Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Sing, Unburied, Sing in Books
May 14, 2018
In Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward returns to the same neighborhood in Mississippi that Salvage the Bones was written about. (Two of the siblings from Salvage the Bones show up in a scene in Sing.) The story is told from three different viewpoints: Jojo, a thirteen-year-old boy and the main character of the novel, Leonie, his drug-addicted mother, and Richie, the ghost of a boy Jojo's grandfather met in prison.
This book covers so much that it's difficult to categorize - between discrimination and outright bigotry, bi-racial romance and children, drug addiction, poverty, prison life - deep south gothic, I suppose, would be the best description. Sing really only takes place over a couple of days, but it feels much longer, because Jojo's grandfather tells stories of his time in prison decades prior, Leonie reminisces about high school, and there's just this sense of timelessness over the entire novel.
It's not an easy book. These are hard issues to grapple with, and too many people have to live with these issues. Poverty, bigotry, addiction - these things disproportionately affect the black community, and white people are to blame for the imbalance.
I'm not sure how I feel about the ghost aspect of the book; on one hand I feel like people will see the ghost and decide the book is fantasy - that they don't really need to care about the problems the family faces. On the other hand, the ghost allows us to see even more bigotry and inhumanity targeted at black people. So it serves a purpose.
I'm not sure I like this book. But I'm glad I read it. And that's pretty much going to be my recommendation; it's not a fun read, but it's an important one.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
ArecRain (8 KP) rated Closed for the Season in Books
Jan 18, 2018
All always the people Hahn creates have such character and her story is flawless. That being said, it just was not my genre. There was no trace of the paranormal and fantasy in this book, and it left me wanting. It was also predictable. Hahn writes for a much younger generation, but yet, so all her novels are predictable.
I cannot give this book a low rating because there was genuinely nothing wrong with it. It simply was not my cup of tea.
Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated Doggone It (Dreamwalker, #3) in Books
Feb 21, 2018
I frequently read paranormal cozies, but this was my first encounter with a ghost dog! Baxleys abilities as a dreamwalker were unique, and when they stopped working for her, it added a whole new layer of conflict to the story. The mystery kept me guessing, the characters were entertaining, and the paranormal element was a lot of fun.
Doggone It is book #3 in the Dreamwalker series, but the first one that I read. I had no trouble figuring out what was going on, or who was who, but I wish I would have read the other books just to have seen the characters relationships develop firsthand.
<i> NOTE: I voluntary read and reviewed an advanced copy. </i>
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