I don't really dig magical realism and I basically figured out what was happening early on, so at some points this felt like listening to someone extend an anecdote far too long, but it was affecting in the end.
It may not have been wolves that compelled me to get on this blog tour, but after a book-blogger friend raved about the book, and another said they’d buy anything that Nova Ren Suma writes, I definitely wanted to read ‘A Room Away From The Wolves’. I won’t lie - that beautiful skyline on the cover was a big draw too. When I read that this book is a story about a young girl who runs away from her home because she just can’t take the abuse there anymore, and it turns out to be a novel that is ghostly, as well as layered with human connections, it called to me.
So dig into my breakdown of this beautiful book and be sure to enter the giveaway at the bottom for a chance to win a copy!
*Thanks again to The Fantastic Flying Book Club again for having me on the tour!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, NOVA REN SUMA
Nova Ren Suma is the author of the YA novels THE WALLS AROUND US as well as the YA novels IMAGINARY GIRLS and 17 & GONE, which were both named 2014 Outstanding Books for the College Bound by YALSA. Her middle-grade novel, DANI NOIR, was reissued for a YA audience under the title FADE OUT.
She has a BA in writing & photography from Antioch College and an MFA in fiction from Columbia University and has been awarded fiction fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, the Millay Colony, and an NEA fellowship for a residency at the Hambidge Center.
She worked for years behind the scenes in publishing, at places such as HarperCollins, Penguin, Marvel Comics, and RAW Books, and now she teaches writing workshops. She is from various small towns across the Hudson Valley and lives and writes in New York City.
Find Nova online at novaren.com and on her blog distraction99.com.
ABOUT THE BOOK
'A Room Away From the Wolves' by Nova Ren Suma
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Release Date: September 4, 2018
Genre: Young Adult, Magical Realism, Mystery
SYNOPSIS:
Bina has never forgotten the time she and her mother ran away from home. Her mother promised they would hitchhike to the city to escape Bina’s cruel father and start over. But before they could even leave town, Bina had a new stepfather and two new stepsisters, and a humming sense of betrayal pulling apart the bond with her mother—
a bond Bina thought was unbreakable.
Eight years later, after too many lies and with trouble on her heels, Bina finds herself on the side of the road again, the city of her dreams calling for her. She has an old suitcase, a fresh black eye, and a room waiting for her at Catherine House, a young women’s residence in Greenwich Village with a tragic history, a vow of confidentiality, and dark, magical secrets.
There, Bina is drawn to her enigmatic downstairs neighbor Monet, a girl who is equal parts intriguing and dangerous. As Bina’s lease begins to run out, and nightmare and memory get tangled, she will be forced to face the terrible truth of why she’s come to Catherine House and what it will take for her to leave...
MY REVIEW!
This wonderful story has one step inside reality, and the other is deep inside somewhere quite otherworldly, which is also somewhere that Nova Ren Suma’s writing sits. Her writing is what gives this simple tale of a young girl ‘Bina’, who runs away from home to a boarding house in New York City, so much character, originality, and mystery.
Bina and her mother fled their home once before, last time to escape her cruel father. They never made it beyond the home Bina has to share now with a stepfather and two stepsisters that eventually has become a new hell she’s decided she must escape on her own. Bruised inside and out, she feels betrayed and let down by her mom, and sees no other way.
Eight years after her and mother once ran from her father, she heads for Catherine House, the place she heard so many stories about from her mom, and asks for the very room that she stayed in.
From the moment Bina arrives in Greenwich Village, something is strange, and somehow connected to the opal ring her mother gave her, and to the original owner of the house, Catherine herself.
I don’t want to go into too much explanation of the story because there would be too much given away. I’ll lead this by saying that if you like your stories served up on a platter, without beautiful prose laden with wonderful imagery, this may not be the book for you. Suma writes with so much mesmerizing imagery wrapped in every sentence, that you’ll miss half of the tale she’s written for you if you don’t dig a little deeper.
This is a modern ghost story as well as a heart-breaking tale about the connection between mother and daughter, and how families make mistakes and let each other down. This part of the book is the guts of why Bina ends up Catherine House, and made me long for my own mom who is thousands of miles away.
