Lola St. Vil

This is one of those rare occasions where it wouldn't sit right with me trying to interpret or sum up my feelings about a read with a star rating. Can't do it.

There are some reasons why I didn't vibe with this book, and other reasons why I understand the story all too well.

I can say, aside from the scenes that increased my appreciation for Ayo's tight circle of friends, my favorite scene is one where Rosalie protects a child (teenager) under her roof without hesitation or question—like a lioness who doesn't even have to roar in that moment to get her point across.… (meer)

I very much enjoyed the first half of this book -- Gabrielle's life in Haiti and the start of the transition to Brooklyn. When the magic kicked in, it worked at first but seemed to quickly descend into a nonsensical kid-storytelling, where things happen because they happen and stuff doesn't really make sense. I can't explain it, exactly, it's like she just lost the plot and substituted magical things instead? Or like the end of the book isn't really finished the way the earlier parts are -- possible! I am reading an ARC. I think what I wanted was for this clever, endearing character to either come up with a clever solution within the bounds of fairy tale logic or really dial in to listening to her friends. Neither of those quite happened. Definitely worth a read.

Advanced Reader's copy provided by Edelweiss.… (meer)