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phillygirljl's review
3.0
Kindred is an interesting take on the "angel" novel. Instead of a girl being caught in between two angels (doubling as love interests), Miriam believes that she has been visited by the angel Gabriel. She embarks upon a quest to save those that she believes Gabriel has marked for her. But throughout the novel, it is made clear that Miriam has experienced her own crisis of faith. At the start of the novel, it is made clear that though Miriam may believe in something, she is not very religious. As the novel progresses, readers can see that though Miriam believes that Gabriel (and perhaps, God) has a plan for her, she has trouble unravelling her own deeper feelings on God.
I really liked Tammer Stein's style of prose. Her writing could be considered a little sparse, but it resonated with me. Even with the subject matter, Kindred does not come off as preachy, or even as overly religious. The placement of Miriam's fraternal twin brother, Mo, as her adversary was genius. It is easy to see that Mo is the wilder, more free and extroverted of the pair. And, when it seems as if he might be working on the opposite side of the good-evil divide as Miriam, Stein exposes Miriam's inner confusion over how to help her brother with great alacrity.
A small note on some of the more mundane details of the book: Miriam experiences some illness, which she attributes to her position. Perhaps God is punishing her, or perhaps she must endure this pain for a greater purpose. Understandably, this is a part of the plot that is important to the novel, but the details of her illness are rather detailed. Once Miriam sees a doctor, it is revealed that she probably suffers from Crohn's Disease. For readers who might be sensitive to this sort of thing, know that there is a fair amount of discussion about Miriam's intestinal and "lower" issues. While it didn't put me off the book, I can see how it could take away from the greater plot that Kindred is about, if it is a personally disturbing subject.
At it's heart, the book describes a struggle; a turning point or "growing pain". The inner struggle that Miriam has, the struggle that exists between good and evil, is a struggle that, with the religious aspect removed, could describe almost any hard situation that a person (especially a teen) might find themselves having to overcome.
I really liked Tammer Stein's style of prose. Her writing could be considered a little sparse, but it resonated with me. Even with the subject matter, Kindred does not come off as preachy, or even as overly religious. The placement of Miriam's fraternal twin brother, Mo, as her adversary was genius. It is easy to see that Mo is the wilder, more free and extroverted of the pair. And, when it seems as if he might be working on the opposite side of the good-evil divide as Miriam, Stein exposes Miriam's inner confusion over how to help her brother with great alacrity.
A small note on some of the more mundane details of the book: Miriam experiences some illness, which she attributes to her position. Perhaps God is punishing her, or perhaps she must endure this pain for a greater purpose. Understandably, this is a part of the plot that is important to the novel, but the details of her illness are rather detailed. Once Miriam sees a doctor, it is revealed that she probably suffers from Crohn's Disease. For readers who might be sensitive to this sort of thing, know that there is a fair amount of discussion about Miriam's intestinal and "lower" issues. While it didn't put me off the book, I can see how it could take away from the greater plot that Kindred is about, if it is a personally disturbing subject.
At it's heart, the book describes a struggle; a turning point or "growing pain". The inner struggle that Miriam has, the struggle that exists between good and evil, is a struggle that, with the religious aspect removed, could describe almost any hard situation that a person (especially a teen) might find themselves having to overcome.
sammah's review
3.0
When our library was moving locations, this was one of the donation books that I rescued for my own home library. I finally sat down tonight and read though it, and I found it rather interesting. It was different, for me, to see a YA novel that grapples with so many different angles of religion, though at times it felt a bit flat. Not bad, just...slow, I suppose. It built up the action right away, and then everything dropped off. I expected there to be more curve balls, more happening with the angels and these missions.
I did appreciate the punishment that Miriam received for not carrying out her first task. A bit of a let down to not find out properly how it ended, but I didn't mind that too much. I would really like to see this novel written from the reverse perspective of Mo. I'd love to see how he met the devil, the conversations they had, and what he was made to do while Miriam spent her time struggling with her sickness and her view point of religion.
Overall I give it a three. I'd probably read it again!
I did appreciate the punishment that Miriam received for not carrying out her first task. A bit of a let down to not find out properly how it ended, but I didn't mind that too much. I would really like to see this novel written from the reverse perspective of Mo. I'd love to see how he met the devil, the conversations they had, and what he was made to do while Miriam spent her time struggling with her sickness and her view point of religion.
Overall I give it a three. I'd probably read it again!
pegahe's review
2.0
For more reviews and bookish fun, check out Tantalizing Illusions.
Kindred was an okay read. I expected much more and there was so much potential. I just didn't feel like I read anything special.
