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A review by meganac
Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms by Katherine Rundell
4.0
Neither could speak. It was that day that a silence settled on the pair of them, and they were bound close by it. Will felt, in that moment, too small to face such misery, but she knew that she would have to expand now, with a terrible rush, to fill the empty space.
3.5 stars. It's rare that I read middle-grade novels, these days. They just don't hold my attention - and if I think they're too slow and disjointed to pay attention to, it's no wonder the eleven-year-olds don't want to read them - and so I usually pass them by. I do try to keep up on the trends and read a fair few so I can recommend them to patrons, but there's a definite trend. Beautiful book, slow/dull pacing, good story. More often, it feels like the author is trying to make a point with their writing and you feel like the book is just a soapbox so they can be famous for promoting something politically correct.
However, Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms, though slowly paced, was good. It deals with the strangeness of being a foreigner, the heartbreak of loss, and the impression that you as a child must live up to a certain standard to suit adults. Wilhelmina was a strong, fierce, wildcat of an MC. I rather liked it, and besides, this book IS gorgeous and it's also crammed with Zimbabwean culture.
3.5 stars. It's rare that I read middle-grade novels, these days. They just don't hold my attention - and if I think they're too slow and disjointed to pay attention to, it's no wonder the eleven-year-olds don't want to read them - and so I usually pass them by. I do try to keep up on the trends and read a fair few so I can recommend them to patrons, but there's a definite trend. Beautiful book, slow/dull pacing, good story. More often, it feels like the author is trying to make a point with their writing and you feel like the book is just a soapbox so they can be famous for promoting something politically correct.
However, Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms, though slowly paced, was good. It deals with the strangeness of being a foreigner, the heartbreak of loss, and the impression that you as a child must live up to a certain standard to suit adults. Wilhelmina was a strong, fierce, wildcat of an MC. I rather liked it, and besides, this book IS gorgeous and it's also crammed with Zimbabwean culture.