I have to preface this review saying I'm kind of picky when it comes to magical realism/fantasy stories that require a good amount of world building. For this story, I LOVED the concept and the underlying themes of the characterization--we see Raf, a member of the Golub people, who are climate refugees who were forced to leave their home and come to Moonlight Bay. We also have Yas, who has lived in Moonlight Bay her whole life, and whose family has a deep connection with the healing powers of their environment. The struggles these characters face with the xenophobia coming from the townspeople and the pull between wanting to forge your own path but also being tied to your home place and culture--that was lovely. I just worry it gets a little muddled in the fantasy/lore of it all.
Stylistically, this author is great at painting worlds with words--the vivid descriptions of scenery and feelings make it easy to feel the vibrancy of Moonlight Bay and connect with how the characters are feeling. The struggle for me was the little pieces that pulled me out of the story, and out of this world this author was building. It's nitpicky, for sure, but for a world where people travel through a portal in a sacred tree, I got caught up on a line mentioning Spanish tile gleaming in the sun. Is this a world where Spain exists? What's different about this world than ours, other than this whole race of people who came from a seemingly parallel universe, or world? I hesitate to get into spoiler territory, but there are also some plot holes/inconsistencies with major points of early world-building that I can see as the author trying to make a point of 'this narrator is unreliable', but it reads as an unfinished world.
All in all, this one I struggle a bit with the rating. I will say it definitely makes me want to read more of this author's work, as I think the overall themes are very powerful, and her voice is strong and important. I just think the shaky magical worldbuilding detracted from how poignant this story could have been.
I'm rounding up my rating here, but I'd call it more of a 2.75/5. Definitely a story worth telling, but with the fantasy aspect it felt like a lot to try and accomplish in a sub-300 page book.
Stylistically, this author is great at painting worlds with words--the vivid descriptions of scenery and feelings make it easy to feel the vibrancy of Moonlight Bay and connect with how the characters are feeling. The struggle for me was the little pieces that pulled me out of the story, and out of this world this author was building. It's nitpicky, for sure, but for a world where people travel through a portal in a sacred tree, I got caught up on a line mentioning Spanish tile gleaming in the sun. Is this a world where Spain exists? What's different about this world than ours, other than this whole race of people who came from a seemingly parallel universe, or world? I hesitate to get into spoiler territory, but there are also some plot holes/inconsistencies with major points of early world-building that I can see as the author trying to make a point of 'this narrator is unreliable', but it reads as an unfinished world.
All in all, this one I struggle a bit with the rating. I will say it definitely makes me want to read more of this author's work, as I think the overall themes are very powerful, and her voice is strong and important. I just think the shaky magical worldbuilding detracted from how poignant this story could have been.
I'm rounding up my rating here, but I'd call it more of a 2.75/5. Definitely a story worth telling, but with the fantasy aspect it felt like a lot to try and accomplish in a sub-300 page book.