A review by jesshindes
The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade

dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was another one from my Moon Lane Books subscription and a really solid pick to round out the year. It's a family drama set in Mexico focusing on a year in the life of a three-generation family: from pregnant 16-year-old Angel through her father Amadeo (in his 30s, a drinker, very conscious that he hasn't achieved what he might in life), to grandmother Yolanda who is suddenly forced to acknowledge that it's not going to be possible for her to carry everybody on her back forever. Things change a lot for everybody in the course of the year that the novel covers, not in a way that feels forced or implausible but more in a way that reminds you that life even in a small backwater town is still full of big feelings and enormous moments, because that's what life is.

When a book like this is done well it's reliably the kind of thing I love, and this one is done very well; all of the supporting characters are well-rounded and the relationships between everybody are complicated, plausible, and just feel like they matter. Even when the characters are unkind or stupid or reckless, you care about them; you want them to be okay. That carries you right through the story. I hadn't heard of this one before it came up as an option in the book subscription but I definitely recommend it! 
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