Coming of age novels can be hit or miss for me but this was lovely and memorable.
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It took me a few chapters to get into this, but once I was in, it didn't let me go. I've been fascinated for some time by literature set in or dealing with Caribbean and African communities and cultures -- I find the history of those regions, particularly the Caribbean, very interesting. This is the tale of two sisters who are spending the summer in Barbados with their grandmother, exiled there by their mother who "can no longer care for them." The narrative begins sort of in the middle of the story: the girls are simply there, and the background unfolds along the way. It's a compact story, with the trials and tribulations of being a teenage or pre-teen girl taking the forefront, and in that way the setting doesn't really matter, except that the expectations they must meet in Barbados are clearly much different than what they would have experienced if they had stayed in New York. The two girls adjust to their new way of life, expecting all the while to be returning after the summer to their home and their mother, but soon it becomes clear that things may not work out as they thought. Both girls have different ideas about what it would mean to stay with their grandmother, or to return to their mother, and the reappearance of their long-absent father only complicates things. He is a dramatic (if somewhat predictable) character who ultimately proves to be the catalyst for their final decision. This tight little tale came together nicely and ended just right. ( )

fiction (coming of age tale in modern Barbados). REVIEWED FROM UNCORRECTED ARC. I liked it, though the whole episode with the girls' father was very abrupt and extreme. ( )

I loved the characters, I loved the story. The only thing I didn't love was the way Errol's storyline ended. It felt both too unexpected and too pat. But Phaedra, Dionne and Hyacinth all make up for it. ( )

Not knowing much about the books going in, I enjoyed reading it. However, I felt that the parts of the book meant to surprise or pack an emotional punch really didn't for me. It could be my cold, stone heart or it could be that none of the characters were developed quite enough for me to really feel for them. It's probably a combination of both. ( )