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A review by snekmint
Alida's Song by Gary Paulsen
3.0
Well, better than the previous book. Paulsen's lush descriptions of immigrant Canadian farm life in the 50s are on point, but the ending is somewhat abrupt and all the exposition comes in the form of a sudden flash-forward and a revealing box of letters.
This is not a book so much as it is a short story, a novella at best if you want to read very very slowly and give it wiggle room. It took me about half an hour to get through (during work breaks). I could have done with some more place-building, as I am not exactly familiar with life in Chicago in the 50s and the nameless "boy" has so little in common with my own experience I found some details jarring because I didn't know where or when the hell I'm supposed to be imagining myself.
Solid 3 stars, I guess.
This is not a book so much as it is a short story, a novella at best if you want to read very very slowly and give it wiggle room. It took me about half an hour to get through (during work breaks). I could have done with some more place-building, as I am not exactly familiar with life in Chicago in the 50s and the nameless "boy" has so little in common with my own experience I found some details jarring because I didn't know where or when the hell I'm supposed to be imagining myself.
Solid 3 stars, I guess.