A review by kat_mayerovitch
The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a library read-along, and I wasn't sure entirely what to expect when I first picked it up, aside from an intergenerational story taking place in New Mexico, a state I lived in for three years as a young adult. In that way, the scenery was familiar to me. (I too knew all the same insulting jokes about Española as our leading man, such as he is.) And the stories of our characters are also well-known through their stereotypical tropes: our teen mother, our hapless alcoholic, our self-righteous white Teacher Of The Poor, our unpalatable and unbelieved truth-teller. But the author manages to work beyond these stereotypes and give them a richness that makes you care, and that's what makes the novel work. You love them in spite of yourself. You wish you didn't, but what can you do? You've been inside their heads, they're family now. 

The ending was perhaps a bit too pat, but while I was surprised to get something resembling a Happily Ever After, I wasn't disappointed. I'm glad the characters found some peace, even if it's just for a moment. 
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