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A review by tamaraneans
A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
2.0
I've spent a good deal of time trying to come to terms with the feelings I have for this book. On the one hand, I find the characterizations intriguing and off-putting by turns and the entire idea of the story to be very, very interesting. But that's all I enjoy from this book. The idea and the concept.
A Fistful of Sky is about a young woman long resigned to her fate as the "normal" child of a magical family (aside from her normal father), but this is all turned upside down after her twentieth birthday, where after one harrowing weekend, Gypsum "Gyp" LaZelle undergoes the "Transition" and finally comes in to her powers.
Annnnd that's it. Honestly. Where the story could have become a beautiful coming-of-age, alternative lifestyle, accepting your family however they are and what they choose to be story, instead it makes a good show of family dynamics and putters out by about halfway through. The story in its entirety accomplishes nothing other than to introduce the concept of the LaZelle universe.
Do Gypsum and her family have to realize that family is more important than magical abilities and manipulating each other to get their way? Do they discuss and resolve the numerous and overwhelming sibling rivalry and familial issues that make up the core of this family dynamic? Do they ever have to deal with the fact that each of them did serious and unacceptable actions to each other and apologize for them? The answer is a resounding "ehhh not really, no".
Gypsum tells the author how badly she was treated by her family, but she never really reveals her feelings to her family. She never actually tells them how hurt by their actions she was, no matter how appalling they were. She gives little tidbits to them, but they never actually go anywhere and none of the siblings or her mother ever really apologize for what they've done in the past, which I find to be a grave failing on the author's part. What's the point of introducing all of those memories and scenes if not to discuss and alleviate those issues? Why add them in? For added mental distress to the reader?
And don't get me started on the actually plot arc. Hint: there isn't a cohesive, definitive one. Sure, Gypsum learns to accept herself and her power, but that's only after Altria, the mischievous spirit she summoned by accident, shows her how to lock away her power--easily and anticlimactically. This might as well have been done in the beginning for all the effort it did to get to that point in the book. There's little to no rising action--sure Gyp has to deal with the constant pressure of magic-build up unless she releases it, but she always finds a way to do so and the suspense just isn't there. It's like watching someone learn how to juggle; just because they drop the ball, there's no real damage to anything.
Ultimately, I'm disappointed in A Fistful of Sky. I feel jipped, really. There's nothing here for me that I can definitively say I liked in the book. The characters? No, each other them had more qualities I disliked than liked and some were just completely one-dimensional with no actual development. The execution? No, it had no definitive qualities to a story--like actual conflict, rising action and resolution. You cannot look me in the eye and tell me that any of the characters experienced consequences for their actions and learned any sort of definitive lesson. They simply never acknowledged their faults. There's just no---no real effort put in here by the characters and the story lacks so much of what it could be as a result. Everything is simple, easily resolved or pushed aside and because of that, I feel my time was wasted. I wanted a story about family and acceptance. I got a shoddy diary entry by what felt like a twenty-something girl who hadn't yet grown up. And what I got just doesn't work for me.
A Fistful of Sky is about a young woman long resigned to her fate as the "normal" child of a magical family (aside from her normal father), but this is all turned upside down after her twentieth birthday, where after one harrowing weekend, Gypsum "Gyp" LaZelle undergoes the "Transition" and finally comes in to her powers.
Annnnd that's it. Honestly. Where the story could have become a beautiful coming-of-age, alternative lifestyle, accepting your family however they are and what they choose to be story, instead it makes a good show of family dynamics and putters out by about halfway through. The story in its entirety accomplishes nothing other than to introduce the concept of the LaZelle universe.
Do Gypsum and her family have to realize that family is more important than magical abilities and manipulating each other to get their way? Do they discuss and resolve the numerous and overwhelming sibling rivalry and familial issues that make up the core of this family dynamic? Do they ever have to deal with the fact that each of them did serious and unacceptable actions to each other and apologize for them? The answer is a resounding "ehhh not really, no".
Gypsum tells the author how badly she was treated by her family, but she never really reveals her feelings to her family. She never actually tells them how hurt by their actions she was, no matter how appalling they were. She gives little tidbits to them, but they never actually go anywhere and none of the siblings or her mother ever really apologize for what they've done in the past, which I find to be a grave failing on the author's part. What's the point of introducing all of those memories and scenes if not to discuss and alleviate those issues? Why add them in? For added mental distress to the reader?
And don't get me started on the actually plot arc. Hint: there isn't a cohesive, definitive one. Sure, Gypsum learns to accept herself and her power, but that's only after Altria, the mischievous spirit she summoned by accident, shows her how to lock away her power--easily and anticlimactically. This might as well have been done in the beginning for all the effort it did to get to that point in the book. There's little to no rising action--sure Gyp has to deal with the constant pressure of magic-build up unless she releases it, but she always finds a way to do so and the suspense just isn't there. It's like watching someone learn how to juggle; just because they drop the ball, there's no real damage to anything.
Ultimately, I'm disappointed in A Fistful of Sky. I feel jipped, really. There's nothing here for me that I can definitively say I liked in the book. The characters? No, each other them had more qualities I disliked than liked and some were just completely one-dimensional with no actual development. The execution? No, it had no definitive qualities to a story--like actual conflict, rising action and resolution. You cannot look me in the eye and tell me that any of the characters experienced consequences for their actions and learned any sort of definitive lesson. They simply never acknowledged their faults. There's just no---no real effort put in here by the characters and the story lacks so much of what it could be as a result. Everything is simple, easily resolved or pushed aside and because of that, I feel my time was wasted. I wanted a story about family and acceptance. I got a shoddy diary entry by what felt like a twenty-something girl who hadn't yet grown up. And what I got just doesn't work for me.