You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Violence, Car accident, Death of parent
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Interesting divergences but I wanted it to either lean more into the Hamlet or not Ham at all.
Not my favourite by Cat Winters, but fantastic nonetheless. Full review to come (hopefully)!
My Review
Big thanks to NetGalley and Abrams books for lending me this ARC :)
Big thanks to NetGalley and Abrams books for lending me this ARC :)
Set in 1920's Oregon, this historical fiction book about racism and prejudice is sometimes hard to read. Hanalee is a biracial girl whose dad was murdered. She sets out to try to find murderer after befriending the boy who was blamed for it. Based on Hamlet, this retelling brings in a part of Oregon history that is probably little known. Hanalee has to run from the Ku Klux Klan, talk to her father's ghost, and navigate around her step-father, all while keeping her and the boy that is blamed safe. She is a very strong protagonist and a someone you want to cheer for.
this book got genuinely terrifying at points. like i straight up wanted to scoop all of these kids far away from their horror show of bigots town. happily enough cat winters felt the same!
4 stars
4 stars
4.5 maybe 5
Cat Winters is absolutely a god at incorporating these deep, intense stories with historic elements (in this case, eugenics/prohibition/KKK).
This was a delight to read honestly. It even has ghost stuff if you're into that.
There wasn't really romance, but there were some beautiful friendships & growth & a pretty great mother-daughter relationship...
more notes to come..
Cat Winters is absolutely a god at incorporating these deep, intense stories with historic elements (in this case, eugenics/prohibition/KKK).
This was a delight to read honestly. It even has ghost stuff if you're into that.
There wasn't really romance, but there were some beautiful friendships & growth & a pretty great mother-daughter relationship...
more notes to come..
Disappointing.
Intriguing premise, but I feel like Winters tried to pack WAY too mant sub-plots and details, so much so that the story was left feeling muddled and unsatisfying.
The Hamlet aspect was greatly lacking as well. It wasn't so much based on Hamlet as loosley inspired by the play. I don't think thar should been a selling point of the novel.
Intriguing premise, but I feel like Winters tried to pack WAY too mant sub-plots and details, so much so that the story was left feeling muddled and unsatisfying.
The Hamlet aspect was greatly lacking as well. It wasn't so much based on Hamlet as loosley inspired by the play. I don't think thar should been a selling point of the novel.
I didn't get all the supposed Hamlet references, but maybe that's because I was concentrating on the whole KKK issue, with a side-serving of gay bashing. The Author's Note says that this was originally two stories and I wasn't surprised: at times it did feel as though that was what had happened.
What I mean is, the story of Hanalee, a young mulatto girl, and her search to figure out what exactly happened to her father (killed in a car accident... or maybe not) while avoiding the increased racism and activism of the KKK in Oregon was compelling enough. Adding the gay bashing as another KKK "no no" didn't necessarily make the story of Joe any more compelling, as his involvement in the accident could already have made him a target.
My quibbles aside, teens may find this an interesting introduction to a non-Southern side of the KKK. Many may not realize how active and powerful (and public) they were in some other areas of the country - I hope that the finished copy provides some places for them to start learning more.
ARC provided by publisher.
What I mean is, the story of Hanalee, a young mulatto girl, and her search to figure out what exactly happened to her father (killed in a car accident... or maybe not) while avoiding the increased racism and activism of the KKK in Oregon was compelling enough. Adding the gay bashing as another KKK "no no" didn't necessarily make the story of Joe any more compelling, as his involvement in the accident could already have made him a target.
My quibbles aside, teens may find this an interesting introduction to a non-Southern side of the KKK. Many may not realize how active and powerful (and public) they were in some other areas of the country - I hope that the finished copy provides some places for them to start learning more.
ARC provided by publisher.
A ghost story set in the 1920's in a town ran by the KKK. Hanalee is a daughter of a white woman and black man and has lived her life mostly free from prejudice in a small town in Oregon. After her father is murdered, she finds who the real murderer is and helps gets him justice.