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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
What a roller coaster of a book! Cat Winters' YA retelling of Hamlet set in a gritty, racially-charged 1920s Oregon is suspenseful, creative, compelling, sometimes uncomfortable, incredibly important, and hard to put down. Everyone should read this!
This is the case of "it's not you, it's me."
I liked the story itself and the plot and even the characters, but I did not like the writing. I felt that it made the story and plot really choppy.
Nevertheless, I think that this was a fascinating story. Based on Hamlet, but set in Oregon in the early 19oo's when the KKK began establishing their base there. Hanalee is a mixed raced girl whose African-American father was killed by a drunk driver, and her white mother remarries another white man. But when the boy responsible for the accident is released early, and Hanalee's father's ghost begins haunting the town roads, Hanalee learns that the accident wasn't really an accident and someone may have murdered her father... number one suspect: her new step-father.
Winters clearly did her research and she doesn't shy away from the ugly truths of racism, discrimination, eugenics, and homophobia. It was the reality of many people back then and the fact that Winters doesn't try to "cushion" the facts is really great.
I really liked Hanalee - while she was affected by the racism of her town, she still had dreams and aspirations and she was willing to fight and make a difference. She refused to be the victim. Everyone was ... not as well defined and I didn't particularly feel attached or liked any of the characters.
I would have liked the ending to have a little more drawn out - I was just starting to get frightened for Hanalee and her family when suddenly it was all over and it all ended.
Overall, the story is interesting, but I'm not impressed by the writing - at all.
I liked the story itself and the plot and even the characters, but I did not like the writing. I felt that it made the story and plot really choppy.
Nevertheless, I think that this was a fascinating story. Based on Hamlet, but set in Oregon in the early 19oo's when the KKK began establishing their base there. Hanalee is a mixed raced girl whose African-American father was killed by a drunk driver, and her white mother remarries another white man. But when the boy responsible for the accident is released early, and Hanalee's father's ghost begins haunting the town roads, Hanalee learns that the accident wasn't really an accident and someone may have murdered her father... number one suspect: her new step-father.
Winters clearly did her research and she doesn't shy away from the ugly truths of racism, discrimination, eugenics, and homophobia. It was the reality of many people back then and the fact that Winters doesn't try to "cushion" the facts is really great.
I really liked Hanalee - while she was affected by the racism of her town, she still had dreams and aspirations and she was willing to fight and make a difference. She refused to be the victim. Everyone was ... not as well defined and I didn't particularly feel attached or liked any of the characters.
I would have liked the ending to have a little more drawn out - I was just starting to get frightened for Hanalee and her family when suddenly it was all over and it all ended.
Overall, the story is interesting, but I'm not impressed by the writing - at all.
First half followed Hamlet fairly closely but later there was a considerable shift which allowed the plot to be far less predictable. There were some really terrifying moments involving the main character and the KKK but things were certainly tamed down for a younger audience.
P.S love seeing a main character who is a person of color who is also ON THE DAMN COVER! I really hope this is a sign that we are past the crappy-ass trend of putting white girls on covers despite the character being described as a different race.
P.S love seeing a main character who is a person of color who is also ON THE DAMN COVER! I really hope this is a sign that we are past the crappy-ass trend of putting white girls on covers despite the character being described as a different race.
4.75 stars
I get so hooked on Winters' writing and I just keep reading until I hit the end. Her books are so suspenseful and keep you wandering until the last pages.
I get so hooked on Winters' writing and I just keep reading until I hit the end. Her books are so suspenseful and keep you wandering until the last pages.
This book was not at all what I expected. I thought it was going to be a straight-up retelling of Hamlet, but it was merely inspired by the bard's greatest tragedy. I was a bit concerned when I found out Hanalee was a biracial girl because the author is white and also because I felt the racism theme might overshadow the plot. Neither of these were true, and I was happy about that. However, the author instead fell prey to what I call "Wallflower syndrome." It possesses the same flaw as the YA favorite The Perks of Being a Wallflower, namely it decides to tackle too many hard-hitting issues in one short book. Not only are we dealing with racism here. The author decided that wasn't good enough. One of the characters is homosexual, so she decided to go the route of civil rights = gay rights. I thought the subject was handled relatively well, but I felt that Winters had too many stories going on here. She would've been better off writing three books: one that was a retelling of Hamlet, one about racism, and one about homosexuality.
Just a few more things that bothered me. The confusion with her father placing blame on the doc/k seemed contrived to me. Why didn't her father's ghost just straight up say he was lynched by the KKK? Also, I thoroughly disapprove of the Rosencrantz/Guildenstern counterparts being total baddies with no redeeming qualities. IMO, R & G were as much victims of circumstance as Hamlet was. Also, I got that Fleur/Laurence = Ophelia/Laertes, but who was Joe supposed to be? Horatio?
