Review: Beyond the Bright Sea

Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"When I was a baby, someone tucked me into an old boat and pushed me out to sea. I washed up on a tiny island, like a seed riding the tide. It was Osh who found me and took me in....The island where we found each other was small but strong....we didn't need anything else. Not in the beginning....And then, one night when I was twelve....I decided on my own that it was time to find out where I'd come from and why I'd been sent away."

And so Crow introduces us to her story, how she'd mysteriously washed up on the shore of an isolated barrier island off the coast of Massachusets in the early 1920's as a newborn, and found by that island's sole inhabitant, a man she calls Osh. Osh raised her with the help of Miss Maggie, who lives on a neighboring island, and they were content with their unconventional family and simple life in relative isolation. That is, until the day Crow begins to feel the need to know where she came from and why she was put adrift in the sea, and is drawn to nearby island, formerly a leper's colony, in search of answers. Her search sets off a series of events and an adventure she could never have anticipated.

This is a beautiful story that explores the meaning of love and family and the joys of a simple life, but also includes mystery, adventure, and pirate's treasure; told in a poetic, lyrical 1st person narrative. The voice is so calm and the pace unhurried, that it at first seems deceptively simple, but as the author skillfully weaves the story, it becomes more complex and turns from a touching story of a lost soul finding an abandoned baby who helps him regain his humanity to a mystery ending in a treasure hunt. We also get a glimpse of the fierce independence and self-sufficiency of those living on the islands. Crow's character is well-developed, but we really only see a part of who Osh is, as he is very private about his identity and past, though he alludes to leaving his old life to avoid persecution and conflict and that it is just too painful to think or talk about, rather than being a secret.

The author's notes at the end tell a little bit about what inspired her to write this story, and some of the real history of the Elizabeth Islands.

Lauren Wolk is also the author of Wolf Hollow, which was a 2017 Newbery honor book. Personally, I enjoyed Beyond the Bright Sea much more. It's hard to say if it's actually better, or if I just preferred the more hopeful mood and sense of adventure, whereas Wolf Hollow was much darker with a rather bleak ending. I think this book may possibly get a Newbery nod as well, but then again, the awards committees and I never seem to be on the same wavelength. I would recommend this book to readers who like a little bit of everything in their stories, and who appreciate characters taking an emotional journey of self-discovery, as well as going on actual journeys of adventure. Readers who, like me, enjoyed Wolf Hollow but felt cheated by the ending, will find this book much more satisfying.

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Review: Before I Let Go

Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Just two weeks before Corey is due to go back to her tiny, remote hometown to visit her best friend Kyra, she receives the devastating news that Kyra is dead. Corey immediately flies home to see Kyra's family and attend the funeral, but finds she is now treated like an outsider. Corey cannot accept that Kyra's death was a suicide, and the more she looks into the last several months of Kyra's life, the more sinister things seem. Will Corey find the truth, or will the town of Lost hold on to it's secrets forever?

First let me first say it is difficult to give this book a fair rating and review because it is definitely not my cup of tea. I guess I would classify it as magical realism crossed with psychological thriller; it is very dark and creepy, with strong sinister overtones and a touch of paranormal. It does draw the reader in, even as much as I knew it was not my kind of book, I wanted to know what really happened to Kyra, and whether Corey made it out of Lost alive. Overall, the writing was pretty good, the characters were pretty well-developed and it was well-paced. The one thing that seemed odd is that while most of the book is told in a first-person narrative by Corey, there are a few short passages that are told instead in third person, by a detached narrator, which made it very disjointed and confusing.

I would not recommend this book to someone who likes lighter reads, realistic fiction, or lots of action. However, I would suggest it for those who like magical realism, psychological thrillers, and stories that are dark and disturbing.

This is Marieke Nijkamp's second YA novel; her first This Is Where It Ends was published in 2016. Before I let Go is due to be released in early January, 2018.

[I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

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Review: When Dimple Met Rishi

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dimple struggles to get her mother to understand and accept that she wants more out of life than to just find the Ideal Indian Husband, get married, and have babies. When her parents agree to her request to go to a summer program in web design, she thinks they have finally accepted that she is more interested in a career than marriage. But, unbeknownst to Dimple, her parents have already arranged her betrothal to Rishi, the son of another well-respected Indian family they know, and the two families have arranged for Rishi to attend the same summer program. Rishi knows all about the arrangement, while Dimple does not, which leads to a rocky first meeting.

This book is a fairly typical YA romance, and has a number of things going for it. It is well-written, the characters are well-developed and likeable, it features a strong, independent female character going into a male-dominated field, shows healthy relationships, features characters of an under-represented culture, and is written by an author from that culture. While I did enjoy reading it, I felt is was a bit predictable: girl struggles against parents' "old world" values, the requisite "meet-cute" and girl ends up falling for the very guy she did not want to like, and for that I would knock it down to a 3.75 stars.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a lighter, fairly tame, YA romance. While there is one sex scene, it is not described in graphic detail, and there is no drug use and the main characters do not drink, though there is one reference to minor characters being drunk. While the characters are Indian and some references to Indian clothing, foods, and customs are mentioned, this is certainly a book anyone would enjoy if they typcially enjoy romance. If you like this book, and would be interested in something similar, but a little grittier and more serious, keep your eyes out for Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed, due out in January.

This appears to be Sandhya Menon's first published book, with a second, From Twinkle, With Love, due out in 2018, and a sequel to this one following Rishi's brother, When Ashish Met Sweetie, due out in 2019. It seems as though the author has a penchant for female characters with overly cutesy names, which is a bit of turn-off to me, and while I enjoyed this book, the similarities in titles makes me wonder if the writing in the next two will be too formulaic and predictable.


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