Rivers Solomon took my breath away once again with this compelling story. The basic concept was heart-wrenching and yet fascinating and empowering - what if the pregnant enslaved African women thrown overboard gave birth to children who were capable of living in the sea?
Yetu is the historian for the wajiru - the person who holds all the history of their people in their mind - and it is too much for Yetu to bear alone the way that her predecessors have done for years and years.
Rivers' writing ability is such that you feel for Yetu while also worrying about the wajiru as a whole at the same time - worried how they'll go on without a historian if Yetu abandons her duties, even as you are rooting for her to get away.
The romance was delightful too - the demi rep was perfect - and I was so glad to see Yetu find relief without losing the history of her people as a whole.
About halfway through the book, I paused to go and listen to the clipping. song it was based off of. It helped me understand the history of the wajiru and why it weighed so heavily on Yetu without giving away too much - I highly recommend listening to it first, or even while reading the book.
5/5 stars, will read it again and again.
I received a free ARC in exchange for this honest review.
Yetu is the historian for the wajiru - the person who holds all the history of their people in their mind - and it is too much for Yetu to bear alone the way that her predecessors have done for years and years.
Rivers' writing ability is such that you feel for Yetu while also worrying about the wajiru as a whole at the same time - worried how they'll go on without a historian if Yetu abandons her duties, even as you are rooting for her to get away.
The romance was delightful too - the demi rep was perfect - and I was so glad to see Yetu find relief without losing the history of her people as a whole.
About halfway through the book, I paused to go and listen to the clipping. song it was based off of. It helped me understand the history of the wajiru and why it weighed so heavily on Yetu without giving away too much - I highly recommend listening to it first, or even while reading the book.
5/5 stars, will read it again and again.
I received a free ARC in exchange for this honest review.