Sultry romance, tense politicking and colorful mythmaking combine for a broad, engaging novel.
This magical-realist novel features Faustian pacts and forbidden love in its depiction of the circumstances feeding into the Sri Lankan civil war.
Thurai’s debut teems with characters navigating the social, political and spiritual realities of 1950s Ceylon, in what is now Sri Lanka. Arjun Kumaran, an assistant to a local government agent, arrives at his new home with the Chelvam family. Despite her marriage to Raj, it’s not long before Neleni Chelvam falls head over heels for Arjun. But otherworldly circumstances intensify alongside their romance: Followers of the demon Hooniyam aim to conspire against the power of local Tamils. While Arjun is out investigating the weak progress of a government road project, the conspirators target him and others because of their Tamil background. Asoka, the penitent second protagonist, flees the violence that Hooniyam and his minions perpetrate. From here, a wealth of stories emerge: Arjun’s brief affair with Leela, the foreman’s wife; Asoka’s secret relationship with Sriya, which causes her betrothed, Tissa, to vengefully join Hooniyam’s forces; the election of Bandaranaike, with his strong religious ties; and the slow-burning desire that fires up between Arjun and Neleni, which raises tension in the Chelvam household. Thurai’s lengthy novel is more realistic than magical, as she evokes mythos without letting magic overwhelm the humanity of the narrative. Hooniyam, the horrific demon, is one of only a few nonhumans that pop up, and the bulk of the intersecting stories develop out of human emotion and real cultural rifts in historical Ceylon. Thurai’s work may divide readers with deep connections to Sri Lankan politics, but her empathy helps bridge the fissure between the Sinhalese and Tamil people. Amid powerful insight into post-colonial politics and the beginnings of Sri Lanka’s violent war, the author only condemns the violence that erupts out of the cultural and political conflict, not the nonpartisan life decisions the citizens on either side of the conflict must make.
Sultry romance, tense politicking and colorful mythmaking combine for a broad, engaging novel.Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2011
ISBN: 978-0956970305
Page Count: 824
Publisher: Hot Monkey Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 10, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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