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A review by claudiaslibrarycard
The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade
challenging
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The Five Wounds is a character driven drama about a Catholic family in New Mexico. Amadeo Padilla is unemployed and has been giving the role of Jesus in the Good Friday procession- which he is taking very seriously. So seriously that I wondered if this book was a good fit for me, spoiler alert: I'm glad I stuck with it.
So as he's taken on this literal and metaphorical passion project, his fifteen year old daughter Angel shows up and she's pregnant. Only weeks away from her due date, Angel ran away from her mom's house and now Amadeo has to figure out a relationship with her and how to support her and the soon to be baby.
As this book covers the baby's first year, we get the perspectives and experiences of several family members and it becomes clear how much love, struggle, and generational trauma they've got in spades. I've heard this book criticized as heavy, but I felt it was well balanced for the serious topics and content. I would have spent even longer with these characters, they felt so real and relatable. I loved how baby Connor brought them together and allowed them to forgive themselves and each other.
If you like a deeply layered family drama, this is worth picking up.
So as he's taken on this literal and metaphorical passion project, his fifteen year old daughter Angel shows up and she's pregnant. Only weeks away from her due date, Angel ran away from her mom's house and now Amadeo has to figure out a relationship with her and how to support her and the soon to be baby.
As this book covers the baby's first year, we get the perspectives and experiences of several family members and it becomes clear how much love, struggle, and generational trauma they've got in spades. I've heard this book criticized as heavy, but I felt it was well balanced for the serious topics and content. I would have spent even longer with these characters, they felt so real and relatable. I loved how baby Connor brought them together and allowed them to forgive themselves and each other.
If you like a deeply layered family drama, this is worth picking up.