"Anapra is one of the poorest neighbourhoods in the Mexican city of Juarez - twenty metres outside town lies a fence - and beyond it - America - the dangerous goal of many a migrant. Faustino is one such trying to escape from the gang he's been working for. He's dipped into a pile of dollars he was supposed to be hiding and now he's on the run. He and his friend, Arturo, have only 36 hours to replace the missing money, or they're as good as dead. Watching over them is Saint Death. Saint Death (or Santissima Muerte) - she of pure bone and charcoal-black eye, she of absolute loyalty and neutral morality, holy patron to rich and poor, to prostitute and narco-lord, criminal and police-chief. A folk saint, a rebel angel, a sinister guardian."
I thought this book was fantastic is an understatement - this book may be the best book I've read this year. It is, I think, one of the best YA books I've ever read. That being said, this smart, literary YA isn't for those who shrug their shoulders and say "kids these days have no interest in serious issues". I don't, I can't buy into that way of thinking - it's the kids who must have an interest, if the world is ever to change.
I don't know where to start. This book deeply affected me to the point that I actually cried. It comes at a chillingly appropriate time when issues of immigration and border controls are at the top of the list on every political agenda. Nationalism is on the rise - as it was during the 19th Century as political alignments shifted towards a set-up that would fuel two world wars - and the funny thing is so few people seem to see it.
What kind of world are we creating? What future are we moving towards? Sedgwick focuses on Juarez in Mexico and Mexican immigrants, but what he's ultimately saying is much bigger than that, the bold suggestion that there is no such thing as immigrants. Or, rather, that we are all immigrants out of Africa, and national borders are simply the way rich immigrants keep the poor immigrants confined to poorer areas; often areas that were made poor by the rich.
And they end up in the rich countries, and you know what people say... ¡Migrants! ¡illegal aliens! But everyone is a migrant, everyone, outside of the African cradle. It's just a question of how back in time you care to look...
This particular story is about the Mexican Arturo who lives in Juarez, right alongside the gang warfare and drug crime that exists on the US/Mexican border. His adoptive brother - the Guatemalan Faustino - has gotten himself into serious trouble by losing the money of a prominent gang leader. In a story spanning less than 48 hours, Arturo must try to get it back in a suspense-filled journey into the dark corners of the city. With Sedgwick's writing, Juarez comes to life in exquisite detail that equally captures its bright lights and its darkness:
“There are shadows in every alley, every doorway, and the lights of shops and bars and adverts and cars dazzle and blind and make the shadows darker still.”
Saint Death is woven with Spanish phrases and cultural elements - to me, it seems extremely well-researched. I recommend a basic knowledge of the Santa Muerte or "Saint Death" before picking this book up. It helps with understanding that element of the story, and it is also pretty fascinating. I hadn't heard of it before and I love learning something new.
“She’s wearing a white shawl over a long white gown, which reaches to the ground. From under the shawl glimpses of a black wig can be seen, grotesque against the skull face, almost ridiculous, Arturo thinks, and yet it’s more disturbing than it is funny, and in a way disconcerting because it is somehow comical too, and Do not laugh at death, he thinks, we do not laugh at death.”
Of course, enjoying this book depends on your interest in the subject matter, but it was absolutely enthralling to me. Arturo is such a sympathetic character who dares to long for something more than what he has, and parts of the book are filled with such nail-biting tension, hope, and horror because of the reader's desire that he will be different; that he will succeed. His story is peppered with extracts from social media pages, facts about NAFTA, and backstory on him and Faustino - the latter came to Mexico on a gruelling journey from Guatemala, in which he lost both his parents in their desperate search for a better life.
It's really hard to review books like this. I can't fully explain how important it is, how horrifically hopeful and sad it is. Just writing this review and remembering the book has me on the verge of tears. I can only hope you read it.
Age Rating 14+. Mature subject matter.
"The Rules
Don't deceive me. Ever. Especially using my blindness. Especially in public.
Don't help me unless I ask. Otherwise you're just getting in my way or bothering me.
Don't be weird. Seriously, other than having my eyes closed all the time, I'm just like you only smarter.
Parker Grant doesn't need 20/20 vision to see right through you. That's why she created the Rules: Don't treat her any differently just because she's blind, and never take advantage. There will be no second chances. Just ask Scott Kilpatrick, the boy who broke her heart.
When Scott suddenly reappears in her life after being gone for years, Parker knows there's only one way to react - shun him so hard it hurts. She has enough on her mind already, like trying out for the track team (that's right, her eyes don't work but her legs still do), doling out tough-love advice to her painfully naive classmates, and giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn't cried since her dad's death three months ago. But avoiding her past quickly proves impossible, and the more Parker learns about what really happened - both with Scott, and her dad - the more she starts to question if things are always as they seem. Maybe, just maybe, some Rules are meant to be broken. "
I really liked that Parker was unlikable, outspoken and selfish at times, in a way that I thought was realistic and relatable. Sometime though she stepped over the line and just became an asshole, excuse my French. How annoying it would have been if she had simply been portrayed as a one-dimensional blind girl who can do no wrong. Instead, she is given a layered personality, flaws, and a sharp tongue that made for some funny moments.
