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amaldae's review against another edition
1.0
(August 5th, 2017)
A F/F coming of age novella where 18-year-old Annette who, a year after her dad's suicide, gets on the road to recovery and a college career by falling in love/longing and lust with the painter next door. Like most things in that genre, however, it reaches for far more than it delivers; in this case, Rand's attempt at a heartfelt lesbian awakening story is undone by her fondness for unsuitable metaphors and the limited length of her piece, which does not allow for both the elaborateness of her style and the level of intimacy such a tale would require. As it is, I feel almost guilty for having read it.
The relationship between Annette and Sadie is by turns awkward and alarming. Annette, the younger of the two (by how much is not specified, but their age difference could be as much as 10 years), first latches onto the other woman out of simple boredom on a hot summer's day, and her attempts at connecting with Sadie certainly do not convince the reader of the future or even sincerety of the ensuing romance: she offers to kindly hang out at Sadie's, "like an assistant", mainly to have a reason to leave her own home, and gets accepted as a spectator and brush-washer out of what I must conclude to be pity - unpaid, naturally, but it does not take Annette long to figure out what she wants more than money. After all, she is lonely, and it turns out they do have something in common: neither wears shoes!
After this momentous realization, which is important enough to be stated thrice within a paragraph, there is no stopping Annette's attachment from growing. She "sleepwalks through dinner" and spends her time with Sadie in "[comfortable] silence. They might as well have been on a motorbike, speeding through the open road". The idea of being seen as a couple gives her "a damp thrill in the pit of her stomach".
Fortunately for Annette, she is not doomed to only wash brushes while imagining how Sadie's "aura [might be] dark, rich brown, like wood": after a few weeks, she extracts permission to stay the night. The tension between them, which she can taste in her mouth "like chocolate" eventually solidifies into action that gives her ample opportunity to "drip like honey" (etc).
The only redeeming feature of the novella is that by the very end, Sadie's quiet acceptance and hard-won attentions have helped Annette be more honest with herself and recognize her own wants and dreams, both in and out of the bedroom. The crossroads of the title, therefore, is not only the literal setting of the story, but also where the main character comes back to herself and becomes interested in claiming her future from the trauma and numbness of her past. 1*
A F/F coming of age novella where 18-year-old Annette who, a year after her dad's suicide, gets on the road to recovery and a college career by falling in love/longing and lust with the painter next door. Like most things in that genre, however, it reaches for far more than it delivers; in this case, Rand's attempt at a heartfelt lesbian awakening story is undone by her fondness for unsuitable metaphors and the limited length of her piece, which does not allow for both the elaborateness of her style and the level of intimacy such a tale would require. As it is, I feel almost guilty for having read it.
The relationship between Annette and Sadie is by turns awkward and alarming. Annette, the younger of the two (by how much is not specified, but their age difference could be as much as 10 years), first latches onto the other woman out of simple boredom on a hot summer's day, and her attempts at connecting with Sadie certainly do not convince the reader of the future or even sincerety of the ensuing romance: she offers to kindly hang out at Sadie's, "like an assistant", mainly to have a reason to leave her own home, and gets accepted as a spectator and brush-washer out of what I must conclude to be pity - unpaid, naturally, but it does not take Annette long to figure out what she wants more than money. After all, she is lonely, and it turns out they do have something in common: neither wears shoes!
After this momentous realization, which is important enough to be stated thrice within a paragraph, there is no stopping Annette's attachment from growing. She "sleepwalks through dinner" and spends her time with Sadie in "[comfortable] silence. They might as well have been on a motorbike, speeding through the open road". The idea of being seen as a couple gives her "a damp thrill in the pit of her stomach".
Fortunately for Annette, she is not doomed to only wash brushes while imagining how Sadie's "aura [might be] dark, rich brown, like wood": after a few weeks, she extracts permission to stay the night. The tension between them, which she can taste in her mouth "like chocolate" eventually solidifies into action that gives her ample opportunity to "drip like honey" (etc).
