Rebel Born by Amy A. Bartol
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This conclusion to the three book series Secondborn lacks the intrigue, politics, and mystery of it's two predecessors. As the series progressed into book 2 it held most of these elements with a slight increase in the science fiction aspects of the story. But our lead gal remained the same and her narrative was very compelling. Unfortunately book 3, Rebel Born, by Bartol is a bit of a mess. It takes our fantasy world and adds too much technology, too quickly.
Pet Peeve
Nothing bothers me more in literature than convenience. If your character needs all the stars to align every chapter for events to move forward, and you always make that automatically happen, then it's boring. Compelling stories have tension, excitement, uncertainty, etc. A good author keeps the line between what needs to happen, versus what does, very thin and always ensures that the events and outcomes are plausible (inside their worlds rules), logical and intricate enough to surprise the reader at times. Events that are curated too tightly, because the plot heavily relies on them, and don't easily fit cohesively in the story are frustrating and make me twitch. Reading is difficult when your twitching so much your eyes can't keep their place on the page.
Characters
There is one strong aspect to Bartol's trilogy however: the characters. She has a strong heroine, and sultry compassionate men whom all feel genuine.
From sentimental quotes like:
"life is lost without love”
To downright evil thoughts like:
"I merely strive to annihilate weakness. Isn’t that the very purest form of evolution?”
Bartol keeps the reader entranced by having authentic and honest people in her story. If only a book could stand entirely on the shoulders of it's characters, and didn't need believable plot, then Bartol might have a hit on her hands. Unfortunately, as much as character studies are one of my favourite types of reads, a character can't save a book entirely. We are not saved by our characters from Rebel Born being stupendously unbelievable and leaping technological barriers too quickly.
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Combos
As a reader of both the science fiction and fantasy genres I often love when they merge together. But it's tricky to balance the need for magic to be well 'magical' and science to be technical. Unfortunately these types of books are rarely done well. It seems to be quite the literary challenge to set up parameters for both science and magic that don't contradict each other or feel out of place in the same world. Bartol falls to the same trap I've seen in countless other books that merge sci-fi and fantasy together. In Rebel Born magic does X and technology does well... everything else. In fact magic becomes insignificant at one point and science the 'supreme ruler' of her world. This would be fine if the science used didn't resolve every single plot issue by just being. Where's the ingenuity of the characters in the resolution? Giving all the glory to magic or science is never satisfying for the reader. I want books to be clever and represent events in a compelling way where our characters are critical to the outcome; not just have science (or magic) make everything resolve by default.
Overall
Bartol has the writing style and character development skill needed to write good books; but she needs to work on her plot resolutions. I want to see our characters analyze and sort out situations on their own more; without the power of magic or science creating a perfect fix. The resolution can involve magic or science, don't get me wrong, but it shouldn't just be a 'wave and everything is better' scenario at the end of three books. Overall I wanted more from Bartol's series. I'll look for her publications in the future but will be a little wary of investing into any large series by her until I've seen a trilogy that doesn't rely on the flip of a magic wand (or press of a button) to make everything all better.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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The Lost Sister by Andrea Gunraj
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Don't pick-up The Lost Sister if you are looking for a light fluffy read. This is an intense, honest and emotional reflection on losing a family member, racism, child abuse, and residential schools. For those not familiar, residential schools were situations in the past where the Canadian government forced parents (often of colour, native descent, or Russian ancestry) to give up their children to government run facilities (called schools but they were more like jails). Where children were taught to forget their culture, language and traditions; and encouraged to adhere to more 'Western' conventions.
Plot
The overall plot of The Lost Sister isn't anything new in the mystery genre. A little girl goes missing and we follow the story via the eyes of her sister. Lucky for our lead girl she has an influence in her life that is helpful. A woman who, attended a residential school as a child, and is estranged from her own sister. Thus we are provided with a connection between two histories and taken on a journey of healing.
I foolishly didn't make the connection between our two stories until about 35% into the book. Knowing there is an eventual connection won't spoil anything for you as the book is more focused on the trauma and emotions of the characters than the actual plot events themselves.
