Reviews

One Year of Ugly by Caroline Mackenzie

fluffy_piggy's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring tense medium-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

4.0

zinatakara's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

At first the book was a bit slow and I was not at all interested in the romance aspect. But I learned a lot of immigration in Trinidad and the landscape and I enjoyed that. Eventually the book became enjoyable and I liked the ending. 

stuckintheb00ks's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

0.25

sherrise's review against another edition

funny informative tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

ddellis08's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

reneek84's review against another edition

4.0

While this was humorous it also dealt with some serious subject matter; a family forced to leave their home now living in a country "illegally" and the constant fear of being deported, and the extortion, violence, and bribery they have to deal with to stay in their new home. I didn't know much about either country prior to reading this, so it was eye opening for me. That being said, it wasn't a heavy, dreary read, not at all. I really enjoyed the entertainment of reading this book.

shelfcarebyken's review against another edition

4.0

Cheers to picking up books off the shelves that you've never heard of! I am pleasantly surprised by this debut novel from Caroline Mackenzie as this is something unlike anything I've read before, but absolutely devoured.

This book covers a lot of sensitive topics such as illegal immigration, political struggles, dysfunctional families, substance use, and more - but the author writes of these subjects in a lighthearted and humorous way. I can definitely understand why that may seem off-putting to some, but Mackenzie's writing style made these topics digestible through sarcasticly funny writing and wildly comical characters. I loved it!

saralynnburnett's review against another edition

5.0

What a knockout One Year of Ugly by Caroline Mackenzie is! I could not get enough of this book and the kaleidoscopic range of emotions it caused—what a rollercoaster ride! The last several chapters of this novel left me breathless. I sincerely hope there’s a sequel (please?) I want to spend more time with the Palacios family and especially the fiercely feminist Yola. At the heart of this story is family and this family was a memorable one. Their way of turning the worst situations into episodes that ultimately bring them closer together, despite the constant threat of deportation because of their unnerving status as refugees in Trinidad & Tobago was a powerful message. Love and laughter triumphs.

Aside from the lush island setting, an island I love dearly, the other thing I adored about this novel (I feel this way about all writer-protagonists) was the meta aspect. Yola is an aspiring writer and I AM HERE FOR THIS. The ups and down of literary magazine submissions, the toil of writing in general, the need for creative energy via living life, the fear of dying before you publish a novel (yes, this is one of my biggest fears I’m telling you it’s totally rational just google what happened to Stieg Larsson). It’s all here and it’s all wonderful.

Wrap that up in a lusty, eye-brow raising romance with a criminal and combine it with a positive strip club experience (I mean really, I am so tired of the sad stripper trope, these empowered women were superbly refreshing) and you have one wild ride that I couldn’t put down. I feel like the humor here is uniquely Trini / Caribbean in that basically if it can go wrong, it will, but it will probably leave you laughing once you stand back and look at the ridiculousness of it all, which the author cleverly points out with the line, “life was composed of the random and the absurd.”

Highly recommend. Also, I won’t be eating mangos again for some time…

thebookraiders's review against another edition

dark funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

maithily's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.25