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threeseagrass's review against another edition
4.0
Not my favourite by Cat Winters, but fantastic nonetheless. Full review to come (hopefully)!
scorpiobookfairy's review against another edition
4.0
My Review
Big thanks to NetGalley and Abrams books for lending me this ARC :)
Big thanks to NetGalley and Abrams books for lending me this ARC :)
greylandreviews's review against another edition
5.0
4.75 stars
I get so hooked on Winters' writing and I just keep reading until I hit the end. Her books are so suspenseful and keep you wandering until the last pages.
I get so hooked on Winters' writing and I just keep reading until I hit the end. Her books are so suspenseful and keep you wandering until the last pages.
melindagallagher's review against another edition
4.0
Set in 1920's Oregon, this historical fiction book about racism and prejudice is sometimes hard to read. Hanalee is a biracial girl whose dad was murdered. She sets out to try to find murderer after befriending the boy who was blamed for it. Based on Hamlet, this retelling brings in a part of Oregon history that is probably little known. Hanalee has to run from the Ku Klux Klan, talk to her father's ghost, and navigate around her step-father, all while keeping her and the boy that is blamed safe. She is a very strong protagonist and a someone you want to cheer for.
misssusan's review against another edition
4.0
this book got genuinely terrifying at points. like i straight up wanted to scoop all of these kids far away from their horror show of bigots town. happily enough cat winters felt the same!
4 stars
4 stars
alienor's review against another edition
4.0
✨ AVAILABLE NOW! ✨
This book won't certainly appeal to everyone. It's not free of flaws, and I wasn't completely satisfied. And yet... As I said in my review of [b:In the Shadow of Blackbirds|13112915|In the Shadow of Blackbirds|Cat Winters|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348721608l/13112915._SY75_.jpg|18286614], any book that tackles important and horrifying issues in such sensitive way, compelling the reader to do some researches about them deserves attention.
In this original retelling of the much beloved [b:Hamlet|1420|Hamlet|William Shakespeare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1351051208l/1420._SY75_.jpg|1885548], [a:Cat Winters|5351847|Cat Winters|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1538511729p2/5351847.jpg] takes us into the xenophobic 1920s Oregon, where we follow Hanalee, a teenager whose father, African-American, died under strange circumstances. Eager to shed lights on this awful event, she soon realizes that each discovery proves to be more and more unsettling and excruciating.
Who is to be believed when the general atmosphere is one of distrust and rejection?
"Because we're living in corrupt times, Hanalee. Even the best intentions can sound cruel when spoken aloud."
First of all, [a:Cat Winters|5351847|Cat Winters|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1538511729p2/5351847.jpg] shows again a real talent to convey an atmosphere and to write in a compelling and engrossing way. Indeed as it was the case with [b:In the Shadow of Blackbirds|13112915|In the Shadow of Blackbirds|Cat Winters|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348721608l/13112915._SY75_.jpg|18286614], I was immersed in the world right away : the hopeless atmosphere is perfectly pictured, the desperation transpiring through every page, letting the reader feel all the anger, sadness and indignation Hanalee faces every day. It always appalls me to see such a racist world unfolded before my eyes (that's why I never read comments under YouTube videos, otherwise my pessimism would know no limits) : in these times, to be half African-American was a fault in itself, and if people stay relatively "nice" to her (think : hypocrites), it remains that Hanalee suffers daily from different kinds of negative comments about her hair, her skin, her future.
Think peril. Life threatening peril. Fear.
What do you picture?
A dystopian apocalyptic world? Dictators? Serial killers? Creepy aliens? Clowns? (okay, "clowns" is on me)
Say, you see this little quiet town in the middle of nowhere/Oregon. Not frightening? Aww, you're so sweet. We need some villains? Let's take people. Regular people. You know, the selfish, indifferent and stupid widespread kind.
Why create an awful fantasy world when we can have history? When we can have our world?
Because, really, what can we say about a world where a teenager is in peril if she enters a restaurant? It's so sneaky really - one second you're scared to death for her and thinking no noo don't go there! And suddenly you realize - but wait, it is a RESTAURANT. Why on earth should she be careful? Why on earth are you accepting it by thinking that she's acting wildly and dangerously by coming there? It's a RESTAURANT. Of course she can go. Oh, wait, no.
Again, welcome to 1920s Oregon, where biracial marriages are forbidden and eugenics laws allow authorities to castrate people because they're homosexuals.
This book made me so, so angry. This book made me furious. For that, I'm grateful. I never want to feel indifferent. Not ever. We need such books to remind us that we are not so far from these dark days and that stereotypes and barbarism are to be fought on a daily basis.
"Hate doesn't even begin to describe what's happening. (...) People in this state are controlling who can and can't breed, Hanalee. They're eradicating those of us who aren't white, Protestant, American-born, or sexually normal in their eyes. They're 'purifying' Oregon."
Lost in [a:Cat Winters|5351847|Cat Winters|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1538511729p2/5351847.jpg]' words, I couldn't help but feel the hate and fear eating at them, this sickening atmosphere that can change a childhood sweetheart into an enemy. It was truly terrifying to see how peer pressure can morph someone into a completely different person. So, so sad.
