Title: Sanctuary Somewhere
Author: Brenna Dimmig
Genre: Poetry, Young Adult, Contemporary
Trigger Warning:
Rating: 3 stars
Release Date: April 1, 2019
Synopsis
Review
A special thank you to Netgalley and West 44 Books for providing a free advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
This verse poem follows the story of Osmel as he works towards his dreams while dealing with obstacles like discovering the fact that he is undocumented. The story was really powerful and I loved the characters as they tried to determine what would be best for them over everyone else. Osmel was a unique enough character with his passions but also realistic as his backstory is explored. I especially enjoyed his interactions with his friends at school, especially as these teenagers are figuring out and dealing with the fact that they are undocumented, something that they never had to be worried about before. One scene in particularly with three of the boys I absolutely adored.
The culture aspect was really interesting, as Osmel feels out of place in his family because of cultural differences, including that he doesn't speak or understand Spanish well anymore. I can't speak for sure on what this is really like, but it was really powerful and an interesting concept, especially as Osmel is contrasting with his little sister, Leslie, who is more invested in their heritage but also is a legal citizen.
The story really felt like it would have been better told out of the verse format. It felt really forced to be a verse novel, and while this story could definitely be told in this format, it was just off. The point of views were also really weird and not in a good way. I wouldn't have minded if Leslie's point of view was a constant thing throughout the story but it came in so late that it was just irritating. It was like a partial commitment to two point of views and this story needed to be definite. I just wanted the whole medium to be stronger. The plot was fine but so many aspects of the format were off enough that I couldn't enjoy the story as fully.
This verse poem follows the story of Osmel as he works towards his dreams while dealing with obstacles like discovering the fact that he is undocumented. The story was really powerful and I loved the characters as they tried to determine what would be best for them over everyone else. Osmel was a unique enough character with his passions but also realistic as his backstory is explored. I especially enjoyed his interactions with his friends at school, especially as these teenagers are figuring out and dealing with the fact that they are undocumented, something that they never had to be worried about before. One scene in particularly with three of the boys I absolutely adored.
The culture aspect was really interesting, as Osmel feels out of place in his family because of cultural differences, including that he doesn't speak or understand Spanish well anymore. I can't speak for sure on what this is really like, but it was really powerful and an interesting concept, especially as Osmel is contrasting with his little sister, Leslie, who is more invested in their heritage but also is a legal citizen.
The story really felt like it would have been better told out of the verse format. It felt really forced to be a verse novel, and while this story could definitely be told in this format, it was just off. The point of views were also really weird and not in a good way. I wouldn't have minded if Leslie's point of view was a constant thing throughout the story but it came in so late that it was just irritating. It was like a partial commitment to two point of views and this story needed to be definite. I just wanted the whole medium to be stronger. The plot was fine but so many aspects of the format were off enough that I couldn't enjoy the story as fully.
Overall, it was fairly enjoyable. The plot was pretty fascinating, I just couldn't get over that it did not seem to fit right with the way that this story was being told.
I really wanted to like this book, but it just was not the right book for me. I love verse novels though, probably because I like poetry but want a story, like with epic poems. What are some of your favorite verse novels? Be sure to let me know in the comments.
Thanks so much for reading!
Alyssa
Alyssa
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