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introvertinterrupted's Reviews (1.08k)
In the beginning, I felt as if this book deserved a 3.5 star rating, but after giving myself a break to think on what I read, I knock the rating down to a solid 3 Stars. The story had a lot of plot holes that Chitra Banerjee Divakarunu doesn’t clear up before ending the novel abruptly. Instead of these points feeling “mysterious,” they felt like large boulders dropped into the middle of the storyline. The ending is where this really shows the extent that this hurts the novel’s development. Divakarunu has a magnificent way of telling stories yet, this book fell flat because she seemed to have gotten over ambitious in her delivery.
A few of the side characters were more interesting than the main characters and I’d have preferred to hear their stories opposed to the characters that Divakarunu chose to highlight in the book. For example, Tara, the youngest main character was a whiny, first generation American who stayed complaining about everything and blaming other people for her mistakes. It was sickening to read her passages.
A few of the side characters were more interesting than the main characters and I’d have preferred to hear their stories opposed to the characters that Divakarunu chose to highlight in the book. For example, Tara, the youngest main character was a whiny, first generation American who stayed complaining about everything and blaming other people for her mistakes. It was sickening to read her passages.
I don't feel equipped to rate this book. It left me with a lot of thoughts about how we as a society function, yet at the same time, I strangely felt detached from the main character.
I would recommend this book for others to read however, I don't think it should be rushed through like I did when reading it. Sayaka Murata did a magnificent job writing this story and packing so many different elements into this small novela.
I would love to hear what other people thought of this book as well.
I would recommend this book for others to read however, I don't think it should be rushed through like I did when reading it. Sayaka Murata did a magnificent job writing this story and packing so many different elements into this small novela.
I would love to hear what other people thought of this book as well.
I really wanted to love this book, but the themes and tropes all felt very cliched and overdone, and I honestly felt as if I was rewatching every YA and fantasy film I've ever loved blended and pureed into oblivion and then served to me tied up in a neat "diverse" bow. It's very obvious that this book was served up on a gilded platter to us as readers as the "diverse reading pick of the year" when it was merely a decent read that just happened to fill the void in a sea of whiteness. To put it plainly, this book was too long and too drawn out to match the hype it been given.
However, I can't lie and say that the book wasn't on trend for what's hot in pop culture and the YA genre right now. For instance, I know that the religion that deals with Orishas has just hit mainstream culture thanks to Beyonce's Lemonade visual album and due to this, everyone and their mother is scrambling to find a connection to these sacred figures in some way or other as a means to get "inspired," but Tomi Adeyemi's usage of the religion as a means of being the precursor to magic in the book just fell flat for me. With the over usage of the Orishas and the many poorly written and angsty passages that kept getting repeated, I felt as if I was being beaten over the head by this plot device.
Likewise, the character development in the book fell flat for me. (view spoiler) Overall, though, I felt the teenage angst in this book thanks to the repetitive scenes and the length of the book. In a way, I almost wish I could get to know the characters more because it feels as if they've all become too close, too quick in the way they are put together causing a lot of their relationships between the four main character to feel forced to me.
I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I have to be real and say, for me, this book was decent at best and overwritten at worst. That being said, after reading this first installment in the series, I hope that the filler passages get cut from the second book. If not, It would be nice if Adeyemi could find a way to balance out the "action" and "traveling" scenes and allows the characters to find a way to interact outside of combat. I think this would be helpful in rounding out the characters' relationships and clearing up parts of the novel where the world building was murky. Having the characters tell the reader about the world they live in through basic daily interaction, and good dialogue would allow us as readers to breathe in between fight scenes as well. It's obvious Adeyemi is a good writer, but she seemed to throw a lot into this first novel.
In terms of recommending this book, I think it’s a decent start to a fantasy series and should be read, but regarding the Orisha element of the novel, I’d personally say American Street by Ibi Zoboi deals with the representation of these religious figureheads so much better.
However, I can't lie and say that the book wasn't on trend for what's hot in pop culture and the YA genre right now. For instance, I know that the religion that deals with Orishas has just hit mainstream culture thanks to Beyonce's Lemonade visual album and due to this, everyone and their mother is scrambling to find a connection to these sacred figures in some way or other as a means to get "inspired," but Tomi Adeyemi's usage of the religion as a means of being the precursor to magic in the book just fell flat for me. With the over usage of the Orishas and the many poorly written and angsty passages that kept getting repeated, I felt as if I was being beaten over the head by this plot device.
Likewise, the character development in the book fell flat for me. (view spoiler) Overall, though, I felt the teenage angst in this book thanks to the repetitive scenes and the length of the book. In a way, I almost wish I could get to know the characters more because it feels as if they've all become too close, too quick in the way they are put together causing a lot of their relationships between the four main character to feel forced to me.
I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I have to be real and say, for me, this book was decent at best and overwritten at worst. That being said, after reading this first installment in the series, I hope that the filler passages get cut from the second book. If not, It would be nice if Adeyemi could find a way to balance out the "action" and "traveling" scenes and allows the characters to find a way to interact outside of combat. I think this would be helpful in rounding out the characters' relationships and clearing up parts of the novel where the world building was murky. Having the characters tell the reader about the world they live in through basic daily interaction, and good dialogue would allow us as readers to breathe in between fight scenes as well. It's obvious Adeyemi is a good writer, but she seemed to throw a lot into this first novel.
In terms of recommending this book, I think it’s a decent start to a fantasy series and should be read, but regarding the Orisha element of the novel, I’d personally say American Street by Ibi Zoboi deals with the representation of these religious figureheads so much better.