Reviews

Disgruntled: A Novel by Asali Solomon

katekatiekait's review

2.0

Really a 2.5. Not a 3 because that last chapter which made a very sharp left turn somewhere and left me going "wait, how did we end up here?!?!?" but not in a good, satisfying way or in a way that makes you think deep, ponderous thoughts long after you're finished.

lindsayb's review

3.0

This was an odd one. While I enjoyed it overall, I also felt like it never really took off...as if it were one prolonged exposition. I loved the beginning of the book up until Kenya's parents' separation and once again when she goes to visit Johnbrown on his farm, but a lot of the middle I found difficult. Perhaps Bahni Turpin's teenage voices were a little too good (and while she remains my favorite reader, her Caribbean accent verged on a Russian accent) during that segment, but I found the dialogue between the girls hard to stomach.

Spoiler

And I'm glad that one scene with Teddy Jaffrey didn't go any further than it did.

Still, it was a touching--and often heartbreaking--coming of age story with some excellent family dynamic written in, and I'll be interested to see what Asali Solomon's next step will be.