The Wreck
So a large part of this novel I did not like because of all these issues…
The pacing – yes, there was the traditional western outlaw happenings which funnily enough was fun to read about in another book, The Last Outlaws, but was not fun here. It felt like nothing happened for a large part of this novel.
The Characters – Aster got on my nerves and the characters for the most part seemed flat. They were interchangeable and their personalities felt tacked on (probably because we were told who they were not shown).
The story took a while for me to really enjoy (like over 50% of the book)
The Draw
Characters: the cast of characters are mostly people of color, mostly girls of color, and the main character is a black girl all are pretty rare in westerns
-The character arc of Aster really stands out since there is this trend of angry black girls who are fueled by their anger to do unwise things. One of my problems is that it seems like in this trend anger is taking the place of personality. So I like that this story actually explored that anger.
Setting: I think the second half of the novel came more into the world, a dystopia set in the wild west. This is a wild west that does not erase African Americans history or presence. I got this awe from how rare it is to see African American historical fantasy, westerns, and just American historical fantasy in general. I’m anticipating seeing more of the world.
Pacing: I think that the story was not necessarily faster or slower in pace but more so came into a lot of what it set up in the first half.
Commentary: One of the aspects of the story I liked from the beginning was the way it has subtle commentary about things.
At a certain point I took a break for week (went on vacation) read an essay on the way back, Sherri L. Smith’s Orleans and Karen Sandler’s Tankborn: The Female Leader, the Neo-Slave Narrative, and Twenty-first Century Young Adult Afrofuturism
which I think contributed at least a little bit to this reverence I have for this book. I’m excited for this book being something that can be studied and adding to overall landscape of black fiction.
The Standoff
I left this book bursting with excitement for everything this story means, what it did right, and the next book.
I wish I would have read this as a readalong just so I could touch on all the things here and there the author put into the story (I can tell she did research)
So a large part of this novel I did not like because of all these issues…
The pacing – yes, there was the traditional western outlaw happenings which funnily enough was fun to read about in another book, The Last Outlaws, but was not fun here. It felt like nothing happened for a large part of this novel.
The Characters – Aster got on my nerves and the characters for the most part seemed flat. They were interchangeable and their personalities felt tacked on (probably because we were told who they were not shown).
The story took a while for me to really enjoy (like over 50% of the book)
The Draw
Characters: the cast of characters are mostly people of color, mostly girls of color, and the main character is a black girl all are pretty rare in westerns
-The character arc of Aster really stands out since there is this trend of angry black girls who are fueled by their anger to do unwise things. One of my problems is that it seems like in this trend anger is taking the place of personality. So I like that this story actually explored that anger.
Setting: I think the second half of the novel came more into the world, a dystopia set in the wild west. This is a wild west that does not erase African Americans history or presence. I got this awe from how rare it is to see African American historical fantasy, westerns, and just American historical fantasy in general. I’m anticipating seeing more of the world.
Pacing: I think that the story was not necessarily faster or slower in pace but more so came into a lot of what it set up in the first half.
Commentary: One of the aspects of the story I liked from the beginning was the way it has subtle commentary about things.
At a certain point I took a break for week (went on vacation) read an essay on the way back, Sherri L. Smith’s Orleans and Karen Sandler’s Tankborn: The Female Leader, the Neo-Slave Narrative, and Twenty-first Century Young Adult Afrofuturism
which I think contributed at least a little bit to this reverence I have for this book. I’m excited for this book being something that can be studied and adding to overall landscape of black fiction.
The Standoff
I left this book bursting with excitement for everything this story means, what it did right, and the next book.
I wish I would have read this as a readalong just so I could touch on all the things here and there the author put into the story (I can tell she did research)