Bina feels betrayed by her mom and looks to her mother’s past for answers, but there’s so much that’s tragic about this; reading the book it felt like Bina carries such a weight for a young girl, but doesn’t truly complain. It’s especially tragic because her father has already let her down, and she’s now being bullied by her stepsisters.
The other characters in the novel bring out all sorts of thoughts and memories for her: Monet is the girl in the room below, and is a fascinating character and one who Bina is drawn to, without explanation. She makes Bina question everything and gives her clues as to what is really happening.
There are twists and portals and thrills in this novel that make it a page-turner, and it’s as beautiful as it is heart-wrenching. There’s some spookiness that might make you feel like you’re not alone when you’re reading this (maybe you’re not).
*Bonus points: cats involved!
*Trigger warning: suicidal ideation
WIN THE BOOK!
You have a chance to win a copy of the book by entering a GIVEAWAY! You just have to click RIGHT HERE TO ENTER! Good luck!
Prize: 1 copy of A ROOM AWAY FROM THE WOLVES by Nova Ren Suma
US Only
Starts: 8/20
Ends: 9/5
And finally here are the links to BUY THE BOOK:
Buy on Amazon
Order from Barnes & Noble
Order from Book Depository
Buy from Kobo
Buy from Indiebound
Get it on iBooks
And to follow along with the rest of the blog tour, here is the BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE!
Thank you for checking out everything that there is to know about this beautiful book! It’s out so soon now, so make sure it’s on your TBR, and get it ordered. It’s unlike anything else you’ll read any time soon.
Happy reading, friends!
~ K
PS. To easily start following my blog, just click on the BLOGLOVIN’ (assuming you have that!) to the left...
Series: N/A
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (2011)
Genre(s): Urban Fantasy, Mystery
This book is beautiful. And it's ugly, sometimes, even. And it's definitely weird.
Blast from the past: originally read and reviewed in 2012
Hmmm... I still don't really know exactly how I feel about this book, and I've been mulling it over for a few hours now. Admittedly, I didn't read the blurb before starting The Walls Around Us. I simply noticed that it had a ton of love thrown at it, plus that I hadn't yet reviewed it as a NetGalley book, and decided to make it my next read. It's nice to go in with no preconceived notions, and just really let a book sweep me away. This one just didn't do that as easily as I expected it to.
The base story, the story that goes back and forth between the calculating Violet and the slightly lost Amber, was pretty spot on for me. I loved this story of two girls, in such different circumstances, each facing the truth trapped inside themselves. It's tough to imagine such young girls committing any type of atrocities, but Nova Ren Suma weaves this story that makes you feel for them. It makes you understand, even if you don't necessarily forgive.
What lost me, and what I afterwards realized was in the synopsis, was the "ghostly" aspect of this book. It's difficult to explain without spoiling anything, and I absolutely want to leave this vague for anyone still interested in this book, but this portion of the book just felt like it was missing something. I can't put my finger on what, exactly. It was like at some point the book wandered off into the forest, and I lost track of it in the trees. After the first few chapters, I had already figured out the main plot points that were to come. So the "mystery" aspect of this wasn't really there for me. Plus I all but despised Violet. So I didn't care all that much if something terrible were to come her way.
Then there was the ending. Which, although it actually did fit with the book as whole, really felt unsatisfying to me. I was confused at first. Then, after reading through it at second time, I finally understood what had happened. Still, I didn't feel like it was what I wanted. Redemption is great. Revenge is understandable. This, however, was really confusing. I'm sure there are plenty out there who will appreciate the vagueness of it all. I really wanted solid closure though.
So, I'm going to settle this right at 3 stars. If anything, I'm going to say that this book has peaked my interest in terms of Nova Ren Suma as an author. This is the first book of hers that I have read, and now that I see how solidly she can build characters, I'm intrigued so see what else is out there. Rest assured, this all my opinion. As I mentioned above, there is a ton of love for this book and I see a lot of things other people will love. It just wasn't exactly what I was looking for.
Such a good compilation of stories and great writing (okay with the exception of a couple of stories which almost made me ditch the book and which I believe greatly diminished the overall quality of the anthology)
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