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Drama |
I picked this book when I was looking for another book of Marieke Nijkamp and I could not find it on the store. I read the blurb, which I rarely do, and got ready to dig into the mystery set in the obscure town near Alaska. Let us see how Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp turned into, alright?
About Before I let go
Book Name: Before I let go
Author: Marieke Nijkamp
Genre: Fiction – Drama, Young Adult
Characters: Corey, Kyra
Setting: Alaska, The USA
Plot summary of Before I let go
The story begins with Corey returning to her small town called Lost Creek,
Alaska after she heard her best friend Kyra is dead. As she tries to understand what happened to Kyra, Corey is pushed away from the very town she grew up in and lived for sixteen years.
Kyra and Corey have been best friends since childhood. They have stood together through thick and thin, especially when Kyra was diagnosed as bipolar and the villagers started treating her differently.
But now everything appears to have changed. Everyone speaks of Kyra lovingly and treats her like someone special, now that she has gone. What happened in the past few months and how did Kyra even die? You need to read Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp to know more.
Book review of Before I let go
For starters, I don’t think it was meant to be a mystery novel, thanks for nothing, Goodreads!, because there was no suspense, like at all. Somewhere in the middle of the book, we already know the ‘what, when, why and how’. The plot had a lot of things going on, but the storyline became so predictable and lacked pace.
Well, the book talks about mental illness and the kids are sexually diverse (a pansexual and an asexual) but I can not be the judge of the realness of the representation. The atmosphere was creepy and sinister until the end, which I liked.
Things that worked for me
- The friendship between Kyra and Corey was strong. The whole story revolved around that instead of romance. for a change.
- I liked the writing style and it kept me invested until the end despite the other flaws.
- I liked the eerie setting and frankly just reading about this small town in a remote place.
Things that didn’t work for me
- I felt the pace was so slow and it became kinda repetitive after a while.
- I didn’t particularly relate to any of the characters, which were bland and flat.
- The non-lead characters seemed under developed as well.
Bottom line
Before I let go talks a lot about strong friendship in an eerie and hostile environment. If you like reading about mental health with diverse characters you might like Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp.
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Drama |
It has been a while since I reviewed a translated work I think. And if you are doing the Year of Asian challenge, read this review of One Part Woman and then the book right away.
About One Part Woman
Book Name: One Part Woman
Author: Perumal Murugan
Genre: Fiction – Drama, Literary, Translated work
Characters: Kali, Ponna, Muthu,
Setting: Tamilnadu, India
Plot summary of One Part Woman
Set in the southern part of India, the story revolves around Kali and Ponna who have been married for twelve years. They are ridiculed and ostracized for not conceiving a child by their family, friends and the entire village. They have been called names and shamed about their fertility at every instance. Despite having doubts about having a baby, they try to save their face in front of the society.
They have met with many astrologers, made offerings to the Gods and done every ritual sacrifices to their deities but to no avail. As a last resort, their families ask Ponna to take part in a specific festival celebrating the half-man-half-woman deity, when any man and woman can consensual sexual relationship with one another.
Will the couple take up the offer? What effect would this offer have on their relationship. You should read One Part Woman to know more.
Book review of One Part Woman
Though initially written in my mother tongue Tamil, I read One Part Woman in English and I am glad I did that. While I have heard high praises about the original, I am not sure if I could have digested the rawness in the story.
One Part Woman portrays emphatically the society’s stand towards a couple who are childless, or God forbid choose not to have one, especially in the rural areas.
There are a lot of racial and sexual slurs (not more than other novels of the genre though), but nothing that called for the riots and calls for banning the book. I think the political and casteists should leave the literary world alone.
Things that worked for me:
- I loved the layered and flowery writing style of the author.
- All the characters are well thought and fully developed. I loved Ponna’s strong and fierce character.
- The book ends in a kinda cliffhanger and continues in the next part, the end worked for me.
- The rural life in the south India is perfectly etched.
Things that didn’t work for me:
- The rawness in writing goes in hand with a lot obscene sexual and racial slurs. That is one reason I am glad I didn’t read it in my mother tongue.
- I didn’t get many of the slurs and slang, despite it being my mother tongue.
- There are times the flowery writing might seem overdone and drags the pace.
Bottom-line:
If you want to read a translated work that portrays rural south India then One Part Woman should be your choice. I am definitely reading the part two soon.
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Drama |
Remember my post about how I never got to read many Middle grade books when I was younger? It is time to change that, thanks for all the children’s books that I get to review on my blog. I am happy to say that I am enjoying the chance. Thanks to Medina Publishing, Middle East for sending me a bunch of children’s books for review.
I enjoyed reading them as they had stories from the Arabic world, which is a lot different from the Indian folktales that I grew up listening to and the Western tales that I read as a kid. Let us get on with it shall we?
Author: Julia Johnson
Illustrator: Susan Keeble
In Saluki-Hound of the Bedouin, we read about the story of Sougha, a hunting dog of the native breed called Saluki through eyes of its master Hamad. We also learn about the life style of the Bedouin, the nomadic group from the Middle East as well.
Perfect for 6 – 12 years, especially if they love dogs and pups they will love this book.
Author: Julia Johnson
Illustrator: Emily Styles
Ameera, a young girl sets out alone in search of berries in the wild but accidentally falls down into a deep dark cave. The wells in Ameera’s village have dried up and the villagers are in the brink of a drought. Her family and their friends have set out to find her but they have no idea where to search for her.
Ameera meets an owl and a mysterious young boy who keep her company in the dark caves. But how can she attract the attention men who are searching for her on the surface, not underground where she is?
With illustrations that keep us hooked to the narration, The Secret of the Cave will work perfectly for children between 6 to 10 years.
Author: Joan Hannam
Illustrator:Patricia Al-Fakhri
We all have heard good things about the majestic Arabian horses right? Sharifa was one of the horses and she belonged to the Sheikh who loved her very much. She was the apple of his eye.
With beautiful illustrations to steal our hearts, Sharifa The Story Of An Arabian Horse has a pretty straight forward narration and talks about the love for pets. Perfect for young and middle grade kids.
Author: Julia Johnson
Illustrator: Charlene Kasdorf
Abu and his donkey have been together all their life and they help transporting the villagers’ goods together. But things change when a new truck arrives to the town.
If you are looking for a children’s book with colorful illustration that will appeal your younger ones, The old man and his donkey should be your choice. This book is funny and ends with a moral value.
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Drama |
Radio Silence is one of my top picks from the books I read in 2019. Every one of my friends who have read this already is in love with this book. And every blog that talks about this one raves about it.
Did I tell I am already looking forward to reading more from this author? Aren’t you interested to know why is Radio Silence so fabulous? Read ahead.
About the book
Book Name: Radio Silence
Author: Alice Oseman
Genre: Fiction – Drama
Characters: Frances Janvier, Aled Last, Daniel Jun, Carys and Carol Last, Raine Sengupta
Setting: Kent County, England, The UK
Plot
Frances Janvier is the boring, nerdy school head girl, at least to her class mates. She is a topper and so obsessed with getting into Cambridge that she gets panic attacks over just thinking about not going there. She is a typical high strung, anxious, perfectionist millennial teen who is trying to do the correct things to achieve her goals.
Unbeknownst to her schoolmates, she is a fantastic artist who is absolutely besotted with a Youtube podcast Univserse City and podcaster’s voice. She draws fan arts for the show which is quite popular among the fanworld. Her two worlds collide when she meets her class nemesis Daniel’s best friend Aled Last, who as she gets to know later is the mind behind Universe City.
Aled Last is a shy neighbor to Frances and his sister used to be friends with Frances until a while ago. When he finds out about her fan art, he asks Frances to collaborate with him on his show. How they help each other to learn to love themselves and find a family of their own forms the rest of the story.
(Do not get fooled by this plot. I am trying to be as mysterious and spoiler free as I can get to make you pick Radio Silence.)
My initial thoughts
I think I made my feelings about the book very clear when I started the review. I loved the diverse representation and that there wasn’t a forced romance. And more than everything, I loved the character arcs and how strongly they were developed.
The theme of mysterious history of Frances and Carys and the mysterious present between Daniel and Aled’s friendship kept me hooked. While the writing quintessentially represents a millennial teenager’s POV, it was not angst-y and irksome, even when it was bit longer.
Things that worked for me
- Every character is fully developed and has a strong storyline.
- Great use of diverse representation, which didn’t feel forced or eclipsing the main plot.
- It talks about the pressure about higher education, which was so relatable to me.
- There is no romance and a lot of friendship.
Things that didn’t work for me
- It felt a longer than it needs to be.
- I liked Aled and Daniel’s part of the story more than Frances. I know it is not a negative thing. Still she is the narrator but I didn’t care for her as much. Maybe.
Bottom-line
Just go pick a copy of this one already please, while I am hunting for Alice Oseman’s other books.
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Drama, review |
Y’all know how I successfully completed the A-Z reading challenge of 2018! I know I know, I surprised myself and I am definitely signing up for the next year too. And that is how I heard of the highly rated Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin as I was on the lookout for the letter ‘Y’.
To be fair I would have been okay with just a decent read because my aim was more to tick that letter off. Did that happen with Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin? Let us see, shall we?
About the book
Book Name: Young Jane Young
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Genre: Fiction – Drama
Characters: Rachel Grossman, Jane Young (Aviva Grossman), Aaron and Embeth Levin, Ruby Young
Setting: Florida, Maine, The USA
Plot
Loosely based on the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal from the yesteryears, Zevin talks about the other side of the story in her book, Young Jane Young.
Taking place in Florid, Aviva Grossman, a new intern has an affair with the handsome Congressman Aaron Levin. When it comes out in the open, the congressman’s life stays impact, despite the negative news and Aviva’s life is turned upside down. But all that is the past.
Now, she has moved states and reinvented herself as Jane Young, an event planner, and lives with her headstrong daughter Ruby. When she is convinced to run for the mayor of her small town, her past catches up.
Ruby realizes her mother is not who she believed to be and takes things up in her own hands. Did that end well? Did the Grossman family have a chance to reconcile? You will have to read Young Jane Young to know more.
My initial thoughts
In Young Jane Young, we read about the present life and the aftermath of the scandal through the eyes of five female involved Rachel Grossman (Aviva’s mother), Jane Young (Aviva’s new life), Embeth Levin (the congressman’s wife), Ruby (Jane’s daughter) and Aviva herself (in a Choose Your Adventure style narration).
I generally like books that have different POVs. I know they usually are either hit or miss and there is no in between. And Zevin nails this down.
As much as I understood the actions of the 13 year old Ruby, they still irritated me, especially when she is portrayed as a rational and feminist kinda kid. I didn’t feel related to any of the characters but that, surprisingly didn’t seem a negative in Young Jane Young.
Apart from the story as much, Young Jane Young brings out the double standard and misogynist society we live in, especially because IT REALLY HAPPENED.
Though I was kinda young and living in a different continent altogether to know all the details, I remember how we joked about the seductress and tore her apart while Clinton’s political life and marriage survived. And we went on to diss about Hillary Clinton about deciding to stay with him. I think this is a powerful feminist story in its own way.
Things that worked for me
- The plot is definitely interesting and is worth talking about. I didn’t quite expect Young Jane Young to turn out to be a feminist tale.
- The writing is fast and engaging. I never felt even a moment’s lag in the pace of the story.
- I loved reading different point of views of five strong women.
Things that didn’t work for me
- I didn’t relate to any of the characters and the actions of few of these characters really irked me.
- It takes a while for the story to pick and for the reader to understand what really happened in the past.
- Choose Your Adventure style narration for the last part felt too gimmicky for my liking.
Bottom-line
If you are ready to face the misogynistic side of the yesteryear’s scandal, Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin is for you. I liked Gabrielle Zevin’s engaging style of writing and I will definitely be reading more from her.
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Drama |
Do you ever feel so disappointed in yourself when you don’t fall in love with a book? I did as I read The Forty rules of love. When I was in a reading slump a while ago, a friend of mine nudged (read as: pushed) me towards this one as this was one of her favorite books.
I had had few others recommending this book earlier, and the time had finally come for me to pick The Forty rules of love. So let us see how that turned out for me right?
About The Forty rules of love
Book Name: The Forty rules of love
Author: Elif Shafak
Genre: Fiction – Drama, Magical Realism, Historical
Characters: Ella, Rumi, Shams-i Tabrizi
Setting: The USA, Turkey
Plot Summary of The Forty rules of love
The Forty rules of love is a story within a story. Ella, a married woman is going through a mid life crisis with a loveless marriage, a husband who is cheating on her and kids who don’t need her anymore.
When her young daughter announces that she is getting married to her boyfriend, Ella finds it hard to believe that people (i.e. her daughter) wanted to marry for love.
Ella is a beta reader who receives a manuscript from an author with whom she begins email conversation. She realizes that Aziz was so different from her and his beliefs and faith shock her as much as they enthuse her.
She continues to read his manuscript about two friends, Rumi and Sham and learns about their Dervish ways of life, which a part of Islam. Does the relationship between Ella and Aziz go any further? Does Ella’s perception of life change at all? Read The Forty rules of love to know further.
Book review of The Forty rules of love
As I was telling earlier, I tried so hard to like The Forty rules of love but I was left disappointed. And for once it was not because of my high expectations or the hype. I just failed to understand the whole point of the rules of love and completely disliked the preachy tone and wonder if it had anything to do with the translation or it was just the writing itself.
I wish it had a little bit lightheartedness in it to make it more fun to read. There were too many small characters to remember but I can understand why they were needed, to educate every rule. I still wish the characters had more depth, while they were all card board cut – the non religious were all evil and the religious ones were all love and simple.
Things that worked for me
- I loved the way the author had mixed in Turkish culture and history to the story.
- The ideology behind the rules for the love to God and one another was novel and interesting (to a point).
- Reading this story has increased my interest in reading the poems of Rumi which are well known.
Things that didn’t work for me
- I wish the characters were more complex and deeper.
- I didn’t like the moral, preachy tones that made it difficult to like the characters.
- To be fair I have never had a thing for magical realism. Maybe I don’t get it well enough to appreciate it.
Bottom-line
I am happy for all those for whom this book worked. But it didn’t for me, I understand why didn’t work for me. I might give the author another try, in a few years and maybe it will work then. Keeping my fingers crossed.
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