December, 2017

"Tale of a Boon's Wife" by Fatumo Kusow         

Idil, a wealthy a privileged Somali woman, rejects her high status to marry Sidow, a man whom she loves. As civil war rages, Idil, Sidow and their children are forced to move to the city where danger lurks around every corner.         

I thought this was a very interesting story. I know very little about Somalia or it's civil war. I am curious how much of this book is based on fact. My only complaint is that up until the marriage, the book was very detailed and rich. After the marriage, a lot of time was skipped, making the book feel very rushed. Overall, well worth picking up.

"Forest of a Thousand Lanterns" by Julie C. Dao          

Xifeng has been told since childhood that she is destined to be the Empress. Beautiful, her Aunt Guma has taught her to heal herself and maintain her beauty by eating the hearts of those she has killed. Xifeng leaves her village and travels to the city, where she catches the eye of the Emperor's son. Taken into the court, she finds that in order to gain power, she must embrace the darkness within herself.          

This was an interesting and unexpected story. It was certainly a different twist to the classic fairytale genre. Some of the secondary characters came across as shallow and stereotypical. I would be interested in reading a sequel.

"The Lost Season of Love and Snow" by Jennifer Laam          

When Natalya meets Alexander Pushkin at a ball, she is instantly drawn and attracted to him. Finding her to be beautiful and intelligent, Pushkin pursues a courtship. They marry and have children and are generally happy, up until another man enters Natalya's life and Alexander challenges him to a duel.          

I find Russian history fascinating, and this story was no exception. Glimpses of the Russian czar and court life were sprinkled throughout the book adding a layer of depth to Natalya and Alexander's lives. I wish the author had spent some time to tell us what happens to Natalya and her family after the duel. After all, a woman's life doesn't end with her husband's. Overall, 4 out of 5 stars.

"The Continuum" by Wendy Nikel          

Elise works for a travel agency. One who has the ability to send its clients into the past. Elise works as a retriever, tracking down clients who have run into trouble or just failed to return as expected. When she is kidnapped by a secret organization, she is sent into the future to extract an agent who refused to return back to his time period.          

This was an extremely quick read. I wish the author had spent the time to develop the plot a bit more or to show more of Elise's travels. Perhaps the author will revisit the concept or delve into Elise more in future works.

"Sadia" by Colleen Nelson          

Sadia is a devout Muslim, one who practices modesty and wears a hijab. When her best friend Nazreen begins to remove her hijab, Sadia feels conflicted and a bit left out. When she makes the basketball team, she finds her modest clothes hindering and restrictive.          

This was a fairly quick read. I would have liked to see how religion affected her in other areas, other than the book being hyper focused on the hijab. For example, prayer and diet were briefly mentioned, but didn't seem very important. The concept of passion projects was an interesting concept, and I would have liked to read more about them. Overall, the book felt a bit rushed and could have used details aside from basketball and the hijab.

"Fruit of the Drunken Tree" by Ingrid Rojas Contreras          

Chula belongs to a privileged Colombian family who lives in a gated community. Petrona, their maid, comes from a poor family who struggles to feed themselves. Both are threatened by the violence and turmoil from gorillas, drug lords and corrupt political officials.          

I thought this book was a bit off. Chula was so young and had such a childish voice. It was hard to relate to her because of how young she was. Petrona, who was a more interesting and dynamic character, was lost in the dispassionate short passages that were supposed to tell her story. Overall, the book felt detached and surreal. Although I was interested to read about Columbia and the dichotomy of their lives, the book fell short.

"Blood Will Out" by Jo Treggiari          

When Ari wakes at the bottom of a well, she struggles to piece together her kidnapping. Alternating with the serial killer's voice, the story slowly unravels their stories.          

I was extremely disappointed with this book. Ari came across as a 12 year old, not the 17 year old that she was supposed to be. She was a very weak character, despite the author trying to paint her otherwise. I also thought the serial killer was extremely unrealistic. The characters were just wrong, they lacked realism. Overall, a bust.