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A review by annamickreads
Summer in the City of Roses by Michelle Ruiz Keil
4.0
A lush, gorgeous modern fairytale through 1990s Portland. The tone of this book is really unlike anything I've ever read before, rooted in reality but combining a Greek myth-Grimm's fairytale retelling that's dreamy, yet, I think holds a lot of emotional weight.
Our main characters are Iphigenia and Orestes Santos Velos, who have been essentially exiled for the summer after their mother leaves on a three-month dance residency. Their father, a Greek businessman, decides to send Orr (who is implied to have some sort of anxiety disorder) to a rehabilitation-boot-camp that only upsets him further, and he manages to escape and run away. When Iph gets wind of her brother's absence and subsequent flight, she blames her father and runs off..only to find her father has abandoned her as well.
Iph runs into local community Robin Hood, George, who whisks her away on an epic quest of young love, summer fun, and family. Orr, meanwhile, finds himself hitching a ride with Portland punk band The Furies, who are teaching him life lessons of his own.
The descriptions in this book manage to find magical even in the ordinary, and turn regular events into extraordinary. I loved the many subtle conversations happening about unhoused youths, drug addiction, sex work, and sexuality that appear with a very empathetic, thoughtful lens. The sprinkling of Shakespeare in combination with everyday life only adds to the fairytale-esque feeling this book lends itself to.
The one thing that I wasn't sure about was the pacing. Because Iph is trying to figure out where her brother could be, she spends a lot of time running errands while waiting by a (pay) phone. Meanwhile, Orr is uncertain if he wants to go back to his family or exist on his own while his mother is away, so it creates kind of a hurry-up-and-wait situation while the family members slowly learn of each other's whereabouts.
Our main characters are Iphigenia and Orestes Santos Velos, who have been essentially exiled for the summer after their mother leaves on a three-month dance residency. Their father, a Greek businessman, decides to send Orr (who is implied to have some sort of anxiety disorder) to a rehabilitation-boot-camp that only upsets him further, and he manages to escape and run away. When Iph gets wind of her brother's absence and subsequent flight, she blames her father and runs off..only to find her father has abandoned her as well.
Iph runs into local community Robin Hood, George, who whisks her away on an epic quest of young love, summer fun, and family. Orr, meanwhile, finds himself hitching a ride with Portland punk band The Furies, who are teaching him life lessons of his own.
The descriptions in this book manage to find magical even in the ordinary, and turn regular events into extraordinary. I loved the many subtle conversations happening about unhoused youths, drug addiction, sex work, and sexuality that appear with a very empathetic, thoughtful lens. The sprinkling of Shakespeare in combination with everyday life only adds to the fairytale-esque feeling this book lends itself to.
The one thing that I wasn't sure about was the pacing. Because Iph is trying to figure out where her brother could be, she spends a lot of time running errands while waiting by a (pay) phone. Meanwhile, Orr is uncertain if he wants to go back to his family or exist on his own while his mother is away, so it creates kind of a hurry-up-and-wait situation while the family members slowly learn of each other's whereabouts.