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mollyq18 's review for:
American Spy
by Lauren Wilkinson
this book was such an interesting concept and so promising to me! sadly, it fell slightly short of my expectations.
I loved the main character and her relationship with each of her family members, particularly her sister, of course. her relationship with her mother, her father, and her sister was uniquely complicated, flawed and loving in a beautifully human way, and I loved learning more about what caused those relationships to unfold as they did.
I also really enjoyed reading about the political context of the time in New York, Martinique, and Burkina Faso. this international story taking place in 1986 at the height of the Cold War is clearly a well-researched journey - and based on true events!
I found the structure of the book very endearing, as well. writing the book as a letter to her sons was very confusing at first, and I had to read whole paragraphs twice or three times in the beginning to track characters and relationships, but soon I was enveloped in the story.
I was so excited after the first few pages of this book for an exciting and fast-paced spy novel, and that’s just not in the design of this book. this book is much more of a family history, social and political commentary, and history of international relations than it is a spy novel. I was sadly bored in many moments and it took me so long to get through this book. I think that is because I was expecting a spy novel and instead got this deeply interesting and complicated unpacking of what it means to be a Fed and the ethics behind US intervention in governments internationally. which I found really interesting, but not the pace of a spy novel.
I think the main reasons I returned to the book even when I was a bit bored were our main character, her life story, and the interesting political climate the story discussed. the pace was off for me sadly but the writing is really strong! I rated this 3 stars on Goodreads & think I would recommend to some people, but not generally.
I loved the main character and her relationship with each of her family members, particularly her sister, of course. her relationship with her mother, her father, and her sister was uniquely complicated, flawed and loving in a beautifully human way, and I loved learning more about what caused those relationships to unfold as they did.
I also really enjoyed reading about the political context of the time in New York, Martinique, and Burkina Faso. this international story taking place in 1986 at the height of the Cold War is clearly a well-researched journey - and based on true events!
I found the structure of the book very endearing, as well. writing the book as a letter to her sons was very confusing at first, and I had to read whole paragraphs twice or three times in the beginning to track characters and relationships, but soon I was enveloped in the story.
I was so excited after the first few pages of this book for an exciting and fast-paced spy novel, and that’s just not in the design of this book. this book is much more of a family history, social and political commentary, and history of international relations than it is a spy novel. I was sadly bored in many moments and it took me so long to get through this book. I think that is because I was expecting a spy novel and instead got this deeply interesting and complicated unpacking of what it means to be a Fed and the ethics behind US intervention in governments internationally. which I found really interesting, but not the pace of a spy novel.
I think the main reasons I returned to the book even when I was a bit bored were our main character, her life story, and the interesting political climate the story discussed. the pace was off for me sadly but the writing is really strong! I rated this 3 stars on Goodreads & think I would recommend to some people, but not generally.