The only redeeming feature of the novella is that by the very end, Sadie's quiet acceptance and hard-won attentions have helped Annette be more honest with herself and recognize her own wants and dreams, both in and out of the bedroom. The crossroads of the title, therefore, is not only the literal setting of the story, but also where the main character comes back to herself and becomes interested in claiming her future from the trauma and numbness of her past. 1*
piperbunny's review
1.0
This was a short story. There wasn't much of a character build up, I didn't feel like I knew these characters to care enough about them. The whole book felt a bit repetitive as if it was written on a certain format, the main character would tell the reader how she was feeling, then relay that same information to her love interest, rinse and repeat.
melaniebopp's review
4.0
Full review available here at All About Romance: http://www.likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/bookReview.pl?BookReviewId=9565
There are times when a story needs to be wrapped up, when there are too many loose ends floating around, and nothing makes sense. There are other times, though, where at the end of the book you are left wondering, and it is a good thing. Not everything is finished, and it doesn’t always need to be. Portrait of a Crossroads is like that - an open-ended story that just feels right.
A recent high school graduate, Annette Vargas is, like most teenagers, trying to figure out what to do next. Her father’s suicide the year before, and her discovery of his body, has Annette’s entire sense of self off-track - she is, quite simply, at a loss about the future.
And though she has considered women romantically before, she finds her newly-single neighbor endlessly fascinating...
There are times when a story needs to be wrapped up, when there are too many loose ends floating around, and nothing makes sense. There are other times, though, where at the end of the book you are left wondering, and it is a good thing. Not everything is finished, and it doesn’t always need to be. Portrait of a Crossroads is like that - an open-ended story that just feels right.
A recent high school graduate, Annette Vargas is, like most teenagers, trying to figure out what to do next. Her father’s suicide the year before, and her discovery of his body, has Annette’s entire sense of self off-track - she is, quite simply, at a loss about the future.
And though she has considered women romantically before, she finds her newly-single neighbor endlessly fascinating...
ktomp17's review
3.0
This was a short story that didn't have a lot of real depth to it. It was written in a style that made me think of an old school story, and it was well written. I just didn't find myself having a big connection with the characters. It was more superficial, and not solid. It wasn't a bad story, but it wasn't my favorite.
annastarlight's review
3.0
After her father's suicide Annette doesn't know what to do with herself. She lives with her two brothers in a house next to a crossroads. Some day she becomes fascinated with her tattooed neighbour Sadie.
I think the message of Portrait of a Crossroads is good. You should follow your dreams and your own path, whatever that may be. But that's all what this novella seems to be - the sum of its message.
Ms Rand is good at describing things. I loved the setting, the way the entire world seems to be the sound of cars and planes and the six or so houses next to the crossroads. This strength turns into a flaw once the story starts moving. There continue to be descriptions, but I missed emotion or a driving force. There is barely any introspection, which is weird if the story is about a girl making a decision.
Portrait of a Crossroads mainly follows Annette's and Sadie's interactions or lack thereof. There is often a mention of a "comfortable silence", but as a reader I didn't find all the silences comforting at all. It didn't get much better when they started speaking though. The dialogue was stocky and repetitive. A quote (from an ARC - it might still change):
There is about.. one and a half erotic scene in the story. I'm glad Ms Rand stayed away from overly poetic language - they're pretty straightforward without being too graphic.
Recommended only for those enjoying morals in their stories or people that have recently lost someone and need something to get their spirits up. If you read for language itself, I'd pass Portrait of a Crossroads by.
I think the message of Portrait of a Crossroads is good. You should follow your dreams and your own path, whatever that may be. But that's all what this novella seems to be - the sum of its message.
Ms Rand is good at describing things. I loved the setting, the way the entire world seems to be the sound of cars and planes and the six or so houses next to the crossroads. This strength turns into a flaw once the story starts moving. There continue to be descriptions, but I missed emotion or a driving force. There is barely any introspection, which is weird if the story is about a girl making a decision.
Portrait of a Crossroads mainly follows Annette's and Sadie's interactions or lack thereof. There is often a mention of a "comfortable silence", but as a reader I didn't find all the silences comforting at all. It didn't get much better when they started speaking though. The dialogue was stocky and repetitive. A quote (from an ARC - it might still change):
"I think I want to go to Brock University," Annette said. "For concurrent education. I can be a teacher and it's... not too far." She rested her head on the back of the seat and glanced sideways at her.
"Good," Sadie said. "You should." She turned on the radio at a low volume and slipped her sunglasses into place again. "And you're right. It's not far."
There is about.. one and a half erotic scene in the story. I'm glad Ms Rand stayed away from overly poetic language - they're pretty straightforward without being too graphic.
Recommended only for those enjoying morals in their stories or people that have recently lost someone and need something to get their spirits up. If you read for language itself, I'd pass Portrait of a Crossroads by.
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