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A review by mikasana
Sparrow and Vine by Sophie Lark
1.0
** NETGALLEY ARC REVIEW **
Sparrow and Vine is the first installment of a series where the two main characters are from rival families in an arranged marriage. The premise itself is very interesting and sounds almost like a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet with family dynamics and dramatics coming into play.
However, when it comes to the actual story I really struggled with the writing style and found it to be flat and one-dimensional. I couldn't find myself caring for any of the characters or empathizing for any of them. I also felt myself checking the category (YA vs New Adult) because some of the writing choices for similes felt a bit too juvenile for me personally.
And then I came upon some dialogue that stopped me in my tracks and I could not continue reading.
Chapter 8:
""I don't want to sound ignorant," I say to Sadie as we ascend the gentle slope up to the vines, "but shouldn't there be a crew of people with questionable work visas picking these grapes for us?"
"Sometimes there is." Sadie bites the edge of her lip. "We're a little short on cash this year.""
This scene needs to be taken out or changed. This is an incredibly insensitive and demeaning line between two characters where the second character indirectly agrees with the first character's racist dog whistle of a remark. It would be different if the second character checked the first character for making such a statement, but that doesn't happen. It does not give me a great impression of the author and I feel like this is a direct jab towards Mexican immigrants. I must emphasize its need for removal because this will alienate a substantial portion of readers.
All in all, I had to drop this book which is a shame, because I was very excited for it. However, I cannot in good conscience recommend it to my audience.
Thank you to Bloom Books for allowing me the opportunity to review.
Sparrow and Vine is the first installment of a series where the two main characters are from rival families in an arranged marriage. The premise itself is very interesting and sounds almost like a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet with family dynamics and dramatics coming into play.
However, when it comes to the actual story I really struggled with the writing style and found it to be flat and one-dimensional. I couldn't find myself caring for any of the characters or empathizing for any of them. I also felt myself checking the category (YA vs New Adult) because some of the writing choices for similes felt a bit too juvenile for me personally.
And then I came upon some dialogue that stopped me in my tracks and I could not continue reading.
Chapter 8:
""I don't want to sound ignorant," I say to Sadie as we ascend the gentle slope up to the vines, "but shouldn't there be a crew of people with questionable work visas picking these grapes for us?"
"Sometimes there is." Sadie bites the edge of her lip. "We're a little short on cash this year.""
This scene needs to be taken out or changed. This is an incredibly insensitive and demeaning line between two characters where the second character indirectly agrees with the first character's racist dog whistle of a remark. It would be different if the second character checked the first character for making such a statement, but that doesn't happen. It does not give me a great impression of the author and I feel like this is a direct jab towards Mexican immigrants. I must emphasize its need for removal because this will alienate a substantial portion of readers.
All in all, I had to drop this book which is a shame, because I was very excited for it. However, I cannot in good conscience recommend it to my audience.
Thank you to Bloom Books for allowing me the opportunity to review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism