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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Breathtaking. I can't even explain why it is so good, other than LG's vivid writing about the details of The Girl's terrifying present and her just-as-terrifying [but in a completely different way] past. I never wanted her tale to end. LG makes the reader feel how Lamentations/Zed feels and although her tale is almost impossible to believe, it nonetheless smacks of absolute truth.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Did not really feel engaged with the story for first 90 pages. Then the description of a forest-dwelling hermit Spanish missionary suddenly captured my attention and the beauty of this book was revealed.
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm not generally strict about #ownvoices issues, such as someone with middle class white privilege writing about an enslaved brown girl but wow this book feels irresponsible. Structurally, it felt like the stakes weren't raised, they remained the same -- barely surviving. And the message of the ending, where she is a vector of contagion, of smallpox being the most notorious killer of indigenous people, seems off, as does the main character's undying love for the baby she's forced to care for. Anyway, publishers and editors please do better.
A very beautifully written book that took me hauntingly into the protagonists world, but I was left sadly feeling wanting with the ending.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What I liked: the author vividly captures the spiritual, emotional, and physical journey of the main character, a girl sometimes called Lamentations or Zed, or other derisive names meant to demean her worth. She recognizes her nothingness in others' eyes by the treatment she endures, but when she takes to the wilderness, she starts to understand the power in herself and in the ultimate will to survive. Through the author's lyrical prose, I felt the weight of each struggle and choice the girl had to make, but also the small joys in the wonder of nature and in the simple act of wanting to live.
This novel will not be for everyone - it's dark in the sense that it captures the realities of humankind, especially the reward-seeking men who will do anything to satisfy their greed. And yet, if you can read past the bleakness, there is a tinge of hope and admiration for those who have the courage to defy those in power and seek their own path.
This novel will not be for everyone - it's dark in the sense that it captures the realities of humankind, especially the reward-seeking men who will do anything to satisfy their greed. And yet, if you can read past the bleakness, there is a tinge of hope and admiration for those who have the courage to defy those in power and seek their own path.