Hanalee is a strong and likeable heroine whom I'm glad to have met here. One can argue that she takes some stupid or, let's say, rushed decisions, especially in regards of who to trust but I understood her. She reacts. She is young. Who wouldn't make mistakes now tell me?
Mostly the twists and turns managed to surprise me, even though I guess some parts, I have to admit. Yet in my opinion, it's not even the point : I was hooked from the beginning in any case, and I really appreciated that the story didn't fall into the stereotypical traps (there's no romance, for example).
As a retelling of [b:Hamlet|1420|Hamlet|William Shakespeare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1351051208l/1420._SY75_.jpg|1885548], I expected some kind of ghost apparitions and indeed her father's ghost has a critical role to play in the investigations of his death. Quite eerie, but I found the whole ghost giving answers a little too convenient... I didn't care much for these parts, I have to admit : not that they didn't convey emotion in me, because they did, but there was always an undercurrent of falsity that prevented me from completely buying it.
Unfortunately, I did find that, Hanalee excepted, the characterization could have shown more depth : indeed I never really got the sense that I knew any of them, including Joe, which does not mean that they weren't interesting characters to read about, though. This being said, the mystery unraveling before our eyes must be taken into account : perhaps the fog mustn't be lifted, after all. I'll let you judge.
Moreover, as much as I love [a:Cat Winters|5351847|Cat Winters|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1538511729p2/5351847.jpg]'s beautiful writing, the dialogues were a little too formulaic for my taste : sometimes they sounded fake to me, especially during the highly tensed parts.
Finally, the ending felt a little rushed. Yet it's hopeful, and it makes sense, as the journey we followed is coming to a end.
► Again, I feel the need to remind everyone that 3.5 stars isn't a bad rating in the slightest. Give this book a chance. Give this author a chance. They deserve it.
"Hate is a powerful demon that worms its way into the hearts of fearful men"
I will never let hate win. Please don't.
*arc kindly provided by Amulet Books. Thanks so much!*
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iselenamethod22's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 maybe 5
Cat Winters is absolutely a god at incorporating these deep, intense stories with historic elements (in this case, eugenics/prohibition/KKK).
This was a delight to read honestly. It even has ghost stuff if you're into that.
There wasn't really romance, but there were some beautiful friendships & growth & a pretty great mother-daughter relationship...
more notes to come..
Cat Winters is absolutely a god at incorporating these deep, intense stories with historic elements (in this case, eugenics/prohibition/KKK).
This was a delight to read honestly. It even has ghost stuff if you're into that.
There wasn't really romance, but there were some beautiful friendships & growth & a pretty great mother-daughter relationship...
more notes to come..
themodvictorian's review against another edition
2.0
Disappointing.
Intriguing premise, but I feel like Winters tried to pack WAY too mant sub-plots and details, so much so that the story was left feeling muddled and unsatisfying.
The Hamlet aspect was greatly lacking as well. It wasn't so much based on Hamlet as loosley inspired by the play. I don't think thar should been a selling point of the novel.
Intriguing premise, but I feel like Winters tried to pack WAY too mant sub-plots and details, so much so that the story was left feeling muddled and unsatisfying.
The Hamlet aspect was greatly lacking as well. It wasn't so much based on Hamlet as loosley inspired by the play. I don't think thar should been a selling point of the novel.
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't get all the supposed Hamlet references, but maybe that's because I was concentrating on the whole KKK issue, with a side-serving of gay bashing. The Author's Note says that this was originally two stories and I wasn't surprised: at times it did feel as though that was what had happened.
What I mean is, the story of Hanalee, a young mulatto girl, and her search to figure out what exactly happened to her father (killed in a car accident... or maybe not) while avoiding the increased racism and activism of the KKK in Oregon was compelling enough. Adding the gay bashing as another KKK "no no" didn't necessarily make the story of Joe any more compelling, as his involvement in the accident could already have made him a target.
My quibbles aside, teens may find this an interesting introduction to a non-Southern side of the KKK. Many may not realize how active and powerful (and public) they were in some other areas of the country - I hope that the finished copy provides some places for them to start learning more.
ARC provided by publisher.
What I mean is, the story of Hanalee, a young mulatto girl, and her search to figure out what exactly happened to her father (killed in a car accident... or maybe not) while avoiding the increased racism and activism of the KKK in Oregon was compelling enough. Adding the gay bashing as another KKK "no no" didn't necessarily make the story of Joe any more compelling, as his involvement in the accident could already have made him a target.
My quibbles aside, teens may find this an interesting introduction to a non-Southern side of the KKK. Many may not realize how active and powerful (and public) they were in some other areas of the country - I hope that the finished copy provides some places for them to start learning more.
ARC provided by publisher.
kbfrantom's review against another edition
4.0
A ghost story set in the 1920's in a town ran by the KKK. Hanalee is a daughter of a white woman and black man and has lived her life mostly free from prejudice in a small town in Oregon. After her father is murdered, she finds who the real murderer is and helps gets him justice.