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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
This book is so beautiful and even though birds are totally fake I love eagles now.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Bow says that when she was writing Plain Kate her first daughter was a newborn, and now her fifth book is the first that's reading age for her girls. Maybe that's why this isn't the crushing emotional roller coaster the first four were.
This follows a Kazakh girl in Mongolia through family drama and the training of a hunting eagle, in a middle grade story that is certainly not short of drama, but is not absolutely devastating either. There are no monsters lurking or horrors in the water here, no one is tortured, but the book deals seriously with the idea of facing loss and growing up.
I think what struck me most with this book was how the heroine could totally have gone with the worn-out Not Like Other Girls trope (and indeed she's not her mother's ideal of Kazakh femininity) but mostly avoided it by surrounding her by supportive older women. She's not exactly like the other girls, but neither are the other girls. Nor is it a plot of men insisting that she stay to her women's role and leave male things to the men. There are some chauvinist characters, but they're more obstacles than major sources of conflict.
Really, the whole story is about family at its best even in a time of trial, and how a it takes a village to raise a girl and her eagle. I enjoyed it, I hope her kids did too.
This follows a Kazakh girl in Mongolia through family drama and the training of a hunting eagle, in a middle grade story that is certainly not short of drama, but is not absolutely devastating either. There are no monsters lurking or horrors in the water here, no one is tortured, but the book deals seriously with the idea of facing loss and growing up.
I think what struck me most with this book was how the heroine could totally have gone with the worn-out Not Like Other Girls trope (and indeed she's not her mother's ideal of Kazakh femininity) but mostly avoided it by surrounding her by supportive older women. She's not exactly like the other girls, but neither are the other girls. Nor is it a plot of men insisting that she stay to her women's role and leave male things to the men. There are some chauvinist characters, but they're more obstacles than major sources of conflict.
Really, the whole story is about family at its best even in a time of trial, and how a it takes a village to raise a girl and her eagle. I enjoyed it, I hope her kids did too.
It's all a little obvious how the story is going to go, but it's so lovely and nice, I enjoyed every minute reading it.
Though I would have thought [b:Plain Kate|7877239|Plain Kate|Erin Bow|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328772028l/7877239._SY75_.jpg|7160746] was also middle grade.
Though I would have thought [b:Plain Kate|7877239|Plain Kate|Erin Bow|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328772028l/7877239._SY75_.jpg|7160746] was also middle grade.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
An beautifully written book about breaking free of gender roles, making your own family, and navigating between traditional ways of life and the contemporary world.
This is a sweet read, full of lovely moments between humans and nature in the vein of Pax and The Wild Robot. Ainsulu's voice is strong and empathetic, and the descriptions of her Kazakh family's nomadic way of life are vivid and well-researched.
This is a sweet read, full of lovely moments between humans and nature in the vein of Pax and The Wild Robot. Ainsulu's voice is strong and empathetic, and the descriptions of her Kazakh family's nomadic way of life are vivid and well-researched.
Some authors can make you cry before the book is over, even people with a tough rind like me. This book had me shedding tears before it even got properly started. Erin Bow is just that good. No one else I know writes with this economical a power and delicacy.