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eknosher's review
1.0
update 2/26/19: I saw some things people were saying on twitter about this book so I decided to go read some reviews and... wow. I didn't realize how wildly uneducated I am about the history surrounding the time period of the story, but I definitely know more now, and I agree a lot with what people are saying and the problems they're having with this book. I don't believe Kosoko Jackson had ill intent, but the way in which he chose to portray a tragedy that was less than 25 years ago and the voices he chose to illuminate were not the move, and I see that clearly now after learning more about what happened in Kosovo during this time. I'm lowering my rating because of this new information and because I'm kind of horrified with the portrayal of events in this after learning about what actually happened.
I went into this book with kind of low expectations, and ended up actually enjoying it a lot. I loved the characters and the story, and the fact that it was about a part of history that I know nothing about. My complaint is mainly with the writing. I didn't love the writing style and some of the dialogue was kind of cringy. Also, I can appreciate a good open ending, but this one left too many loose ends. Then again maybe he was trying to set up for a sequel? Either way, the ending was very unsatisfying and I'm bitter that I don't know the fate of a lot of the characters.
I went into this book with kind of low expectations, and ended up actually enjoying it a lot. I loved the characters and the story, and the fact that it was about a part of history that I know nothing about. My complaint is mainly with the writing. I didn't love the writing style and some of the dialogue was kind of cringy. Also, I can appreciate a good open ending, but this one left too many loose ends. Then again maybe he was trying to set up for a sequel? Either way, the ending was very unsatisfying and I'm bitter that I don't know the fate of a lot of the characters.
ruthsic's review
3.0
Warnings: physical violence, gun violence, mentions of torture, depiction of war and riots, medical emergency, homophobia
Edit [26 Feb 2109]:
In light of this recent review by an OV reviewer (please do go and read it), I would like to apologize for failing to recognize the problematic aspects of this book, least of which is the portrayal of Albanian muslims, due to my limited knowledge of an issue that happened in very recent history, and the more importantly, the cultural aspects of it. I see now that the setting of it itself was harmful, and though I do love the writing, characterization and representation of queer POC, it also is important to note other problematic portrayals. I'm leaving my original review below (without any changes), but I do ask people to keep in mind the views from an OV reviewer when choosing to read a book about something you do not know.
Jackson places a story about love and survival against the backdrop of a war, in a historical context without taking us away from it. The thing about this book is, even though it is set in 1997, you can feel like you are there, in Kosovo, while the Kosovo war was taking place (something which I had to look up because guess what, I never knew about this! So yay for historical fiction enlightening me about things that happened in my own lifetime) and it is quite realistic, being from James, a gay black kid who is with his parents (USAID workers) when this breaks out. He and his boyfriend Tomas, another USAID workers' kid, are on the run, trying to get to the embassy and back to their parents but before they get there, they have to navigate a treacherous country which is practically in lockdown.
James' journey is alternated with the letters he wrote to his elder sister before the events of the novel, so while we are with James and Tomas as they are slowly moving across the Kosovo countryside, we are also getting the story of how James and Tomas came together; the signs that James saw before the eventual breakout, the rising tensions and the encroaching paranoia are mostly in subtext while he teases his sister about her college life. He and Tomas are being educated along with other kids like them, by a local professor, and one whose anti-Serbian sensibilities somehow went unnoticed. It is a tale of war, and how there are different ways to influence the world's viewpoint of a situation. It is brutal, tense and scary - and yet Tomas and James give a light to it, in the way they are in this together, going through all the terrible things but still being each others' rock, in the things they do to keep the other alive.
In short, a badass realistic novel with love and war.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Sourcebooks Fire, via Edelweiss.
Edit [26 Feb 2109]:
In light of this recent review by an OV reviewer (please do go and read it), I would like to apologize for failing to recognize the problematic aspects of this book, least of which is the portrayal of Albanian muslims, due to my limited knowledge of an issue that happened in very recent history, and the more importantly, the cultural aspects of it. I see now that the setting of it itself was harmful, and though I do love the writing, characterization and representation of queer POC, it also is important to note other problematic portrayals. I'm leaving my original review below (without any changes), but I do ask people to keep in mind the views from an OV reviewer when choosing to read a book about something you do not know.
Jackson places a story about love and survival against the backdrop of a war, in a historical context without taking us away from it. The thing about this book is, even though it is set in 1997, you can feel like you are there, in Kosovo, while the Kosovo war was taking place (something which I had to look up because guess what, I never knew about this! So yay for historical fiction enlightening me about things that happened in my own lifetime) and it is quite realistic, being from James, a gay black kid who is with his parents (USAID workers) when this breaks out. He and his boyfriend Tomas, another USAID workers' kid, are on the run, trying to get to the embassy and back to their parents but before they get there, they have to navigate a treacherous country which is practically in lockdown.
James' journey is alternated with the letters he wrote to his elder sister before the events of the novel, so while we are with James and Tomas as they are slowly moving across the Kosovo countryside, we are also getting the story of how James and Tomas came together; the signs that James saw before the eventual breakout, the rising tensions and the encroaching paranoia are mostly in subtext while he teases his sister about her college life. He and Tomas are being educated along with other kids like them, by a local professor, and one whose anti-Serbian sensibilities somehow went unnoticed. It is a tale of war, and how there are different ways to influence the world's viewpoint of a situation. It is brutal, tense and scary - and yet Tomas and James give a light to it, in the way they are in this together, going through all the terrible things but still being each others' rock, in the things they do to keep the other alive.
In short, a badass realistic novel with love and war.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Sourcebooks Fire, via Edelweiss.
sadie's review
(removed my rating because I didn’t understand the context of the book’s harmfulness)
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