Scan barcode
A review by cgreens
Like Sisters on the Homefront by Rita Williams-Garcia
2.0
Hmm.
First, why do most of the reviews for this book sound like middle school book reports?
I don't even agree that this is necessarily "realistic fiction"--there is a touch of magical realism, or lyrical fiction, at the least.
The writing style is beautiful, and the story premise is wonderful. I am shocked I didn't enjoy this book more. But . . . I didn't. I wish it was longer and more descriptive, especially in terms of really painting a picture of the setting. There were some beautiful scenes, like when Cookie's "pride" compels her to ruin a church solo, but others that dragged. The Telling was hard not to skim through. I wonder if the author was shackled by needing a 14yo protagonist for the story premise but then being pigeon holed into writing a YA book. I actually think the whole premise of "writing to readers a few years younger than the protagonist" for YA/NA books falls apart for a lot of stories, and this is easily one of them. I think a longer book marketed to adults with the proper space to submerge the reader in the story would be spectacular.
First, why do most of the reviews for this book sound like middle school book reports?
I don't even agree that this is necessarily "realistic fiction"--there is a touch of magical realism, or lyrical fiction, at the least.
The writing style is beautiful, and the story premise is wonderful. I am shocked I didn't enjoy this book more. But . . . I didn't. I wish it was longer and more descriptive, especially in terms of really painting a picture of the setting. There were some beautiful scenes, like when Cookie's "pride" compels her to ruin a church solo, but others that dragged. The Telling was hard not to skim through. I wonder if the author was shackled by needing a 14yo protagonist for the story premise but then being pigeon holed into writing a YA book. I actually think the whole premise of "writing to readers a few years younger than the protagonist" for YA/NA books falls apart for a lot of stories, and this is easily one of them. I think a longer book marketed to adults with the proper space to submerge the reader in the story would be spectacular.