Thanks to Netgalley for a free copy.

The book follows Siwar, a Jordinian lady who dies young but becomes trapped in the brain of a white "entitled" young man. During the story Siwar's lecturer talks about her using "cliché's in her writing and yet so many cliché's are used in this book. I'm not sure if it's intentional or irony but I hope so!

I really enjoyed learning about the differences in culture and environments. There's a mini story within the story which I actually thought was really good. The story deals with a lot of topics like racism, sexism and mental health. The story is set in the future and there's a sci-fi element to it.

I'm so pleased I'm finished reading this book. It took me a few attempts as I found it hard going, so had had to put it down and come back to it after a week. Because of this I wouldn't say I "enjoyed" the book but I'm sure many others will.

The premise of this was super interesting and the story itself is fairly captivating. However, I had one too many issues to really get on board with this novel.

Firstly, the overuse of words and phrases became grating. 'cogent' 'HELLO WORLD, I'M AWAKE' and 'ran his/her hands through their hair' were used so often that I felt like at least one of those listed would appear in every single chapter. It was just a bit overkill and uneccessary and drew me out of the story.

Secondly, the dialogue is just so unrealistic. I find it fascinating how inner monologues were handled so well in terms of the writing but then the spoken dialogue sounded as if it had been in a different language and then translated to English by Google. I think with a bit of work though, that issue could be ironed out.

Finally, the resolution was underwhelming. I get what the author was trying to do and I usually don't mind out-of-the-blue conclusions but it just didn't gel with the rest of the story, for me.

I seem to be in the minority of those who disliked the book overall but the premise and story were let down by the execution.

Thanks to California Coldblood Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy for review.

This book was given to me by the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
When Jordanian student Siwar is murdered on her birthday, her consciousness survives, finding refuge in the body of a three-year-old boy, Wyatt. Eventually, her consciousness goes into a dormant state after Wyatt undergoes a major medical procedure.

Fast-forward twenty-two years. Wyatt is a well-adjusted young man with an affinity towards the Middle East and a fear of heights. Wyatt learns about Siwar’s death, which occurred twenty-five years ago. He grows obsessed with Siwar and spends months investigating her death. His investigation forces him to open a door he has kept shut all his life, a spiritual connection to an unknown entity that he frequently refused to acknowledge. His leads take him to Amman, Jordan where after talking to her friends and family members and through his special connection with the deceased, he discovers a clue that unravels the mystery of her death. Will Siwar get justice after all?

I was very intrigued by the concept of this book. The author is very creative to have thought of something like this!
It started out great for me. I was liking it a lot and excited to see where it was going.

Unfortunately, I got to the 70% mark and just couldn’t keep going. It was becoming drawn out and I couldn’t stay interested. There were many instances of the author giving her opinion on the American way of life which seemed unnecessary. I hate not finishing a book or giving an unfavorable review. I’d almost rather not review in those cases, but I’m just providing my honest opinion as I was asked.

First of all, thank you to the author, Natasha Tynes and California Coldblood Books, an imprint of Rare Bird Books for sending me an eARC of the book in exchange for an honest review. It is a mystery/thriller with a touch of the supernatural.

Siwar is pushed off a rooftop to her death and wakes up in the body of a young child. Her conscious lives on and she has the opportunity to investigate her own murder, but to do so she has to wait years in limbo.

The description of this book had me intrigued and the various story lines had me curious. I liked reading about Jordan and it's culture and I sympathized with Siwar struggling to find her own identity in her birth country but also not really fitting in in the US.
I perhaps would have liked a more in depth character description of all the suspects, to get a clearer understanding of motive to want to kill Siwar.

But overall an enjoyable read.

A creative take on reincarnation and soul survival. Wyatt is taken by Siwar who was murdered. Wyatt decides to dig into the murder and find out what happened. A different take on life and death but intriguing

Interesting book! Different from everything I’ve read in years. I really liked the concept. The story was okay and I really liked the ending.