After an encounter of the angelic kind, Miriam is appointed a mission. When she doesn't exactly succeed 100% in her mission, Miriam begins to weaken and gets sick. She moves from college to a small town in Tennessee and gets a job at the local newspaper.
I thought Miriam was okay. She was a really nice girl but a bit too timid. I mean that she never got angry about the stuff that happened to her even though some awful things did happen. I was surprised at that. She's a much better person than I am. I didn't really connect with her and I found her a bit plain.
Her twin brother, Moses was a much more interesting character, in my view. While Miriam's encounter was angelic, Mo's was demonic. Most people think "No, I'd never side with the devil. Only bad, awful psychopaths would do that." I liked that Mo wasn't shown to be bad. He had issues but he was more charming and ambitious. He had big dreams which I can understand, but loose morals. While what he was doing was wrong, it wasn't unthinkable. I liked that there was that gray area. I would have loved to read the story from his perspective.
What turned me off the story was the religious aspect. Miriam's father was Jewish and her mother Catholic so there was a lot of focus on religion in her life. Specifically about God. There were many questions about God and while that would be perfect for a youth group to discuss, it wasn't really the entertaining, light read I had in mind. I'm only mentioning this because it may put some people off the book.
The plot was interesting enough though kind of slow for the most part. There was some romance that I liked (and it was unusual. I liked the character and wanted more romance for once!), there was some mystery, etc. There was a certain storyline that I found very interesting. Something that happened to Miriam and that I would have been curious to read about more than the angel/demon thing. That part was well done and I was surprised when I read of it. (Sorry for being vague but I don't want to spoil it... it is an important plot point for the book.)
In short, Kindred is a nice enough read. It's just not my kind of read. It's a unique, different kind of book that will probably be a hit or miss. For me it was more of a miss. 2 stars,
**
Kindred was an okay read. I expected much more and there was so much potential. I just didn't feel like I read anything special.
After an encounter of the angelic kind, Miriam is appointed a mission. When she doesn't exactly succeed 100% in her mission, Miriam begins to weaken and gets sick. She moves from college to a small town in Tennessee and gets a job at the local newspaper.
I thought Miriam was okay. She was a really nice girl but a bit too timid. I mean that she never got angry about the stuff that happened to her even though some awful things did happen. I was surprised at that. She's a much better person than I am. I didn't really connect with her and I found her a bit plain.
Her twin brother, Moses was a much more interesting character, in my view. While Miriam's encounter was angelic, Mo's was demonic. Most people think "No, I'd never side with the devil. Only bad, awful psychopaths would do that." I liked that Mo wasn't shown to be bad. He had issues but he was more charming and ambitious. He had big dreams which I can understand, but loose morals. While what he was doing was wrong, it wasn't unthinkable. I liked that there was that gray area. I would have loved to read the story from his perspective.
What turned me off the story was the religious aspect. Miriam's father was Jewish and her mother Catholic so there was a lot of focus on religion in her life. Specifically about God. There were many questions about God and while that would be perfect for a youth group to discuss, it wasn't really the entertaining, light read I had in mind. I'm only mentioning this because it may put some people off the book.
The plot was interesting enough though kind of slow for the most part. There was some romance that I liked (and it was unusual. I liked the character and wanted more romance for once!), there was some mystery, etc. There was a certain storyline that I found very interesting. Something that happened to Miriam and that I would have been curious to read about more than the angel/demon thing. That part was well done and I was surprised when I read of it. (Sorry for being vague but I don't want to spoil it... it is an important plot point for the book.)
In short, Kindred is a nice enough read. It's just not my kind of read. It's a unique, different kind of book that will probably be a hit or miss. For me it was more of a miss. 2 stars,
**
papersquared's review
2.0
Synopsis: Miriam is in college, alone during Spring Break in her dorm, when the archangel Raphael comes to her in a vision and gives her a task. In Ancient Hebrew. Which she understands. She feels that she fails at this task (reader note: Miriam needs to cut herself some slack) and ends up dropping out of school and suffering from some first class GI problems. She conveniently is offered a job at a small-town newspaper (she's 18) along with an apartment, and ends up meeting Emmett, who runs the local tattoo parlor. Miriam is also a twin, and her brother Mo had a vision as well -- from the devil. Miriam spends the rest of the book deciphering her visions, visiting doctors, and trying to figure out how to save her brother. Kind of.
Point the first: the cover is misleading. I know, I know... but angels aren't the central feature of this book.
