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amysbooketlist 's review for:
Sparrow
by Mary Cecilia Jackson
I have to admit to initially falling in love with this cover. Besides giving off some serious Black Swan vibes, I am fascinated by ballet. Skill, athleticism, grace, determination, and strength all come together to form this beautiful dance that is both rigid and soft.
What I first thought was a typical YA about a troubled but beautiful girl turned into something way more intricate and beautiful. To say this is a coming of age story sells it completely short. This is a story of survival.
The most beautiful and engaging moments came when Mary Cecilia Jackson wrote about each characters emotions. In life, we often times disregard teenage feelings as overly dramatic caricatures of true adult feeling, but Sparrow serves as a sorrowful reminder that childhood emotion can be just as real, just as deep, and just as lasting.
It’s also a much needed reminder of the impact domestic abuse can have and the importance of taking mental health seriously. Domestic violence often has many victims beyond the person getting physically assaulted. The ripple effect of each blow, each insult, reverberates throughout someones life, touching everyone around them, and changing everyone’s lives forever.
Mary Cecilia Jackson chose to write in a beautiful style that I really appreciated, and let me explain why. The story is told from two different perspectives, but is not told truly chronologically. When we read from Sparrow’s POV, we see only parts of the story, but once the perspective shifts we get to see other events. In essence, instead of being an omnipotent reader, we experience the book as an onlooker would. We only see what’s available and sometimes find out too late the whole story.
If you’ve ever known someone in an abusive relationship or been in one yourself, many times even close friends and family didn’t know what was going on behind closed doors. By framing the book this way, Jackson gave us the ability to experience Sparrow’s story as each character did.
Needless to say, I loved the book. One of my fav YA books of the year for sure, but be prepared for some heavy emotions and violent imagery. Definite trigger warnings in this one.
What I first thought was a typical YA about a troubled but beautiful girl turned into something way more intricate and beautiful. To say this is a coming of age story sells it completely short. This is a story of survival.
The most beautiful and engaging moments came when Mary Cecilia Jackson wrote about each characters emotions. In life, we often times disregard teenage feelings as overly dramatic caricatures of true adult feeling, but Sparrow serves as a sorrowful reminder that childhood emotion can be just as real, just as deep, and just as lasting.
It’s also a much needed reminder of the impact domestic abuse can have and the importance of taking mental health seriously. Domestic violence often has many victims beyond the person getting physically assaulted. The ripple effect of each blow, each insult, reverberates throughout someones life, touching everyone around them, and changing everyone’s lives forever.
Mary Cecilia Jackson chose to write in a beautiful style that I really appreciated, and let me explain why. The story is told from two different perspectives, but is not told truly chronologically. When we read from Sparrow’s POV, we see only parts of the story, but once the perspective shifts we get to see other events. In essence, instead of being an omnipotent reader, we experience the book as an onlooker would. We only see what’s available and sometimes find out too late the whole story.
If you’ve ever known someone in an abusive relationship or been in one yourself, many times even close friends and family didn’t know what was going on behind closed doors. By framing the book this way, Jackson gave us the ability to experience Sparrow’s story as each character did.
Needless to say, I loved the book. One of my fav YA books of the year for sure, but be prepared for some heavy emotions and violent imagery. Definite trigger warnings in this one.