Synopsis:
They Called Me Wyatt tells the story of Siwar Salaiha, a girl from Jordan who found her calling, her freedom in the University of Maryland (USA's) Creative Writing Course. The book starts with her death on her twenty-fifth birthday, a mysterious death, the details to which she cannot remember. Her death was ruled as a suicide by the police but she denies it, adamantly. But, how is she denying it if she's already dead?

Siwar's consciousness has found its way into a baby boy from Seattle, Washington. A boy who goes by the name Wyatt Shepard. He was born on the exact day that Siwar died. What is this bizarre connection that years later, twenty-five years later to be precise, Wyatt is determined to find out as to what exactly happened to Siwar on that ill-fated day, without knowing what is it that drives him to do so?

Review:
My first read from this genre – speculative novel – where the epigraph itself pulled me in.
"Yes, there's something the dead are keeping back." (from Robert Frost's The Witch of Coos)

"Dying was not the worst part. It was what came after dying."
Some strong opening lines, and bang on to the essence of the storyline, as everything in the story begins after Siwar's death – an intriguing afterlife in the body of a three-year-old toddler. The book is divided into two parts. The first part follows the events leading up to Siwar's death and her tough days as an adult brain in Wyatt's three-year-old 'speech-delayed and limited fine motor skills' body. The second part starts with a twenty-five-year-old Wyatt and is majorly told from his point-of-view with Siwar butting in a few times in-between. With the author highlighting the dates with the chapter numbers and often mentioning the years going forward and backwards throughout the story, the timeline of the story runs smoothly and there are no issues in following it.

The first part has a slow build-up and the book picks up steam only in the second part. But, it is totally worth every page. It's like enjoying the spicy flavours of a dish, slowly. Siwar's various exploits make for enjoyable reading.

The author writes a gripping narrative, with cross-cultural references, in a tight-knit story. It is a heart-warming blend of everything similar yet different. The author also goes in-depth in trying to break free of the prejudices against other cultures – prejudices which mostly arise from wrongful depictions in movies and popular media. And when one of my favourite dishes is mentioned, I love the book more for it.
"We chatted for a bit then she invited me to breakfast. She made me Shakshuka, a tomato egg dish that was brought to Israel by Tunisian Jews."
It is quite an ingenious concept, though as intriguing as the story is, it did remind me of Stephenie Meyer's The Host.

On to the characters, Siwar is just your average girl, looking for an escape from the stifling boundaries of her country and society, dreaming of the free world overseas. She is such a relatable character.
"They keep saying that I'm good at school and that I shouldn't waste my time on novels."

"So, here you are
too foreign for home
too foreign for here.
Never enough for both."
(Another epigraph which resonates throughout the story. From Ijeoma Umebinyuo's Questions for Ada.)

Also integral to the story are Wyatt's as well as Siwar's respective families. The connection between their families through Wyatt's relationship with Hoda (the daughter of Siwar's older sister) may have been engineered by Siwar but provides quite the conflict to the story. At times, I even felt bad for Wyatt whose entire life seemed to be consumed by this one girl. Was anything even real in Wyatt's life? His relationship, his studies, etc.

With the introduction of Hoda in the second part, the story gets as eerie as it is exciting.
"You know what they say about birthmarks?"
"No, I don't."
"They are the wounds of your previous lives."
And the futuristic technology is also interesting, some things new while there are also good old few. After all, the story terminates in the year 2026.

The ending is something else, totally unexpected, out of the blue. It hits you and keeps you on edge. Siwar not only smiles but shines throughout. The case is finally closed. But, I have mixed feelings. Siwar and Wyatt's relationship is odd while his and Hoda's is confusing but, the story wasn't really about relationships so… Though Krista did provide a nice perspective on that. (Oh, I totally forgot to mention that she's one of my favourite characters – Wyatt's mother. While Ibtissam, Siwar's mother's intuitiveness had me spellbound. Mothers are of a different ilk, aren't they?)

