Off Color: Trickster's Girl

Trickster's Girl by Hilari Bell (ARC) 2011
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Books

Rating: 1.5/5

IQ "'I don't make many promises', Kelsa told him. 'Because if I promise, if I start something, I'll finish it. So I'm careful about commitments.'" pg. 63 (quotes subject to change)

It's 2098 and the world has changed drastically. Kelsa is fifteen and her father has just died from cancer. Her mother is distant and Kelsa is removed from her schoolwork and friends. Then she meets Raven. Raven is the handsomest guy Kelsa has ever met but then he tells her that he's the Native American Trickster god. Raven babbles on about an impending ecological disaster involving a tree plague and that Kelsa can help him save the world. Is he crazy? Or could she could really help him save the world?

Let's get this out of the way. Kelsa's using of blackface dropped this book down so much. I just couldn't get behind that. Yes she only used dark foundation but the fact that she thought it was ok to do so in the first place is beyond troubling. So yes massive failure on that part, my mouth literally dropped open, especially when she goes on to bemoan that "[h]er mouth and nose weren't right, but she knew several mixie kids who'd drawn paler skin and Caucasian features out of the genetic lottery. She didn't look like a white girl anymore" (pgs. 191-192). 'Nuff said. In addition, this book moves so s-l-o-w-l-y. I would put this book down and have a hard time getting back into the story. It was normal that Kelsa would be freaked out by a guy who shapeshifts into a raven, but after awhile I just wanted the story to move on. In addition, the uneasy friendship between Kelsa and Raven was odd. They aren't enemies or friends or frenemies. It's almost like the author couldn't decide until the end if she wanted them to be a couple or just friends. The oddest thing was Joby, Kelsa's little brother. He was just a prop. I don't think he said anything at all, he just hung out with their mother and I have no idea why Kelsa wasn't just made an only child.

I did think this book brought up some interesting ideas about the future. For instance, Kelsa is upset that Raven has such a condescending attitude towards humans but at one point she says (I'm paraphrasing) that it's the white man's fault because the Native Americans knew how to take care of the Earth. But Raven says the Native Americans probably would have messed up the Earth too, they just didn't get a chance to stick around long enough on their land with the new technology. I also thought that the new gun laws were intriguing. Guns are illegal and the few guns out there are plastic. The plastic barrel deforms a little bit each time a gun is fired. Hmm, cool. Other things were silly, like the elimination of swear words so everyone says 'frack' and 'carp'. Of course, the environmental message is a good one. Take care of our planet now because who knows what could be happening to it years later? A deadly tree plague with possibly cancerous effects. Or y'know, something equally tragic.

Trickster's Girl suffers from an unfortunate incident with Kelsa trying to disguise herself with blackface and a very slow start. In addition frenemies Kelsa and Raven are difficult to understand, I never felt as though I knew anything personal about Kelsa and Raven. Kelsa is devastated by the loss of her father and Raven doesn't have human feelings, but I needed more to go on than that (I didn't need them to have a romance but I couldn't figure out where they stood with each other). Plus the writing is redundant and over explanatory. The environmental message is the first one I've come across in a book (although I do know of others) and it's a positive resounding theme. The author has some fascinating ideas concerning the end of the 21st century and the inclusion of magic is a nice twist but this book has too many flaws (in my opinion) to make the book an enjoyable experience.

Disclosure: Received as part of Traveling to Teens blog tour. Thank you Houghton!

Off-color reviews are books by poc but not about poc OR books with an important secondary poc character. This book fits the latter.

Throwback Thursday: Naughts & Crosses

Naughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman 2001
Simon & Schuster

Rating: 3/5

IQ "People are people. We'll always find a way to mess up, doesn't matter who's in charge." Jack pg. 380

In this world, the Crosses rule and the naughts are treated as inferior. Crosses are Black, naughts are white. Sephy is a Cross, daughter of the aspiring prime minister. Callum is a Naught, his family is working class and his mother used to work for Sephy's family. Callum and Sephy grew up together, but as they get older, they are not allowed to hang out together anymore. But they've fallen in love and they must see each other. As they get older, the world becomes a more complex place. Callum's father and brother seemed to be linked to a terrorist organization, the Liberation Militia (LM). There is evidence that they helped plant a bomb in the mall where Sephy and her mother were shopping at. Sephy's father is determined to see them hanged. Sephy is determined to protect Callum's family and their love.

I think I'm definitely in the minority on this one, but I just couldn't get into this book. It read to much like an historical fiction novel set in the U.S. detailing the civil rights movement, the only difference was the skin color of the oppressors. I was expecting something different. I thought the author was going to bring a new perspective or something to the story, but instead she shows something that most of us already know; stereotypes are wrong (don't make assumptions) and race relations (really life in general) is complex. I suppose this would be a good read for those students who have never experience racism or tried to put themselves in the place of someone who might have experienced it. Sephy is the naive yet well meaning (white in our world, black in this one) girl and Callum is the hardened and fed up (black in our world, white in the one in the book) guy. There are many arguments of violence vs. non violence which could have easily been between members of the Black Panthers and the civil disobedience movement in America. I wasn't a big fan of the writing style either. The chapters were ridiculously short but the book was still really long and some details could have been cut out. Metaphors and similes were overused and the writing makes it seem like something intense is happening all the time, when it's really not that bad.

The story's pacing is off and towards the end you are hurtling full throttle toward a chilling event, desperate to know the outcome. I kept putting this book down and not picking it up right away, but I did want to finish it. The ending was quite well done. I thought I knew what was coming (and I was right), but you keep doubting yourself all the same, as new facts are entered into the equation. The characters are well developed and there are some surprises in people's backgrounds (like Jude, Callum's brother). I wanted to know the name of the world the Crosses and Naughts lived in, but it's never mentioned. I thought it was interesting how the Crosses celebrated Crossmas, but they believe in God. Why the name change from Christmas to Crossmas? I was always sometimes amused at the role reversals in the world the author has created. At one point Callum's dad says "If you're black, that's where it's at. If you're brown, stick around. If you're white, say good night." (pg. 113). I laughed when I read that, even thought it's really not funny (this statement is based on "if you're white you're alright. If you're brown stick around. If you're Black stand back."). The book is not exactly identical to real issues, the LM is a lot more extreme than any organization formed by Black people in America which is intriguing. I definitely didn't agree with their tactics (I wanted to smack all the males in Callum's family-his poor mum!), but it makes you wonder "if we had been more violent, would we have achieved civil rights sooner?" (personally my answer is no, I'm on the MLK and co. side of this issue but I did think about it).

Naughts & Crosses is a suspenseful look at race relations where the power is reversed and the stakes are higher. I applaud the fact that the author has created such an enthralling story that deals with issues that many readers may be unaware of or ignore. For those who think that issues of race are merely black and white this is a good book. It will make you think. It just didn't bring anything new to the table for me. I don't know how to articulately explain why I didn't like this book, I tried and hopefully it makes some sort of sense. To be clear: I am in NO way stating that I didn't like this book because 'I'm black so I already get it' (I read this review to myself and realized that message could come across). I do want to finish the trilogy, I think the series has potential especially because of what the next two books are about. I just won't rush out to read the books right away.

Disclosure: Bought

PS My younger sister read this book and absolutely loved it. She thinks I'm crazy for not liking it. Also if you've read this book, do you consider it dystopia? I don't think it fits as sci fi or fantasy but I could be wrong since I'm new to the genre.

Throwback Thursday is hosted by Take Me Away Reading