What I liked: It was well-written with great descriptions, period dialogue, and believable characters. I also completely sympathize with Hanalee and her tendency to have romantic feelings toward her gay friends. :(
Just a few more things that bothered me. The confusion with her father placing blame on the doc/k seemed contrived to me. Why didn't her father's ghost just straight up say he was lynched by the KKK? Also, I thoroughly disapprove of the Rosencrantz/Guildenstern counterparts being total baddies with no redeeming qualities. IMO, R & G were as much victims of circumstance as Hamlet was. Also, I got that Fleur/Laurence = Ophelia/Laertes, but who was Joe supposed to be? Horatio?
What I liked: It was well-written with great descriptions, period dialogue, and believable characters. I also completely sympathize with Hanalee and her tendency to have romantic feelings toward her gay friends. :(
I liked it. I don't believe I ever read Hamlet so that association went right over my head but the story line itself was so gripping I don't think that mattered. I can't wait to hear what my girls think at book group.
It's no secret that I love Cat Winters. It's no secret that as far as I'm concerned, she can do no wrong. Thus it should come as no surprise that I absolutely love The Steep and Thorny Way. Everything from cover to cover is the epitome of Cat Winters.
Hanalee has always grown up as a bit of an outsider. The daughter of a white woman and an African-American man hasn't made life easy for her, but she was happy. Until 16-year-old Joe Adder drives drunk and kills her father on Christmas Eve 1921. After a conversation with Joe and her father's ghost, Hanalee begins to suspect that her Uncle Clive (aka her stepfather) has more to do with her father's death than initially suspected.
This is where the similarities to Hamlet and The Steep and Thorny Way end (aside from her chapter heading being quotes pulled from Hamlet, which I loved!). Cat takes inspiration from Hamlet, but morphs the story from Hamlet's to Hanalee's. In attempting to find the truth of her father's death, Hanalee uncovers the ugliness of her small town. Yes, something is rotten in the state of Oregon.
The Ku Klux Klan is recruiting in Elston and old friends are starting to show their true feelings about Hanalee, her family, and few other "unclean" townsfolk. Much like Cat's prior three novels, it's evident how much research she has done. Some movements and events she discussed made me sick to my stomach and it's disturbing to think that she didn't make these things up, but pulled them from our own history. This fictional story is seeped in so much non-fiction, that it's hard to believe Hanalee wasn't a real person.
Not only is Hanalee an amazing main character, but the supporting characters are just as strongly written and realistic. There is also a such a variety to these characters that Elston feels like a real town. There are bootleggers, Ku Klux Klan members, preachers and their families, those who accept peoples' difference, and those who do not.
The Steep and Thorny Way is written so beautifully and so truthfully that it's hard not to feel moved by the events that transpire on every page. If you have yet to read a Cat Winter's novel or not yet added her latest to your TBR pile, I highly encourage you to rectify your gross mistake and pick up The Steep and Thorny Way.
Hanalee has always grown up as a bit of an outsider. The daughter of a white woman and an African-American man hasn't made life easy for her, but she was happy. Until 16-year-old Joe Adder drives drunk and kills her father on Christmas Eve 1921. After a conversation with Joe and her father's ghost, Hanalee begins to suspect that her Uncle Clive (aka her stepfather) has more to do with her father's death than initially suspected.
This is where the similarities to Hamlet and The Steep and Thorny Way end (aside from her chapter heading being quotes pulled from Hamlet, which I loved!). Cat takes inspiration from Hamlet, but morphs the story from Hamlet's to Hanalee's. In attempting to find the truth of her father's death, Hanalee uncovers the ugliness of her small town. Yes, something is rotten in the state of Oregon.
The Ku Klux Klan is recruiting in Elston and old friends are starting to show their true feelings about Hanalee, her family, and few other "unclean" townsfolk. Much like Cat's prior three novels, it's evident how much research she has done. Some movements and events she discussed made me sick to my stomach and it's disturbing to think that she didn't make these things up, but pulled them from our own history. This fictional story is seeped in so much non-fiction, that it's hard to believe Hanalee wasn't a real person.
Not only is Hanalee an amazing main character, but the supporting characters are just as strongly written and realistic. There is also a such a variety to these characters that Elston feels like a real town. There are bootleggers, Ku Klux Klan members, preachers and their families, those who accept peoples' difference, and those who do not.
The Steep and Thorny Way is written so beautifully and so truthfully that it's hard not to feel moved by the events that transpire on every page. If you have yet to read a Cat Winter's novel or not yet added her latest to your TBR pile, I highly encourage you to rectify your gross mistake and pick up The Steep and Thorny Way.
I like the mix of stories here. Part mystery, part ghost story, part history.