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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I never like Printz winners and this one was no different. It started out all right, telling the story of two brothers who both love the same girl, a girl who mysteriously disappeared months before. Then it got weird. Magical realism enters the picture but I felt confused and disoriented by it and that feeling never left. It just didn't fully come together for me as a story.
I don’t know if this book truly qualifies as magical realism, as the magic isn’t dropped into otherwise realistic settings but completely shifts the narrative into a new world. That said I appreciate how evocative and surprising it made the narrative. I can honestly say I’ve never read anything quite like this and it’s a hell of a lot of fun to read. Part feminist fable, part romance, part coming of age tale and almost-but-not-quite horror story.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
An emotional journey, there are magical elements but they come off more as a lil spice rather than the main event. They seem more of a catalyst to expand on the real life traumas of the characters. Speaking of spice there’s a little splash of that as well in the sweet romance within the book. This story will make you smile and blush like a fool and cry like a baby too. If you have interest in crime mysteries and fantasy books you will enjoy this one. If you like stuff that tugs on your heartstrings and is emotionally provocative you will absolutely love it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Sexual harassment
Quite liked it. The mix of realistic and mythic was great -- I would not call this magical realism, but it's lovely and I am looking forward to re reading to pick out everything.
Took a while to get into; got hooked when I read that Roza’s story is based on the myth of Demeter and Persephone. Became quite a beautiful story.
Esta reseña se titula: Cosas malas suceden cuando no se revisa GR antes de leer un libro.
Navegando por internet me conseguí con la siguiente sinopsis de este libro:
"Eighteen-year-old Finn, an outsider in his quiet Midwestern town, is the only witness to the abduction of town favorite Roza, but his inability to distinguish between faces makes it difficult for him to help with the investigation, and subjects him to even more ridicule and bullying."
Inmediatamente decidí leerlo, pensando que se trataba de un misterio acerca de un secuestro y la historia de un chico con problemas. Nada mas. Por lo que cuando cosas extrañas comenzaron a suceder, intentaba darles un sentido lógico.
¿Campos de maíz que hablan? Ja, obviamente se trata de una metáfora.
¿Casas que se convierten en palacios? Seguramente se trata de un sueño.
¿Visiones extrañas de fantasmas en los campos de maíz? ... ¿drogas?
Y de repente, al final: ¿Temibles monstruos gigantes? ¿Viajes interdimensionales? ¿Un villano que resulta ser una criatura cuasi mítica?
Imaginen mi sorpresa cuando termino de leer el libro (sin comprender que acaba de pasar, que demonios acabo de leer) e ingreso a GR y veo que en TODAS PARTES dice que se trata de una historia de realismo mágico. ¿Por qué nadie me advirtió, por qué no leí las reseñas antes? Me hubiese ahorrado tanta confusión.
Ahora, viendo la historia de una manera mas objetiva debo admitir que Bone Gap no es un mal libro, pero tampoco es uno particularmente bueno. A diferencia de otros libros como [b:A Song for Ella Grey|22632889|A Song for Ella Grey|David Almond|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404397504s/22632889.jpg|42133250], [b:The Night Gwen Stacy Died|15814489|The Night Gwen Stacy Died|Sarah Bruni|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358265431s/15814489.jpg|21540925], e inclusive [b:On the Jellicoe Road|1162022|On the Jellicoe Road|Melina Marchetta|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1212708945s/1162022.jpg|6479100], acá el realismo mágico no aporta mucho, por no decir que nada, a la trama. Los habitantes del pueblo, como personajes secundarios, sirven únicamente de relleno para cumplir la función que el autor necesite. Y los problemas de Finn son tratados de manera superficial, al igual que su relación con su hermano Sean. Ademas, ¿era realmente necesario que no solo uno, sino TRES hombres distintos atacaran a Roza a lo largo de la historia, con el único pretexto de su belleza?
Spoiler
Hasta el punto de que la pobre tuvo que desfigurarse para que finalmente la dejen en paz.
Por otra parte, viendo el lado bueno, la escritura puede ser hermosa en parte; Priscilla "Petey" es uno de los mejores personajes femeninos que he leído; y, para bien o para mal, la historia resulta inolvidable. Así que si te gustan las historias distintas y los cuentos de hadas, tal vez, quizás, deberías darle una oportunidad.
Probably more like 3.5? 3.75 if we're adding points for originality?
It's a weird book that's hard to explain to people and includes things like abandonment, abuse, bees, sibling relationships, gardening, growing up, college, missed opportunities, magical horses, small town gossip, preconceived notions, stalkers, gaps in places, magic, facial blindness, and about a dozen other things all crammed into one book. It's a lot.
And there's Roza, the girl who is so beautiful and enchanting that just about every man who meets her falls in love with her. Ehhhhhhh come on.
It's an original book, that's for sure. I'm just not certain what to make of it.
It's a weird book that's hard to explain to people and includes things like abandonment, abuse, bees, sibling relationships, gardening, growing up, college, missed opportunities, magical horses, small town gossip, preconceived notions, stalkers, gaps in places, magic, facial blindness, and about a dozen other things all crammed into one book. It's a lot.
And there's Roza, the girl who is so beautiful and enchanting that just about every man who meets her falls in love with her. Ehhhhhhh come on.
It's an original book, that's for sure. I'm just not certain what to make of it.