Tuesday 5 July 2016

The Whispering of Trees- C. Y. Bourgeois BOOK TALK

**
This story was very unique and had a nice balance of fun and serious subjects. The story follows Aggie who is a shaman. The story shows her development into a shaman and her journey into womanhood. Aggie goes through a lot of traumatic events within this story and it shows how strong she is in this book.
This was a good book but it didn't necessarily grip me and have me on the edge of my seat. Nevertheless, it dealt with many untouched subjects in fiction and I appreciated it's honesty and realism on these points.
This story had a range of character perspective. It wasn't solely focused on Aggie and many other smaller characters had the chance to shine as well.
Would I recommend it? Well, give it a try and see.


SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
Okay. So.

This book was interesting but it didn't completely grab me and give me all the feels like I usually crave in a book. There were a few minor issues that had me falling out of the book and the plot.
While this book was very descriptive, I found some parts very hard to picture. My go-to example would be SeeSee the whale. I don't know why but I just couldn't wrap my head around a talking whale! In a way, it could be seen as interesting but, personally, it distanced me from the story as I was just as confused as heck. I pictured SeeSee differently in every scene she appeared in and I can't even remember how I pictured the dark whale...I sort of just skipped over the details in my mind.
When reading the description for this book, I was expecting a kick-ass fantasy with cool and unique elements. Instead, I received a basic and unexplained 'shaman' world that we didn't really delve into too much. We don't know where they originated, how you get chose to be one or whether they exist only in this culture.
I was a bit disappointed but like I said in the non-spoiler section, there were many aspects that I appreciated due to it's honesty and vulnerability.
The more 'serious' subjects of the book were handled beautifully and I think that books with these plots are necessary in this society because it gives us an insight into what many people are going through.
Aggie went through incredible character growth throughout this and I preferred her much more when she had matured a bit. She grew into herself nicely and the difference between her younger and older self was a nice and realistic contrast.
My favourite character though, had to be Jackie. It was cute that, right from the beginning, it was obvious that they would end up together and I thought Jackie was so cute. He was by Aggie's side from the very beginning and he didn't shy away from anything.
And one other thing... I've never read a book with so many jinxes in! They were forever owing each other cokes and it brought a smile to my face every time it happened. I honestly thought that the book was going to end with Jackie saying jinx- I think it would've been cute.
Overall, it was an interesting book and it had a nice amount of quirks to it.

Thank you for reading! Comment any of your thoughts! See you soon,
Chloe

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