Friday Spines Book Review 21:
Many phrases could be put on the back cover of this book, including "coming-of-age", "uniquely and darkly funny", "rebellious", and "unexpected". This sounds rather like an odd book you'd prefer to stay away from--perhaps reread your favorite Meg Cabot book, or some of Jane Austen's short stories. Unlike some (wonderful) books that are easier to describe without going on for as long as the book is, A Complicated Kindness is only done justice by itself.
Nomi Nickel, who lives in an ultra-religious town with strict but inconsistent rules, is a person who notices minute details. With a philosophy that the best way to find a line is to break way through it and come back slowly, she reflects on the sudden and unorthodox disappearances of her mom and older sister, trying to figure out if she should take their path (whatever it was) or try to fit in with the judgmental and close-minded Mennonites of her hometown.
With minimal punctuation and short, concise sentences, Nomi gives us everything she notices, thinks, wishes, observes, in a clear and unique voice. She manages to explain bizarre situations in a way that completely makes sense--like dreams that seem perfectly mundane while you're in them but sound utterly ridiculous out loud the next day, A Complicated Kindness will draw you into its story but catch you off guard when you try to explain it to your friends.
I'd recommend Nomi's story for ages 14 and up. The content is fairly mundane (there is drinking, smoking, drugs and sex, but it's portrayed ambivalently and matter-of-factly instead of in a positive light), but Nomi's voice is very subtle, and there's a lot left unsaid.
Other things I liked about this book:
Many phrases could be put on the back cover of this book, including "coming-of-age", "uniquely and darkly funny", "rebellious", and "unexpected". This sounds rather like an odd book you'd prefer to stay away from--perhaps reread your favorite Meg Cabot book, or some of Jane Austen's short stories. Unlike some (wonderful) books that are easier to describe without going on for as long as the book is, A Complicated Kindness is only done justice by itself.
Nomi Nickel, who lives in an ultra-religious town with strict but inconsistent rules, is a person who notices minute details. With a philosophy that the best way to find a line is to break way through it and come back slowly, she reflects on the sudden and unorthodox disappearances of her mom and older sister, trying to figure out if she should take their path (whatever it was) or try to fit in with the judgmental and close-minded Mennonites of her hometown.
"School the next day. I fell asleep in math. And geography. The principal invited me into his office. I decided not to say a word. I picked a spot on the wall to stare at the way they tell you when you're in labour. Clearly these are not the best years of your life, he said to me. I felt almost drunk with gratitude when he said that. I felt as though he had entered my mind and, like a weapons inspector, had thoroughly assessed the situation with a cool, slick professionalism and was, even as we spoke, formulating some kind of counteracting. It was a type of understanding. I thought he was going to rescue me. But that's where it ended."
With minimal punctuation and short, concise sentences, Nomi gives us everything she notices, thinks, wishes, observes, in a clear and unique voice. She manages to explain bizarre situations in a way that completely makes sense--like dreams that seem perfectly mundane while you're in them but sound utterly ridiculous out loud the next day, A Complicated Kindness will draw you into its story but catch you off guard when you try to explain it to your friends.
I'd recommend Nomi's story for ages 14 and up. The content is fairly mundane (there is drinking, smoking, drugs and sex, but it's portrayed ambivalently and matter-of-factly instead of in a positive light), but Nomi's voice is very subtle, and there's a lot left unsaid.
Other things I liked about this book:
- The title is perfect for the book: Intriguing, off-kilter, introspective while contemplating human nature in a fresh, distinctive way.
- Subjects like mental illness and disabilities, shunning, and religion aren't approached in a simple, childish way, but in the voice of a teenager who's questioning absolutely everything.
- The lack of quotation marks around speech makes you slow down and reread people's words, and it grows to be a habit in the rest of the book. There's so many more details and connections than can possibly be noticed the first time you read it, and as the plot is all details, the story gets clearer (and somehow more complicated) as you get to know the book.
- Flashbacks with commentary are integrated into the rest of the story along with impeccable tense changes.
Other books you might enjoy: The Nature of Jade, by Deb Caletti; Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson; and Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher.
Happy reading--see everyone on Monday!
M. Gabrielle
No comments:
Post a Comment