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A review by knightreader1988
From Yaad by Tracey Jackson
4.0
From Yaad is a delightful and cute short story suited for a day at the beach. You will gobble it up in no time!
The novella centers around Stevonie, a working class professional of Jamaican descent living and working in the United States. A marketing executive by trade with a promising career, Stevonie's 'perfect' life is thrown into disarray when she inherits a small tourist resort in Jamaica. The new demands placed on her threaten to derail her own ambitions, leaving her with the hard choice between her father's dream and her own.
Authentic Jamaican language and references colour the pages as we take a trip with Stevonie back 'home'. Her ability or at times inability to connect to the Jamaican climate is not unlike the struggle many returning residents or first generation immigrants face on revisiting their ancestral land. As a nomad myself, I related a lot to Stevonie's challenge.
The telling of the story led to easy reading but my only major qualm was the under development of certain characters particularly the protagonist's mother. She was quite a rich presence at the start, so I was understandably disappointed when she didn't appear more often later in the story. Indeed, given the Novella format the author chose, full development of multiple characters would be next to impossible, but a reader can hope!
The story comes at a time when women have established themselves as leaders in society and it is now the job of authors worldwide to have this reflected in present day literature. Stevonie's strength in many ways exemplifies the real world gusto women display in their daily lives, whether at home or at work, and I applaud the author for this. I certainly look forward to additional works by Tracey, whether continuing Stevonie's journey or otherwise. Extra happy points are awarded for Tracey's inclusion of a playlist at the end of the story. I'd suggest flipping to the back before starting, queuing up some of the songs and then reading for the full effect!
I thank the author for providing this novella in exchange for an honest review. All views are my own.
The novella centers around Stevonie, a working class professional of Jamaican descent living and working in the United States. A marketing executive by trade with a promising career, Stevonie's 'perfect' life is thrown into disarray when she inherits a small tourist resort in Jamaica. The new demands placed on her threaten to derail her own ambitions, leaving her with the hard choice between her father's dream and her own.
Authentic Jamaican language and references colour the pages as we take a trip with Stevonie back 'home'. Her ability or at times inability to connect to the Jamaican climate is not unlike the struggle many returning residents or first generation immigrants face on revisiting their ancestral land. As a nomad myself, I related a lot to Stevonie's challenge.
The telling of the story led to easy reading but my only major qualm was the under development of certain characters particularly the protagonist's mother. She was quite a rich presence at the start, so I was understandably disappointed when she didn't appear more often later in the story. Indeed, given the Novella format the author chose, full development of multiple characters would be next to impossible, but a reader can hope!
The story comes at a time when women have established themselves as leaders in society and it is now the job of authors worldwide to have this reflected in present day literature. Stevonie's strength in many ways exemplifies the real world gusto women display in their daily lives, whether at home or at work, and I applaud the author for this. I certainly look forward to additional works by Tracey, whether continuing Stevonie's journey or otherwise. Extra happy points are awarded for Tracey's inclusion of a playlist at the end of the story. I'd suggest flipping to the back before starting, queuing up some of the songs and then reading for the full effect!
I thank the author for providing this novella in exchange for an honest review. All views are my own.