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3.11 AVERAGE
3.11 AVERAGE
I received this novel as an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I have mixed feelings about this novel because there are a few things that the author does that I like but an equal amount of things that I don't like. I really liked that the author highlighted the problems of the First Nations people of Canada. Not many people are aware of their struggles and the things they have endured - and continue to endure - are heartbreaking. And the author really does do justice to them: she tells it like it is. I only wish it had been told from the perspective of an actual Native and not just from that of a white teenage girl. While Jenny is definitely trying to understand and be aware of the oppression and racism that the Aboriginal people face, I don't think she is necessarily the best spokesperson for it since she really isn't a part of their community or culture. I wish there had been more emphasis on the way life is on the reserves and the traditions that the First Nations value, as that would have allowed the reader to see some of the wonderful aspects of their culture. However, the idea that a Native girl's death is not as important as a Caucasian girl's disappearance was an interesting one and I think the author did a really good job of bringing that to the forefront. I actually found the writing style compelling, even if it was confusing to follow at times what with the various jumps in time that Jenny took; it was hard to tell if something was happening in the present or if it was just a memory. I did not like the love angle that the author tried to force into the situation; it didn't add anything to the novel and it was not well planned or executed. It was literally just two teenagers hooking up and doing drugs and drinking, none of which screams romance or bonding. I didn't like the incompetence of the cops, and I'm not just referring to their dismissal over the case of Helen. I'm referring to the almost comical way they question and interrogate Jenny over Chloe's disappearance; you would think adults would know how to run an investigation and ask the right questions but clearly, that is not the case in this novel. The author also takes on another topic: slut-shaming. While I think this is an important topic to discuss, I don't really like Jenny's role in that aspect and I wish the author had made her more ... sensible or intelligent. I also didn't really like how things were resolved in the novel because, well, it didn't really feel resolved. I understand that not everything can have a happy ending but this just felt messy and unfinished. Overall, I think the author chose 2 very important topics to center her novel around. While the writing was compelling, the main character's decisions as well as the actual ending of the novel left me disappointed. For those reasons, I'm giving this novel a 2/5 stars.
I have mixed feelings about this novel because there are a few things that the author does that I like but an equal amount of things that I don't like. I really liked that the author highlighted the problems of the First Nations people of Canada. Not many people are aware of their struggles and the things they have endured - and continue to endure - are heartbreaking. And the author really does do justice to them: she tells it like it is. I only wish it had been told from the perspective of an actual Native and not just from that of a white teenage girl. While Jenny is definitely trying to understand and be aware of the oppression and racism that the Aboriginal people face, I don't think she is necessarily the best spokesperson for it since she really isn't a part of their community or culture. I wish there had been more emphasis on the way life is on the reserves and the traditions that the First Nations value, as that would have allowed the reader to see some of the wonderful aspects of their culture. However, the idea that a Native girl's death is not as important as a Caucasian girl's disappearance was an interesting one and I think the author did a really good job of bringing that to the forefront. I actually found the writing style compelling, even if it was confusing to follow at times what with the various jumps in time that Jenny took; it was hard to tell if something was happening in the present or if it was just a memory. I did not like the love angle that the author tried to force into the situation; it didn't add anything to the novel and it was not well planned or executed. It was literally just two teenagers hooking up and doing drugs and drinking, none of which screams romance or bonding. I didn't like the incompetence of the cops, and I'm not just referring to their dismissal over the case of Helen. I'm referring to the almost comical way they question and interrogate Jenny over Chloe's disappearance; you would think adults would know how to run an investigation and ask the right questions but clearly, that is not the case in this novel. The author also takes on another topic: slut-shaming. While I think this is an important topic to discuss, I don't really like Jenny's role in that aspect and I wish the author had made her more ... sensible or intelligent. I also didn't really like how things were resolved in the novel because, well, it didn't really feel resolved. I understand that not everything can have a happy ending but this just felt messy and unfinished. Overall, I think the author chose 2 very important topics to center her novel around. While the writing was compelling, the main character's decisions as well as the actual ending of the novel left me disappointed. For those reasons, I'm giving this novel a 2/5 stars.
I want to thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with this copy in exchange for an honest review
2/5 Stars
You can find this one and more of my review on my blog A Book. A Thought.
