Hi Everyone!
New year, new projects- welcome to YA Book Of The Month! This is a book I have wanted to shout about on my blog ever since I read it back in July, but I included it in my Carnegie Wrap Up so I don't think it got the attention it deserves and when I had the idea for this project, this book seemed a good place to start!
Firstly, I just wanted to tell you about what I'm thinking for the way I will post about these books.
> There will be multiple posts about the book during the month exploring themes and ideas that are a part of the book
> I will do a simple review of it like I would usually do for a book (this will be the first post)
> If enough people join in, I will look into ways we can all chat about the month's pick together
Today I wanted to share a review of it to kick start not only the month but also the project and the year!
When I first read this back in May, I wrote about it as part of my Carnegie Wrap Up. Here is what I thought:
I actually bought this before I knew it was a Carnegie book so had my own copy and read it before the rest of the book club. It is an incredible novel told in verse about two sisters who only know they are sisters upon the death of their father. They discover his was a life of secrets and deal with their grief together. One sister lives in the US, the other in the Dominican Republic. I loved the different way of life in the Dominican Republic and it was very interesting to read from a European perspective. It just made me want to travel even more! I grew very fond of these characters and can't wait to reread this many times!
As I mention, this is about two sisters who have never met but are thrust together by the death of their dad, who is leading a double life. They have quite different lifestyles but find ways to connect to each other. This is a very interesting book because of the Dominican Republic narrative. Camino (the sister who lives there) has a very different life to her sister's western influence and this was fascinating from the perspective of someone who has never visited the Dominican Republic.
I also like the fact that it is based on a real life flight and crash and I found that very clever. The characters are both so lovely and there are so many things to unpick in it too, which I will talk more about (spoiler free) in another post.
It is written in verse, which is a style I am becoming increasingly fond of. It is interesting how it differs from other novels in verse, even by the same author. It also doesn't take too long to read but still impacts you and is well-written.
When I first read it back in June, I thought that the writing style made me feel further away from the characters as I had many questions that were left unanswered. However, when I reread this at the end of last year so that I could write these posts, I disagreed. I thought that was the way it was intended and it was up to the reader to interpret the rest, so I guess it depends on how you read it. Maybe I also felt further away because it is quick to read so I didn't spend as much time with them.
I love Elizabeth Acevedo and I have got one of her other books ready to read soon. So far I have read this and The Poet X, which you can read about by clicking here!
Thank you so much for reading this post, all about the first of my YA Book Of The Month picks!
Let's chat!
Are you joining YA Book Of The Month? Do you think you will read this?
Happy New Year Reading!
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