The romance utterly baffled me. In fact, Parker's girl friends play a much bigger part in this story. For me, it was more about friendship than romance.
Scott, Parker's ex, was a really underdeveloped character. We essentially only learn about him through hearsay, he doesn't play an active role in the story until the very end despite being a large part of the story. It made the book a little more underwhelming because so much of it was focused on Parker and Scott, even though Scott was a very minimal character in my opinion.
The romantic side is less about getting the two teens together, and more a lesson on growing up, changing and learning to listen. Or it was to me. Which is why I would be one of the few people who liked the atypical ending if Scott's character had been written differently.
I definitely am already suffering from the disappointment of there not being as much track running as I wanted, but the bulk of the story that replaced the expected-track parts wasn't as engaging.
All in all, this was a nice read.
Age Rating 12+. Nothing at all untoward.
"Luca Amore runs a cooking school in the baroque Sicilian mountain town of Favio. He's taught many people how to cook the dishes passed down to him by generations of Amore women. As he readies himself for yet another course he expects it to be much like all the others. He will cook, he will take his clients to visit vineyards and olive groves, they will eat together, become friends, and then, after a fortnight, they will pack up and head home to whatever corner of the globe they came from. But there is a surprise in store for Luca. This time there are four women booked in to The Food of Love Cookery School. Each one is at a turning point in her life. Each one is looking for something more than new cooking skills from her time in Sicily. A divorcee, a widow, an exhausted working mum and an unfulfilled top London barrister come together for this idyllic escape into the sun-drenched Sicilian hills, and a tantalising culinary adventure. Sparks fly, friendships are made and secrets and stories are shared. Luca doesn't realise it yet but this group of women is going to change his life. And for Moll, Tricia, Valerie and Poppy, after this journey, nothing will ever be the same."
This book is far away from my usually genre but I was lured in by the beautiful cover and foodie blurb, I was not disappointed.
A light read, but nonetheless quite satisfying. An especially nice read in the grey depths of winter! I gobbled it up like the Sicilian delicacies that pepper the pages.
Pellegrino does a phenomenal job of describing the locations, surroundings, events, and all the amazing Italian food that they buy or cook. My mouth was watering every time she would begin to talk of a new dish that they were going to cook, or one that Luca was making. It was well researched, well described and really did a great job of making me feel like I wanted to holiday in the South of Italy.
The story itself was creative and it flowed nicely, it seems like the perfect kind of novel to read when you are looking for something entertaining but not too deep or difficult to read. I’d say its the type of book you would throw in your handbag during a holiday.
The end of the book includes a range of different recipes that are made or described during the book which is a plus because it did have me googling the recipe for “maltagliati”.
In my personal opinion, however I’ve never enjoyed books that jump around between too many characters. It makes it difficult for the reader to get a good grasp on each individual personality in order to really enjoy them. For this reason, jumping back and forth between four different women and periodical chapters based on the male protagonist, Luca, bothered me a little bit.
The love story that begins to bloom is unrealistic and poorly developed. The characters are supposed to be there for two weeks and a full blown, loving relationship develops between two characters and you can’t really understand why they liked each other at all, or when they even had the chance to start feeling like that. Luca is a weak character and doesn’t really appear as the heart throb that his character is intended to be.
Age Rating 14+. One character has questionable morals and it is an adult book.
"It's 1141 and freezing cold.
Gwil , a battle hardened mercenary, is horrified to stumble across a little girl close to death. She has been attacked, just one more victim in winter of atrocities. Clutching a sliver of parchment, she is terrified - but Gwil knows what h must do. He will bring her back to life. He will train her to fight. And together, they will hunt down the man who did this to her.
But danger looms wherever they turn. A castle after castle falls victim to siege, the icy fens ring with rumours of a madman, of murder - and a small piece of parchment with a terrible secret to tell, the cost of which none of them could ever have imagined."
This is my first historical fiction and I think I picked a excellent first. I was thrilled because it is one of those rare books in which the writing is so vivid that the real world around me faded away as I became immersed in the plot. The historical novel is set in 1141 while Stephen and Matilda battle for the English throne. The story is centred on Gwil, a mercenary; Penda, the brutalized girl he protects; and Maud, the chatelaine of Kenniford Castle, where siege is laid. The story is fast paced and the dialogue is crisp and often humorous, but the characterization was my biggest delight.