Highly recommended!

P.S. I wish I could read Siwar's entire journal, like Wyatt had the chance to read it.
"Guilt, women's middle name. Apology, their first."
Kudos to the author for giving such a strong voice to Siwar.
(I am saving her journal entries for re-reading, for every time and always both – On Belonging and On Death.)

It would have been a 5/5 and 'all the stars in the world' read for me if not for the ton of grammatical mistakes, incorrect tenses, repetitions, misspellings and missing words.

Also, I sometimes feel that I am different too and I have felt so for quite a long time. And I have a birthmark too (nope, not saying where it is!). Does that mean I have a previous life which I don’t remember? (grins and winks)

I loved this book, I picked it up and I couldn’t put it down. It somehow perfectly encompassed a mystery, immigration, love, and a little magical realism. I can’t say any more without giving anything away, but I would highly recommend this book to everyone!

An interesting book. When a 25 year old Jordanian woman dies on her birthday she awakens in the body of a 3 year old American boy. She can't fully remember her death but knows she was pushed off a roof.

When the boy, Wyatt, reaches 25 his life becomes obsessed by finding Siwar's killer.

Intriguing and a good read

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine if, on the day you died, your consciousness entered the brain of someone that was born at the exact second in which you died. When Siwar Salaiha is murdered on her twenty-fifth birthday, she wakes up three years later in the subconsciousness of three year old Wyatt’s body. She has her own thoughts, but she cannot communicate or speak because Wyatt can’t communicate or speak. Siwar’s death was ruled a suicide, but Siwar was such a happy person, many don’t believe she would have died by suicide.

Fast forward twenty-two years, to Wyatt’s 25th birthday and the 25th anniversary of Siwar’s death. Unable to figure out why he is so connected to her, Wyatt is determined to find out what happened to her that night, twenty-five years ago.

The storyline was very unique, unlikely many of the book in similar genres I have read. Part I is about Wyatt’s childhood from the moment that Siwar is ‘awakened’ in his body at the age of three when he has a seizure. This section also focuses heavily on Siwar’s past leading up to her death as she tries to piece together what has happened, amidst the frustrations of being trapped in a three year old’s body.

Part II moves ahead 22 years to when Wyatt is trying to find out what happened to Siwar. I would have loved for the book to focus more on the research that led up to the final reveal on who killed Siwar. I felt that part one of the book was not as necessary to the storyline.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story! I liked learning more about the culture of Jordanians and those practicing the Muslim religion, and what it is like moving to the US as someone that sees themselves as white but is not seen as white to those of European descent living in the US. I look forward to reading more by Natasha Tynes!

I've had the chance to read the book twice now, before writing this review, and I have to say it was a wonderful experience. The plot had me engaged since the first chapter and I couldn't put it down until I finished. I indulged in a reread it again, a few weeks later, and the thrilling sensation of discovering the Siwar's story didn't fade.

Siwar, a young Jordanian woman, is murdered the day of her birthday, and her consciousness survives, this time in the body of a 3 years old boy. As an arab female, she opens up about the good and the ugly of being one, that way you can understand her thinking in many situations. She rebirths in Wyatt's consciousness, she gets to live with him, like him, until he starts to investigate the Siwar's murder.

The plot was suspenseful and original, I adored the characters and how they evolved in the story. The author plays with a bunch of subjects: migration issues, gender and cultural differences, and that makes it unique. Plus the vivid descriptions of places and situations made the reading experience more exciting. This was a book like any other that I've read before.

"Hell doesn't necessarily involve fire"

Synopsis: Siwar, a Jordanian woman, is murdered on her 25th birthday. However, not all of her is lost; her consciousness survives, carrying on in the body of a 3-year-old boy, Wyatt, living in Seattle. Siwar struggles to communicate through Wyatt. And due to a heavy medical procedure, Siwar's soul falls dormant for 22 years. Now 25, Wyatt has unexplainable fascinations with the Middle East and this woman named Siwar's death. He can't shake why he's so passionate about solving her "unexplained" death. The question is - what will he find out?

