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A review by herwitchiness
Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
5.0
short & sweet summary and review:
Looking for a standalone fantasy novel set in Mexico? Look no further! This book focuses on three best friends and is set both in their senior year of high school in 1988 as well as more current with them reunited the first time in 20 years in 2009. It features the most realistic magic I’ve seen in realistic fantasy books as well as extremely relatable characters & is one I originally thought I wouldn’t finish but after another 30 minutes, I was hooked (1hr30m is exactly where I was drawn in) & I can’t recommend this novel enough. Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a really brilliant writer & I’m excited to get her newest book on Audible next week!
longer, more in depth thoughts:
With all the dehumanizing of Mexico by the current US government, it’s important, I think, to read novels & stories & memoirs that are by and about Mexico & the culture and many many people that call her home. It fights back against propaganda in a very effective way & I think this will be the first book of many I focus on the rest of the year. Reading fosters empathy and compassion even when the news or government tries to strip you of those things.
I really enjoyed the story & characters. Honestly, the characters are the most vivid aspect of this novel & usually I prefer more plot-focused fantasy however this worked better for this particular book & I really loved reading it. I’m glad I went with the audiobook version (available only on Audible, unfortunately but Ana Bayat does a wonderful job) because the characters felt more real & like Meche was sitting next to me telling me her coming of age story. The magic is perhaps the most realistic form of magic I’ve seen in fantasy realism. Definitely a book worth checking out!
Looking for a standalone fantasy novel set in Mexico? Look no further! This book focuses on three best friends and is set both in their senior year of high school in 1988 as well as more current with them reunited the first time in 20 years in 2009. It features the most realistic magic I’ve seen in realistic fantasy books as well as extremely relatable characters & is one I originally thought I wouldn’t finish but after another 30 minutes, I was hooked (1hr30m is exactly where I was drawn in) & I can’t recommend this novel enough. Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a really brilliant writer & I’m excited to get her newest book on Audible next week!
longer, more in depth thoughts:
With all the dehumanizing of Mexico by the current US government, it’s important, I think, to read novels & stories & memoirs that are by and about Mexico & the culture and many many people that call her home. It fights back against propaganda in a very effective way & I think this will be the first book of many I focus on the rest of the year. Reading fosters empathy and compassion even when the news or government tries to strip you of those things.
I really enjoyed the story & characters. Honestly, the characters are the most vivid aspect of this novel & usually I prefer more plot-focused fantasy however this worked better for this particular book & I really loved reading it. I’m glad I went with the audiobook version (available only on Audible, unfortunately but Ana Bayat does a wonderful job) because the characters felt more real & like Meche was sitting next to me telling me her coming of age story. The magic is perhaps the most realistic form of magic I’ve seen in fantasy realism. Definitely a book worth checking out!