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A review by knod78
Wings of Ebony by J. Elle
4.0
As soon as I learned that the author was from Third Ward, I had to support and read. It's YA fantasy, which is around my norm of books. This book has local charm, sisterly love, witchcraft (old and new), social and political issues, racism all rolled into a book. I especially loved the descriptions of food. It read quick and I was in the story feeling the suspicion of how someone can unite the tribes, everything's great, and then we all happily have magic while also looking only gray...hmmmm. I loved Ms. Leola who reminded me of my grandmother, everyone was family and everyone is getting fed no matter what. The book did remind me a bit of Harry Potter and Hunger Games, but with it's own spin. I loved how everything unfolded, maybe just a bit too predictable, which is what you get in a YA book.
My only gripes were the ending and details. It felt climatically perfect for the General, but so very anti-climatic for New Ghizon, Old Ghizon, and the Chancellor. The author just kind of left it there with a poem at the end. No, I want something, anything there. I mean I guess it's setting up for the next books, but it just fell flat at the end. And I love to read authors write how they talk, I do, and it works for when the characters are speaking. But a great deal of the filler information, the details were in short, choppy sentences that just left me a little meh. I didn't really get a sense of either Ghizon. I roughly know where she's talking about for East Row since I live in Third Ward, and I can picture what she's talking about wholeheartedly. However, if I wasn't here, I wouldn't know anything about East Row. The people, yes, I get it and I understand it. But the place itself, didn't come out on the pages, which I think was a shame.
This book is wonderful to read and if you are into YA fantasy with witchcraft and racism and going between two worlds mixed together, you will love this book. If you are a native Houstonian, and you read about Edwards Theater on 59, you will smile.
My only gripes were the ending and details. It felt climatically perfect for the General, but so very anti-climatic for New Ghizon, Old Ghizon, and the Chancellor. The author just kind of left it there with a poem at the end. No, I want something, anything there. I mean I guess it's setting up for the next books, but it just fell flat at the end. And I love to read authors write how they talk, I do, and it works for when the characters are speaking. But a great deal of the filler information, the details were in short, choppy sentences that just left me a little meh. I didn't really get a sense of either Ghizon. I roughly know where she's talking about for East Row since I live in Third Ward, and I can picture what she's talking about wholeheartedly. However, if I wasn't here, I wouldn't know anything about East Row. The people, yes, I get it and I understand it. But the place itself, didn't come out on the pages, which I think was a shame.
This book is wonderful to read and if you are into YA fantasy with witchcraft and racism and going between two worlds mixed together, you will love this book. If you are a native Houstonian, and you read about Edwards Theater on 59, you will smile.