this review when that time would be better spent reading this book (and then the rest of Cat Winters’ oeuvre). Go. Now.
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | As a note, a printed galley of this novel was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.
Although Cat Winters has a steady flow of historical fiction under her belt, her newest release coming out this year, The Steep and Thorny Way is my first experience with her writing. And what a wonderful first dive it was! As a so-called retelling of the much beloved classic Hamlet, the story has a lot to live up and it did beautifully.
Electric, thoroughly mysterious and thrilling, The Steep and Thorny Way lives up to all you’d expect it to. Winters pens a tale that grips you from the first pages and refuses to let go. It’s a story about danger in historic time, prejudice that roots itself in a community and turns it sour. It’s a story of the friendship and the love and loyalty between family and friends.
In a time, the 1920s, where racial tensions are high and one mixed race girl is coming of age, one could expect a hitch or two in the way a story unfolds. There are many authors out there who could attempt such a tale but fail miserably in terms of accuracy. The Steep and Thorny Way is not one of those stories. Once it captures your attention, it keeps you in place and grips onto your soul with an inevitable twist.
Continued: BOOKEDJ.
Although Cat Winters has a steady flow of historical fiction under her belt, her newest release coming out this year, The Steep and Thorny Way is my first experience with her writing. And what a wonderful first dive it was! As a so-called retelling of the much beloved classic Hamlet, the story has a lot to live up and it did beautifully.
Electric, thoroughly mysterious and thrilling, The Steep and Thorny Way lives up to all you’d expect it to. Winters pens a tale that grips you from the first pages and refuses to let go. It’s a story about danger in historic time, prejudice that roots itself in a community and turns it sour. It’s a story of the friendship and the love and loyalty between family and friends.
In a time, the 1920s, where racial tensions are high and one mixed race girl is coming of age, one could expect a hitch or two in the way a story unfolds. There are many authors out there who could attempt such a tale but fail miserably in terms of accuracy. The Steep and Thorny Way is not one of those stories. Once it captures your attention, it keeps you in place and grips onto your soul with an inevitable twist.
Continued: BOOKEDJ.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow! I really like this book! That's all I have to say really, it is very eye-opening and I respect the author immensely.
If you've ever engaged me on this forum or read my review of Catcher in the Rye, you know that I have a special hate/hate relationship with all of the "classic" literature that was required reading in all of my AP English classes. Hamlet is the play that I dislike the least. I don't like the play, I just hate it a little less than most of the others. Don't even get me started on Hamlet's whore/Madonna complex because we'll be here all day; but the reason I hate the play a little less is because - spoiler alert - almost everyone dies. Given everything that happened in that play, it was the ending most fitting.
If this book, a retelling of sorts, had ended that way, I'd have liked it a whole lot more. I could go into all of the reasons why this didn't work for me, and there are plenty, but it was mainly the narrator/main character - because she was just a real piece of work that I could not relate to. As a black woman, I could not relate to this black teenage girl; and that's important to me when the story involves racism. Suffice to say that this just wasn't for me.
If this book, a retelling of sorts, had ended that way, I'd have liked it a whole lot more. I could go into all of the reasons why this didn't work for me, and there are plenty, but it was mainly the narrator/main character - because she was just a real piece of work that I could not relate to. As a black woman, I could not relate to this black teenage girl; and that's important to me when the story involves racism. Suffice to say that this just wasn't for me.
This was a solid 4 *s for me. It had a unique and intriguing story and minus one or two things I found just a touch odd I really loved it. The setting was one I don't get to read enough about and the little doses of the mystical or magical fit in very well. The overall atmosphere, which seemed authentic to the time really embraced those little touches. Speaking of I loved the atmosphere - I could easily see what was happening and Cat Winters occasional use of flowery language didn't detract but enhanced (as it should).
I really enjoyed Hanalee, Joe, and most of characters as well. Everyone had a distinct voice and I could clearly remember each individual. It seemed to me that everyone was faulty, everyone had made some bad decision and they lived with that.
Overall I really liked it. It's also just a beautifully printed book as well. I think I may get this one for my personal library.
I really enjoyed Hanalee, Joe, and most of characters as well. Everyone had a distinct voice and I could clearly remember each individual. It seemed to me that everyone was faulty, everyone had made some bad decision and they lived with that.
Overall I really liked it. It's also just a beautifully printed book as well. I think I may get this one for my personal library.
A solid read, interesting and historical. I had the same complaint with this book as I did with a previous read: well done but very little to care about. I couldn't connect with the characters and had a hard time caring about what happens to them. Winters' books are well-written, detailed and grounded in historical fact, but something just doesn't work for me character-wise.
I didn't like this one quite as much as the other Cat Winters books I've read, but it was still quite good. I liked that the plot used Hamlet as a framework.