Well, the thing is, I was reading Ice Like Fire, the second book of the Snow Like Ashes trilogy and I wasn't feeling it, I was really in the mood for a mystery and murder reading and luckily I had this arc on my Kindle for some time already, so I thought it would be a good idea to read it. It wasn't what I expected, at all, but still I want to talk about them in detail, first I want to emphasize the writing style, which is pretty easy to read
I will leave here below the Goodreads synopsis for the book so that you know what it's about
I started enjoying it a lot, especially the mystery vibe that is handled in the book is very good and enthralling, but then Jenny, our main character, begins to have all these completely ridiculous and meaningless attitudes. First her way of dealing with loss is the rarest, I've read that some people believe that is her way of dealing with it, but I don't agree, her behavior as if nothing matters I thought it was absurd.
I understand that she really wanted to find her friend and solve what was going on, but suddenly she started to flee almost from the police as if they were the enemy, then she passes like 60% of the book with her super hot guy, doing basically nothing relevant and the other percentage passes by looking for her friend putting herself in danger without any sense and hiding very important details from the police, because she actually thinks she's protecting her friend, I mean, WHAT ?, they want to find her!.In moments of desperation I understand that you can forget to comment a really important things, but she was hiding that from the police because she wanted to do it, which only made research even more difficult.
This was crazy for me one of the most absurd characters I've read, and I really hate talking this way about a creation that someone did with effort and love, but it hasn't worked for me. Jenny is the typical beautiful and rich girl who thinks she knows everything about life because she get drugged a couple of times and then she think she's smart enough to solve a crime on her own, but she just makes a mess, and that's all she's been for me
On the other hand, I could see how the author wanted to touch important issues like abuse, bullying, indifference, racism, and depression, I appreciate that and I want to highlight it, even so it isn't a book that going to stay with me
Anyway, I would try another book of the author, because I think her writing style is nice and maybe with the development of other types of characters more deep and complex could hook me more and I would end up liking me more her book
Summing up, is a great idea for a mystery plot but the characters are flat and their actions don't make sense most of the time
2/5 Stars
You can find this one and more of my review on my blog A Book. A Thought.
Well, the thing is, I was reading Ice Like Fire, the second book of the Snow Like Ashes trilogy and I wasn't feeling it, I was really in the mood for a mystery and murder reading and luckily I had this arc on my Kindle for some time already, so I thought it would be a good idea to read it. It wasn't what I expected, at all, but still I want to talk about them in detail, first I want to emphasize the writing style, which is pretty easy to read
I will leave here below the Goodreads synopsis for the book so that you know what it's about
“One small, northern community. Two girls gone -- one missing, the other dead. A riveting coming-of-age debut young adult novel for fans of Everything I Never Told You and All the Bright Places.
Sixteen-year-old Helen Commanda is found dead just outside Thunder Creek, Ontario. Her murder goes unremarked, except for the fact that it may shed light on the earlier disappearance of Chloe Shaughnessy. Chloe is beautiful, rich and white. Helen is plain, and from the reservation. They had nothing in common except that they were teenage girls from an unforgiving small town. Only Chloe's best friend Jenny Parker knows exactly how unforgiving, but she's keeping some dangerous secrets of her own.
Jenny begins looking for answers about Helen's life and death, trying to understand larger questions about her town and her best friend. But what can a teenage girl really accomplish where adults have failed? And how much is Jenny actually complicit in a conspiracy of silence?”
I started enjoying it a lot, especially the mystery vibe that is handled in the book is very good and enthralling, but then Jenny, our main character, begins to have all these completely ridiculous and meaningless attitudes. First her way of dealing with loss is the rarest, I've read that some people believe that is her way of dealing with it, but I don't agree, her behavior as if nothing matters I thought it was absurd.
I understand that she really wanted to find her friend and solve what was going on, but suddenly she started to flee almost from the police as if they were the enemy, then she passes like 60% of the book with her super hot guy, doing basically nothing relevant and the other percentage passes by looking for her friend putting herself in danger without any sense and hiding very important details from the police, because she actually thinks she's protecting her friend, I mean, WHAT ?, they want to find her!.In moments of desperation I understand that you can forget to comment a really important things, but she was hiding that from the police because she wanted to do it, which only made research even more difficult.
This was crazy for me one of the most absurd characters I've read, and I really hate talking this way about a creation that someone did with effort and love, but it hasn't worked for me. Jenny is the typical beautiful and rich girl who thinks she knows everything about life because she get drugged a couple of times and then she think she's smart enough to solve a crime on her own, but she just makes a mess, and that's all she's been for me
On the other hand, I could see how the author wanted to touch important issues like abuse, bullying, indifference, racism, and depression, I appreciate that and I want to highlight it, even so it isn't a book that going to stay with me
Anyway, I would try another book of the author, because I think her writing style is nice and maybe with the development of other types of characters more deep and complex could hook me more and I would end up liking me more her book
Summing up, is a great idea for a mystery plot but the characters are flat and their actions don't make sense most of the time