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heidihaverkamp's review against another edition
4.0
A series of short essays as memoir... loved this format. "Island of Bones" is the Spanish name for Key West, where Castro's father grew up. She was raised Latinx by her adoptive parents, until later they all learned her biological parents were white. What is race, anyway? She writes of getting by as a single mother in poverty while also as a grad student in English (whaaat???? wow) and of serving as a woman of color and tenured professor at the all-male Wabash College in central Indiana. Not easy. She has a longer memoir, "The Truth Book," but this was so compact, so beautifully written, and although all these essays were originally published elsewhere, they come together so neatly, like a story puzzle. This was recommended by a friend, and I'm so glad I picked it up.
grounding_sage's review against another edition
5.0
⭐️5
Wow oh wow. This book definitely had moments that didn’t fully connect with me, which makes sense considering not all of these stories were written for me. However, the moments and lines that did connect hit hard and were extremely powerful. I am so happy that this book was recommended to me by a small Indy bookstore and that this book was written by an amazing person who shares her talents with the university that I am attending.
Wow oh wow. This book definitely had moments that didn’t fully connect with me, which makes sense considering not all of these stories were written for me. However, the moments and lines that did connect hit hard and were extremely powerful. I am so happy that this book was recommended to me by a small Indy bookstore and that this book was written by an amazing person who shares her talents with the university that I am attending.
yi_shun_lai's review against another edition
5.0
This book. Read it. It’ll open your eyes, and you will want the writing of more women like Castro in your life.
chellyfish's review
5.0
W O W. I've not read much non-fiction before this, but what few expectations I did have were SO exceeded. Castro is a totally captivating writer, and you genuinely like her. As such, the things that happen to her are even more horrific (though they're so horrific on their own anyways). She lays out these essays without flinching from the truth of her past, baldly laying out her troubles unapologetically and (seemingly) without alteration of the horrible truth.
The only fault I find is in the last essay. After all she had established, it felt a bit like a cop out -- a tying together of ribbons that perhaps were better left untied. The essay "In Theory" conveys much of the same theme, but it doesn't spell out the message for you, which is nice. Not at all worth docking a star though. Highly recommend, questionably suitable for young adults though.
The only fault I find is in the last essay. After all she had established, it felt a bit like a cop out -- a tying together of ribbons that perhaps were better left untied. The essay "In Theory" conveys much of the same theme, but it doesn't spell out the message for you, which is nice. Not at all worth docking a star though. Highly recommend, questionably suitable for young adults though.
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