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A review by flamingopie
Run, Rebel by Manjeet Mann
4.0
Run Rebel is a verse novel by Manjeet Mann, and a book I was immensely excited to read. It was described as the story of a young girl standing up to her abusive father, and fighting for her freedom and independence in the only way she knows how: on the running track.
Here's one thing that is important to understand for the rest of my review:
The story was broken up into titled poems, ranging anywhere from four pages to two lines. This allowed for gorgeous descriptions of buildings and characters, internal dialogue and thoughts, but at some points makes the story fractured and hard to follow. It also leaves the story prone to tone shifts sharp enough to give you whiplash.
The book started off almost painfully slow. I was tempted to give up so many times in the first 70 pages, but I continued reading, and by the end, my opinion of the book was completely changed (well, almost).
The prologue sets up a dark tone (quickly abandoned) as well as the true nature of Amber's Father. Little titbits about Amber's troubled home life are woven throughout the story, and the poems describing how the world and her troubles melt away whilst running are stunning. There was a four page poem called "Privilege", which was both eye-opening and moving, the first hints at the quality of the book in those painful 70 pages.
After that, as Amber explores the stages of a revolution, artfully weaving the school plot with Amber's home life, the story really picks up pace. It doesn't shy away from heavy emotions and shows how everyone has good and bad in them (although in the case of Amber's abusive Father, that good is few and far between).
In short, the abuse Amber faced at the hands of her Father explains her actions but does not excuse them, a very important distinction to make.
Amber's description of the deterioration of her relationship with her sister, Ruby, was heartfelt and genuinely made me emotional, as was the stellar depiction of a panic attack in poem form on page 112. The fact that this book was a verse novel was damning at times, but not so much at others. Amber has a crush on David, and reading her inner monologue about how glorious he is for pages upon pages (when it made no difference to the overall plot) really starts to grate on you.
I will include some samples that expertly made me want to hit my head against a wall (if this was the effect Manjeet was aiming for, I commend her on her success):
Maybe I could sit through the pages and pages of this if David actually had a character. They constantly talk about how David is different from other boys, but they don't show that. He's emotionally constipated and doesn't know when to stop or start pushing Amber's boundaries (always seeming to do the wrong thing in a way that I think is meant to be endearing but just isn't),.
.
In short, this is not something I would have sought out, far outside the realm of the books I usually read. If you had told me, when I was still reading the first 70 pages of the book, that I would actually enjoy this, I would have laughed. This grounded verse novel was a fascinating read, albeit a bit frustrating at times. As I close off this review, I want to briefly apologise to my friends, who had to listen to me complain about this book for a good three days, followed by me raving about the brilliance of its ending for a few more.
I give this book a solid 3.5 stars. Check it out if you're willing to wait through slow build up for the promise of an immensely satisfying ending, but if you prefer more fantastical stories told in prose over short (sometimes strange) poems, this probably isn't for you.
Here's one thing that is important to understand for the rest of my review:
The story was broken up into titled poems, ranging anywhere from four pages to two lines. This allowed for gorgeous descriptions of buildings and characters, internal dialogue and thoughts, but at some points makes the story fractured and hard to follow. It also leaves the story prone to tone shifts sharp enough to give you whiplash.
The book started off almost painfully slow. I was tempted to give up so many times in the first 70 pages, but I continued reading, and by the end, my opinion of the book was completely changed (well, almost).
The prologue sets up a dark tone (quickly abandoned) as well as the true nature of Amber's Father. Little titbits about Amber's troubled home life are woven throughout the story, and the poems describing how the world and her troubles melt away whilst running are stunning. There was a four page poem called "Privilege", which was both eye-opening and moving, the first hints at the quality of the book in those painful 70 pages.
After that, as Amber explores the stages of a revolution, artfully weaving the school plot with Amber's home life, the story really picks up pace. It doesn't shy away from heavy emotions and shows how everyone has good and bad in them (although in the case of Amber's abusive Father, that good is few and far between).
Spoiler
Amber takes out her anger on other, innocent, people throughout the course of the book, becoming a proper bully, the sort that would be an antagonist in a cheesy teen movie, but she makes amends, and the ending shows that her actions do have consequences and that her victim doesn't have to forgive her.In short, the abuse Amber faced at the hands of her Father explains her actions but does not excuse them, a very important distinction to make.
Amber's description of the deterioration of her relationship with her sister, Ruby, was heartfelt and genuinely made me emotional, as was the stellar depiction of a panic attack in poem form on page 112. The fact that this book was a verse novel was damning at times, but not so much at others. Amber has a crush on David, and reading her inner monologue about how glorious he is for pages upon pages (when it made no difference to the overall plot) really starts to grate on you.
I will include some samples that expertly made me want to hit my head against a wall (if this was the effect Manjeet was aiming for, I commend her on her success):
I'd never seen
eyes
hair
eyes
mouth
cheekbones
face
mouth
eyes
cheekbones
eyes
mouth
mouth
mouth
mouth
like his before.
and I can't tell Tara
that lately
I find myself wondering
where he is and
what he's doing
more than I used to,
more than I should.
More like
all. The. Time.
sit close
look into his eyes
watch his mouth
make him laugh
touch the top of his arm
put my head on his shoulder
twirl my hair
memorize his scent-
Maybe I could sit through the pages and pages of this if David actually had a character. They constantly talk about how David is different from other boys, but they don't show that. He's emotionally constipated and doesn't know when to stop or start pushing Amber's boundaries (always seeming to do the wrong thing in a way that I think is meant to be endearing but just isn't),
Spoiler
which ends with Amber being caught by an Auntie whilst going to McDonald, which leads to... her balding, illiterate Father threatening to kill her and dispose of the parts in the bin like "the Man across the Road"Spoiler
.Gradually following Amber, her sister, and her mother start standing up against Amber's abusive, controlling Father was one of the most satisfying things I have ever read. The slow build-up, timed to match the 8 stages of a revolution she studied in school was expertly written (even if some of the individual poems left a little to be desired).In short, this is not something I would have sought out, far outside the realm of the books I usually read. If you had told me, when I was still reading the first 70 pages of the book, that I would actually enjoy this, I would have laughed. This grounded verse novel was a fascinating read, albeit a bit frustrating at times. As I close off this review, I want to briefly apologise to my friends, who had to listen to me complain about this book for a good three days, followed by me raving about the brilliance of its ending for a few more.
I give this book a solid 3.5 stars. Check it out if you're willing to wait through slow build up for the promise of an immensely satisfying ending, but if you prefer more fantastical stories told in prose over short (sometimes strange) poems, this probably isn't for you.