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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
๐๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ตโฃ
โฃ
Thank you NetGalley, MacMillan Audio and Farrar Straus & Giroux for this gifted audiobook - ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ฏ๐, by Asale Angel-Ajani.โฃ
โฃ
Give me a story with a vulnerable teen girl trying to discover her sense of self, and I AM HERE FOR IT! Lara is a 16-year-old biracial girl with a Black Cuban schizophrenic musician dad who is (mostly) out of the picture. Lara lives with her eccentric Russian mother, Yevgenia. After moving from place to place with her mom, ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ฏ๐ follows their story living at the Oasis Trailer Park in the California desert. Lara looks to her mom's example, and wants nothing more than her approval and love. But what I loved was how Lara also recognized her mom's damaging ways, so she could forge a path of her own. This was a story of a broken mother-daughter relationship, and about discovering chosen family.โฃ
โฃ
I really enjoyed listening to this on audio, narrated by the fabulous Amanda Cordner.โฃ
โฃ
๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ฏ๐ is available now.โฃ
โฃ
โฃ
Thank you NetGalley, MacMillan Audio and Farrar Straus & Giroux for this gifted audiobook - ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ฏ๐, by Asale Angel-Ajani.โฃ
โฃ
Give me a story with a vulnerable teen girl trying to discover her sense of self, and I AM HERE FOR IT! Lara is a 16-year-old biracial girl with a Black Cuban schizophrenic musician dad who is (mostly) out of the picture. Lara lives with her eccentric Russian mother, Yevgenia. After moving from place to place with her mom, ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ฏ๐ follows their story living at the Oasis Trailer Park in the California desert. Lara looks to her mom's example, and wants nothing more than her approval and love. But what I loved was how Lara also recognized her mom's damaging ways, so she could forge a path of her own. This was a story of a broken mother-daughter relationship, and about discovering chosen family.โฃ
โฃ
I really enjoyed listening to this on audio, narrated by the fabulous Amanda Cordner.โฃ
โฃ
๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ฏ๐ is available now.โฃ
โฃ
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
An incredibly well written, impactful story. I loved the character work and the exploration of a complicated mother-daughter relationship. Itโs fairly plotless until the end, so the pacing felt kind of strange and the main plot point almost felt like a different book. I understood why it happened and it did create an interesting new tension between Lara and her mother, but honestly I was enjoying the plotlessness and โslice of lifeโ of the bulk of the novel. All in all this was a phenomenal novel that I will keep thinking about for a while!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
โ These questions of my genesis, of my race, of my father were not new. Not to me, and certainly not to my mother. โ Lara
Angel-Ajani's novel vividly captures the push and pull between a mother and daughter. It is a coming-of-age for Lara as she tries to untangle her here and now from her mother's in the moment living. She yearns for a life of stability and transparency, she wants a past and history, whatever normal is.
Not only is Lara dealing with racial microaggressions and prejudices, societal perceptions and expectations, she is a teenage girl without a father growing up with a mother who is more interested in spouting literature outtakes and ideas than engaging eith and providing stability for her child.
Lara's friendships also highlight the disparities in her family life and the differing familial structures also impress upon her all that lies beyond the walls of her trailer and the bounds of the trailer park. A Country You Can Leave is sharp and stark as it portrays the complexities of this mother and daughter, one believing that they have been hampered and ill-served by life, the other yearning for a home and healthy interactions.
Angel-Ajani's novel vividly captures the push and pull between a mother and daughter. It is a coming-of-age for Lara as she tries to untangle her here and now from her mother's in the moment living. She yearns for a life of stability and transparency, she wants a past and history, whatever normal is.
Not only is Lara dealing with racial microaggressions and prejudices, societal perceptions and expectations, she is a teenage girl without a father growing up with a mother who is more interested in spouting literature outtakes and ideas than engaging eith and providing stability for her child.
Lara's friendships also highlight the disparities in her family life and the differing familial structures also impress upon her all that lies beyond the walls of her trailer and the bounds of the trailer park. A Country You Can Leave is sharp and stark as it portrays the complexities of this mother and daughter, one believing that they have been hampered and ill-served by life, the other yearning for a home and healthy interactions.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship
Minor: Mental illness, Racial slurs
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Racism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug abuse