Point the second: This author needs an editor. And not in the way I usually recommend editing. It wasn't too long. In fact, it needed to be longer. In this case, an editor would help with fleshing out portions of the story that worked and remove the parts that didn't.
Point the third: There is potential here. I almost gave up about 20 pages in, but that's where the book shifted and really started to take off. There are about four different stories going on, and at least two of them need to be taken out. Stein struggles with focus, and as a result, the reader does too. My favorite part of this book was Emmett -- the love interest -- and his shop. My least favorite was the brother/devil part, only because -- and this is just me -- it seems like kind of a big deal that the devil is talking to this guy. But Miriam (and Stein) have trouble giving it the weight it deserves.
Point the fourth: I loved the parents' backstory -- a former Catholic nun and a rabbi, both theology professors. I wanted more of them, and more of how this shaped Miriam's take on faith, which grew through the book. There were points where this could have taking on a more Angelology feel, but that took a backseat to forwarding the plot. Unfortunately, that left holes and created some very large jumps that made little sense.
Point the first: the cover is misleading. I know, I know... but angels aren't the central feature of this book.
Point the second: This author needs an editor. And not in the way I usually recommend editing. It wasn't too long. In fact, it needed to be longer. In this case, an editor would help with fleshing out portions of the story that worked and remove the parts that didn't.
Point the third: There is potential here. I almost gave up about 20 pages in, but that's where the book shifted and really started to take off. There are about four different stories going on, and at least two of them need to be taken out. Stein struggles with focus, and as a result, the reader does too. My favorite part of this book was Emmett -- the love interest -- and his shop. My least favorite was the brother/devil part, only because -- and this is just me -- it seems like kind of a big deal that the devil is talking to this guy. But Miriam (and Stein) have trouble giving it the weight it deserves.
Point the fourth: I loved the parents' backstory -- a former Catholic nun and a rabbi, both theology professors. I wanted more of them, and more of how this shaped Miriam's take on faith, which grew through the book. There were points where this could have taking on a more Angelology feel, but that took a backseat to forwarding the plot. Unfortunately, that left holes and created some very large jumps that made little sense.
andye_reads's review
3.0
My Review:
Let me start by saying... I liked this book O.K.. Kindred was a fast enough pace read that you will not get bored, and a slow enough read, that you become one with the characters.
Miriam is visited by an archangel Raphael and is given several missions she must do. She totally bombs on the first one and is forced to move on to the next missions. She moves away from school and gets a job soon after her first mission. After Miriam moves away she meets Emmett. Not too long after, Emmett would do anything for Miriam, he was always there for her when she needed him. It was hard to read how much crap Miriam physically went through in this book. She wanted to complete her other missions so God would show her favor and heal/cure her. My favorite parts of the book was when Miriam and her twin brother Moses ("Mo") were together, constantly arguing and battling with each other. They really loved each other though, you could tell that Miriam and Mo were really close. I think their relationship was strained while battling good vs. evil. Mo was a good supporting character.
This book really was a heart thumping read, in the end. The only problem I might of had with this book, is the fact that it moved around a bit, a little jumpy. The flow of the storyline could of used some help. However, it slowly progressed into a very good climatic ending.
Amy
http://ReadingTeen.net/
iamastraythought's review
4.0
I liked the book but I feel like the story was slightly unfinished, like it was the first in a series that the author then forgot about.
bitterindigo's review against another edition
3.0
This might have been better as a novella, since the author explores some interesting questions but doesn't really take them far enough or provide a satisfactory conclusion for them to make the novel seem worthwhile. The whole notion of angelic visitation being connected to physical consequences - and the sort of bold decision to put in so much stuff about bowel function side-by-side with religious doubt and philosophical musings - could have been put to much more effective use.
gubuchu's review
3.0
Hrmmmm, I wouldn't really call this an angel book in the sense that a love interest is an angel being kind of thing or angels are like involved, in the cool/romantic/action-y kind of sense. It's more like a religious angel book thing so if you're not religious because this book references to Christianity and Judaism, by the way, and you don't really reading about those things, you might not like this. The main character's not much of a religious person though so you won't get any preachy stuff but there will be a lot of religious stuff in this book like Christianity angels and stuff. I read this last year but I remember a memory when I was reading this, it was late at night and I snuck away into the bathroom so that way my dad wouldn't nag me for staying up late because I always do that so I shut the bathroom door inside the master bedroom (because my parents don't use the master bedroom, surprisingly. They have their own rooms because they work a lot.) and put down the toilet seat and finished reading all of it even though the bathroom space was really cramped up.
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