What a wonderful assembly of characters. Each leaps off the page into full life and touches our emotions. Gwilherm de Vannes, a mercenary soldier, and his conversations with God are a true delight…”And what now, Lord? Eh? How can I protect her from herself?”
“That’s a tricky one, Gwil. That’s the question. Even I can’t help you there I’m afraid.”
Young Pen, whom he rescues, is a survivor who learns to cope with events in her own way. Young Maud, forced into marriage and now finds herself having to defend her beloved castle with the help of Sir Rollo, commander of her troops and protect her step son, William. There is a mystery to the story, and a villain which is as evil as a villain can be. This is the time of the Plantagenet's, and the history is important, but the story is very much a human story.
The depiction of life in the 12th Century, especially the daily concerns of a castle chatelaine, is excellent. The growing relationship between Gwil and Penda is something you will want to hold onto; it is incredibly touching, as are the relationships between Maud and those she comes to love.
I didn't pick up any obvious 21st century slang, but there were a few modern-day idioms. I did wonder how much of the history was accurate except the barebones of the conflict between the two contenders for the throne. I thought the ending of the novel most satisfactory.
Age 14+. Rape and reality of war, not terribly graphic but still not appropriate for younger readers.
"She never chose her deadly gift but now she’s forced to use it. How far would you go to protect the only family you have left?
Annie is beset by fleeting strange visions and a guilty conscience. Blind and orphaned, she struggles to care for her feisty younger sister Fia, but things look up when both sisters are offered a place at Keane's School for Exceptional Girls.
Born with flawless intuition, Fia immediately knows that something’s wrong, but bites her tongue… until it’s too late. For Fia is the perfect weapon to carry out criminal plans and there are those at Kessler who will do anything to ensure her co-operation.
With Annie trapped in Kessler’s sinister clutches, instincts keep Fia from killing an innocent guy and everything unravels. Is manipulative James the key to the sisters’ freedom or an even darker prison? And how can Fia atone for the blood on her hands?"
Enjoyed the concept, but had a really hard time with the writing and how it was delivered. Sister Assassin is told in both Annie and Fia's pov and we are connected to both the past and the present, but it didn't work in it's favour since it felt scattered and erratic. String of repetitive words and the tap-tap-tapping was also very distracting and frustrating. The characters, Annie and Fia felt, at times, like they had the same voice and inner-dialog and were hard to distinguish one from the other.
I also just couldn't understand the characters motivation. Supposedly Fia's been a killer before, it doesn't matter because as soon as we meet her, the first paragraph of the book tells us that she is a moron who can't kill anything if it has big, soulful eyes.
Fia has to kill this boy. There are people holding her beloved sister, Annie, hostage. If she doesn't kill this guy whom she's never met before, they're gonna probably kill or hurt her sister (who's blind, and by implication, pretty helpless).
So what does Fia do? She doesn't kill the guy. Because he helped a puppy.
He's setting the little puppy free from where its leash got tangled, and by doing so Fia, can't bring it in her cold steel assassin heart to kill him. He's ruined her plans because he helped a puppy. Need I remind you of what's going to happen if she doesn't kill him? Her sister is going to get killed by the organization holding her hostage.
The love between sisters in this book is all telling and no showing. Oh, we know that Fia really loves her sister because she says so all the time. Except for the fact that practically every time she sees Annie, Fia's resenting her for getting her stuck in this situation in the first place. We know that Fia really loves Annie because she thinks that Annie's betraying her without giving her a chance to explain. We know that Annie and Fia love each other because they never. ever. communicate. with each other. Sharing emotions. Sharing your troubles. Sharing your stories. Leaning on each other for support? I just wanted the sister to show some genuine love for one another.
Surprisingly little romance, despite the insta-love. The book doesn't tie anything together. There are roughly 93889758934329 loose ends, and the romance is but one of them. There attempts to be a love triangle, and it's just completely laughable because it's so completely pointless. The only person I liked in the book is the sadistic love interest, James. He was the only one with any sort of depth to his personality.
Age Rating 13+. There was just no point to this book. Nothing ever got resolved.
"Anapra is one of the poorest neighbourhoods in the Mexican city of Juarez - twenty metres outside town lies a fence - and beyond it - America - the dangerous goal of many a migrant. Faustino is one such trying to escape from the gang he's been working for. He's dipped into a pile of dollars he was supposed to be hiding and now he's on the run. He and his friend, Arturo, have only 36 hours to replace the missing money, or they're as good as dead. Watching over them is Saint Death. Saint Death (or Santissima Muerte) - she of pure bone and charcoal-black eye, she of absolute loyalty and neutral morality, holy patron to rich and poor, to prostitute and narco-lord, criminal and police-chief. A folk saint, a rebel angel, a sinister guardian."
