Review: Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

Moonrise
by Sarah Crossan
Published by Bloomsbury
YA, contemporary, poetry

'They think I hurt someone.But I didn't. You hear?Coz people are gonna be telling youall kinds of lies.I need you to know the truth.' 

Joe hasn't seen his brother for ten years, and it's for the most brutal of reasons. Ed is on death row.

But now Ed's execution date has been set, and Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with him, not matter what other people think.

Moonrise's premise is heartbreaking and sad, both of which I expected the story to be. Joe's brother Ed has been in prison for ten years for murder and now he's on death row. Their family is complicated and struggling, with absent father, addicted and mostly absent mother, and aunt Karen who took care of Joe and his sister Angela after Ed was sent to prison. Joe travels alone to Texas to spend the last weeks with Ed before the execution. It's lonesome and heartbreaking journey for Joe, and Crossan managed to bring that across rather beautifully. It was interesting to see the dysfunctional family relationship and how everyone dealt differently with Ed's conviction and him being on death row. Especially since Ed swears he's innocent of the crime, which just made me angry about the justice system. It was all around decent story with emotional themes.

However, then came up the romance in true YA style. For me, it felt completely unnecessary and I'd rather read about family dynamics and heartbreaking story of Joe's brother being on death row. I felt like the romance cheapened the story a little bit, especially because it was quite cliche and predictable. The twist in the romance was easy to guess from the beginning and overall the story would have worked better without it, which is why I felt it was unnecessary.

In the end, Moonrise was a decent read. It wasn't mind-blowing or as gut-wrenching as I thought it would be, and the romance parts made me yawn. Still, it was well written and I liked Joe and Ed, and the complicated family dynamics. It was nothing spectacular, but nothing bad either.

3 of 5 stars

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Review: Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter

Grief is the Things with Feathers
by Max Porter
Published by Faber Faber
Poetry, contemporary, magical realism, fiction

In a London flat, two young boys face the unbearable sadness of their mother's sudden death. Their father, a Ted Hughes scholar and scruffy romantic, imagines a future of well-meaning visitors and emptiness. 

In this moment of despair they are visited by Crow - antagonist, trickster, healer, babysitter. This self-described sentimental bird is attracted to the grieving family and threatens to stay until they no longer need him. As weeks turn to months and physical pain of loss gives way to memories, this little unit of three begin to heal. 

In this extraordinary debut - part novella, part polyphonic fable, part essay on grief, Max Porter's compassion and bravura style combine to dazzling effect. Full of unexpected humour and profound emotional truth, Grief is the Thing with Feathers marks the arrival of a thrilling new talent.

Firstly, I'm amazed how much I could care for characters, who actually didn't have names. They were just 'boys', 'dad', and 'crow'. Still, the characters came alive in the pages, and their grief was all too real and easy to identify with if you've ever lost someone.

Secondly, this is a curious mixture of short story, poetry, myth, contemporary, and magical realism. It's a story of a widower and his two boys, who try to cope with the loss of a wife and mother. Then comes Crow, who narrates the story, and acts as the family's grief counselor. The Crow is curious thing, a trickster and babysitter, and sometimes his point of view was hard to decipher. The boys were at times little rascals, but they found solace on each other and the grief was easier to deal with for them than their father, who at times was just empty shell, barely able to deal with the realities of life without his loved one.

I don't often read general fiction and poetry even rarer, but this was something else. It was original exploration of grief and loss, and at times it really it hard to feels. It was also funny at times, especially the boys' antics and Crow's hilarious reactions. I really liked Grief is the Thing with Feathers, and I'm sure it'll stay with me for quite some time. And yes, it made me want to read some of Ted Hughes' poems.

4 of 5 stars

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Review: The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

The Lover's Dictionary
by David Levithan
Published by Fourth Estate
Paperback (purchased)
Contemporary, romance, poetry

We are all beginners when it comes to love, from those tentative first dates to learning how to live with, or without, someone. But how does one describe love? David Levithan's 'The Lover's Dictionary' starts where we all once started - with the alphabet.

I read The Lover's Dictionary last summer in London the best way one can read a love story like this - in the underground and in a coffee shop. The story is turbulent in a way only a true love story can be; it's falling in love, it's the troubles and hardships of that love, it's yearning and it's feelings in their purest form. The book is certainly unique - it's the alphabet of a love story, it's really short definitions of words that carry on the story - but the story itself is universal. Anyone who has ever been in love or in relationship can relate to the frenzy of feelings that it brings. This is a book that a reader need to experience by themselves, because it's hard to put it in words.

If you want to read unique love story, I do recommend The Lover's Dictionary. It's quick read and just so good. To end this review, here's one of my favourite quotes from the book:

yearning, n. and adj.
At the core of this desire is the belief that everything can be perfect.

4 of 5 stars

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