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bookofcinz's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Layered, engaging and un-putdownable
Jinx is an only child who mostly grew up with her mom and lived a very sheltered life. She had only one friend and her friend left the country when her parents found out she was pregnant. During her teenage year, after the death of her father, her mother starts dating a man who throws the entire mother-daughter dynamic off. Jinx must now get used to having her mother’s attention split with a man who assaults her. One day the assault goes too far and Jinx is left alone to find we way in the world.
The book opens with Lemon, her mother’s friend visiting. His visit brings up a lot of unanswered questions and secrets she was not privy to about her mother and why she was abandoned. We also find out more about Jinx, her divorce and why she does not consider herself a good mother.
I LOVED this book. I wanted more actually. When it ended I felt sad. I felt I wanted to spend more time with Jinx and Lemon. I loved the very unflinching portrayal of motherhood and women who does not have a maternal sense. I feel like I don’t read a lot of that in literature. I enjoyed the Jamaican and Caribbean influence scattered throughout the book.
Honestly, this was truly an amazing read! Please, everyone, pick this up!
Jinx is an only child who mostly grew up with her mom and lived a very sheltered life. She had only one friend and her friend left the country when her parents found out she was pregnant. During her teenage year, after the death of her father, her mother starts dating a man who throws the entire mother-daughter dynamic off. Jinx must now get used to having her mother’s attention split with a man who assaults her. One day the assault goes too far and Jinx is left alone to find we way in the world.
The book opens with Lemon, her mother’s friend visiting. His visit brings up a lot of unanswered questions and secrets she was not privy to about her mother and why she was abandoned. We also find out more about Jinx, her divorce and why she does not consider herself a good mother.
I LOVED this book. I wanted more actually. When it ended I felt sad. I felt I wanted to spend more time with Jinx and Lemon. I loved the very unflinching portrayal of motherhood and women who does not have a maternal sense. I feel like I don’t read a lot of that in literature. I enjoyed the Jamaican and Caribbean influence scattered throughout the book.
Honestly, this was truly an amazing read! Please, everyone, pick this up!
astiflo's review
4.0
A good storyline, an interesting characters study. Some characters could have been developped a bit more, and the end was a bit too easy for me, but all in all, I really enjoyed this books and am looking forward to reading Ms Edwards next one.
audaciaray's review
This book was recommended to me a few years ago by a writer I really adore - and he was totally right that the language and characters were well done and super compelling. However I found myself dissociating when the intimate partner violence in the story line started up and realized that hey, I can stop reading a book that's triggering even if it's also really good. Reading to be resumed at some other point in the future
lemontoaknifefight's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
azu_rikka's review
3.0
I enjoyed reading this novel, with themes of loss, grief, forgiveness and how to love. The writing is lush and witty.
Descriptions of meals and how to prepare them was an added value and the discussion of the different shades of brown skin and its connection to beauty gave me an insight into a completely unknown realm.
I have one big issue with the book though: the fact that a 30+ year old man took the virginity of a sixteen year old girl in a one night stand. It was not in any way discussed that he was doing something wrong. The whole act was mentioned by the way and that bothers me.
Descriptions of meals and how to prepare them was an added value and the discussion of the different shades of brown skin and its connection to beauty gave me an insight into a completely unknown realm.
I have one big issue with the book though: the fact that a 30+ year old man took the virginity of a sixteen year old girl in a one night stand. It was not in any way discussed that he was doing something wrong. The whole act was mentioned by the way and that bothers me.
tarrant's review
4.0
Domestic violence told in the voice of a daughter who blames herself and the complicated story. Dark, beautiful, awful.
bettyvd's review against another edition
2.0
Interessante invalshoek op huiselijk geweld. Maar de personages worden minder interessant naarmate er meer uitgelegd wordt.
2,5 ster
2,5 ster
calid83's review
5.0
One of the best books I've read in a really long time... Full of family secrets, culture, and it leaves you wanting more with each turn of the page... I loved it!
melc's review
4.0
I found this book very powerful and moving. It is a journey of a woman broken from traumatic events in her childhood and how the mysterious, enigmatic Lemon leads her on a journey towards healing and wholeness. This book is stark in its descriptions and joltingly shocking even though the plot holds a fatalistic inevitability.
At the beginning of the book Jinx is a hollow, cold, deeply scarred woman who lives a very isolated life unable to even form a relationship with her young son. She is unable to believe in and receive love from anyone after the emotional betrayal of her mother led to complete devastation in her teens.
Yet, then Lemon walks back into her life and, whilst at his own admission he is no saint, he leads he on a path to exorcise her guilt and discover redemption. Lemon is a fascinating character who has almost angelic qualities at times and his relationship with Jinx is full of mystery and is at times their scenes together are almost like a fable. And yet throughout the mystery the vivid descriptions and very raw, tangible emotions experienced by the two protagonists ground the story firmly within the realms of human experience, taking the reader on a moving journey of empathy and affinity.
At the beginning of the book Jinx is a hollow, cold, deeply scarred woman who lives a very isolated life unable to even form a relationship with her young son. She is unable to believe in and receive love from anyone after the emotional betrayal of her mother led to complete devastation in her teens.
Yet, then Lemon walks back into her life and, whilst at his own admission he is no saint, he leads he on a path to exorcise her guilt and discover redemption. Lemon is a fascinating character who has almost angelic qualities at times and his relationship with Jinx is full of mystery and is at times their scenes together are almost like a fable. And yet throughout the mystery the vivid descriptions and very raw, tangible emotions experienced by the two protagonists ground the story firmly within the realms of human experience, taking the reader on a moving journey of empathy and affinity.
lisagray68's review
challenging
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0