Women
At its core The Lost Sister is really about women. Be it young girls, teens, adults or elderly women. There is a constant cultural attitude (at least in North America) that pits women against one another. As though we are supposed to be constantly competing with our own gender to be bigger and better. I'm not sure why this exists exactly (maybe men thought it would be a good way to distract women if they fought amoungst themselves?) but it's clear to me in my life in Canada that this socialized behaviour for competition between girls is inherent. Andrea Gunraj does an excellent job of bringing this competitive culture forward and discussing it in an open and honest way. She gives us genuine emotions, comments and events that women encounter and tries to offer alternatives to fighting one another. If nothing else this book does try to breakdown the silos of racism, culture, religion, ethnicity and gender; in an attempt to remind us all that we are essentially the same inside. We all have physiology and biology that are comparable and so it makes no sense to pick on one another's subtle differences. Especially in a world already so full of hate.
Sisterhood vs Motherhood
Gunraj spends a lot of time during the residential school timeline looking at the difference between a sister and a mother. So often older siblings become parental like figures (especially in the absence of parents). I myself am the oldest of three and can confess that there were many days as a child/teen where I felt like I needed to step up and be more of a parent than a sibling to my own sister and brother. This complex relationship often turns sour as the siblings get older. The Lost Sister demonstrates this very effectively and Gunraj focuses on the decisions made by the sibling and how they affected the younger sister. Consider how different things had been if your sibling had only done XYZ instead of ABC... this is the core question The Lost Sister asks the reader and it brings up many challenging emotions and ideas/questions of blame. Of course ultimately blame doesn't change the past and while not a 'satisfying' ending, The Lost Sister does wrap things up in a way that allow the reader to have grown in their consideration towards why others may make the decisions they do.
Overall
This is not a pleasant read. But it's an important one. If you want to understand a little more about residential schools in Maritime Canada, or the challenges women have faced (from a very young age) in certain historical circumstances The Lost Sister is a good place to start. By no means will any of us ever be able to comprehend the extent of the injury done by residential schools; but at least by knowing it's history we have a chance of not repeating the same mistake. Instead, let us recognize that one another are both the same and different in our own unique and special way. If nothing else Gunraj has set a stage for further discussion amoungst readers about this embarrassing but important piece of Canada's history.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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Here There Are Monsters by Amelinda Bérubé
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
There are well executed and poorly under taken concepts in Here There Are Monsters. Overall it was a let down for me (and many others if you peruse the other reviews). While the plot is okay and the thoughts of our lead gal are very genuine; all along there is something missing. It's lacking that spark or attraction that makes a book great (or even just 4-star good).
Internal Thoughts
The best part of Amelinda Berube's novel is the first person writing of her lead character. As the oldest of three kids, and 4 years separately me and my next sibling in age, I really connected with what our lead teen felt and expressed inside her head. From comments about how annoying her siblings are to how she is tired of feeling responsible for them given she's not the parent. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Berube is the oldest child in her family with a gap between siblings as all the thoughts our lead gal thinks are also ones I've thought over the years.
Plot
The actual plot itself is very interesting. A sister that is missing, weird happenings in the forest, and odd sculptures showing up all contribute to an overall creepy ambience in Here There Are Monsters. However the entire time the story is missing that something. I never really felt fear for our lead or her missing sister. I also never really felt like the strings of the story were linked together. It was as though one thing happened, and then another; but actually feeling like they were related and building towards something was missing. It's too bad because there is a great story to be told here if only I felt more invested. The ending is the bad icing on a crumbling cupcake as it falls apart very quickly and feels like it was written in about ten minutes on a bus just to get it done. It's unfortunate as a good ending, in some ways, might have saved this novel from it's mediocre status.
The Missing Sister
Take note newer writers, if you want your reader to feel something for a character they barely meet in the present day narrative then you MUST make them relatable and create an environment where the reader can have sympathy for them. We read flashbacks of the missing sister throughout the current day story and yet I still felt like I never knew her, and never cared. Now this may be because the story is told from the point of view of the older sister? Our lead gal has become a bit ambivalent towards her sister and her odd behaviour. I wonder if the flashbacks had been from the missing younger sisters perspective would that have created the bond needed for me to care?
Overall
There's opportunity here unfortunately Berube doesn't quite create a polished book that stands out. Here There Are Monsters feels like it should be better than it ultimately is. That's not to say it's a bad read. It's fine. Maybe a half step above your average free book. But it's certainly not going to stand out amoungst all the YA books of today; and doesn't live up to it's hyped pre-release. All-in-all you won't be missing much if you pass on it.
That said it is a stand-alone which is attractive to many. Although I can't help but feel thankful that it's one and done; and this world won't be revisited because there is barely enough to care about in this one book; let along if another was to be written in to make a series.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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