First off, what a fascinating plotline! I was immediately intrigued and captivated by soul duality and the incessant need to solve this crime. There was this element of "deja-vu" that Wyatt continued to experience that was so clever. It really tied together the essence of Siwar "residing" within him. In a way, it reminds me more of a supernatural fiction, than a thriller.

Character development was spot on. You instantly get a sense of who Siwar is, and even while she's "within" Wyatt, the use of flashbacks keeps you connected to her core character.

My favorite aspect of this book, though, was the Tynes' profound language. There were so many thought-provoking quotes. She mastered this art of thrill-seeking and prose. It truly was such a lovely experience.

Thank you, Natasha Tynes and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for my review!

Unlike anything I have read before.

Definitely not your usual murder mystery, a unique story about reincarnation, This book was a bit of wildcard for me but the premise intrigued me and I couldn’t put it down once I had started reading it. The first part of the book tells us about Siwar’s life in her native country and and highlights the culture differences and restrictions placed on young girls growing up in Amman Jordan and to my surprise I really enjoyed learning about this. The book then becomes Wyatt’s story the struggles he’s had and his obsession to find out what happened to Siwar and get the answers she deserves . This has my favourite ending a twist you didn’t see coming . If your looking for something different to your usual murder mysteries then look no further.

I really enjoyed this book and it pulled me in right from the first page! It was told from two POV’s, Wyatt and Siwar. Siwar was murdered on her 25th birthday and somehow woke up in a three year old’s conscious, Wyatt. I loved trying to figure out what happened and what was real or not. Very interesting and such a quick read! I was surprised by the twists and turns but wasn’t disappointed with how things turned out.

This had such a good plot and theme. I loved reading about how a woman is treated in the Arab world, especially from her point of view.
The story, which is about a murdered woman waking up in a toddler's body. She does not remember who killed her, and she cannot communicate what she remembers to cause an investigation in her own murder, because he is a toddler.
Years later, when the toddler is a grown man, she steers him unconsciously to solve the mystery.
I loved how this story was back and forth with her memories of her life as a woman, back to Wyatt who is a grown man obsessed in a way with her story. How intertwined both lives got. And the end. Very unexpected.
There's so much of powerful investigations of sexism and racism, and it's done beautifully. The descriptions of Jordan are inviting, you could almost feel yourself in her neighborhood.
I loved how this was a bit futuristic, and fantasy-like. The only issue for me was pacing.

Our main character Siwar, a Jordanian student studying in Baltimore, is murdered on her 25th birthday. Her mind ends up in the body of a toddler boy, Wyatt. The book ends up fast forwarding to Wyatt’s 25th birthday and we learn of his interest in the Middle East and his eventual obsession with solving Siwar’s murder.

This book deals with a heavy topic, but is relatively lighthearted (delightfully so). Siwar’s thoughts while she inhabits a three-year-old Wyatt are hilarious (you can easily understand her frustration and annoyance).

The dialogue could be a bit clunky at times (however, dialogue is so difficult to write!) but there are some really great segments of writing, and I think the idea of this story is unique and interesting.

Overall, They Called Me Wyatt is a solid debut from a promising author.

Thank you to Natasha Tynes for an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I received an ARC of They Called Me Wyatt from Natasha Tynes and Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review. A book review will be posted on my blog: www.mynightsbooked.com, in the coming weeks.

I was drawn to this book right from the beginning. It starts with Siwar's unfortunate death during her 25th birthday party. The reader does not get to know her until after her death, when her conscious is awakened in a young toddler named Wyatt. The story follow's Siwar's point of view from Wyatt's body, in which she is trying to communicate to her mother what happened to her in her past life. She is reawakened in Wyatt when he is older and uses him to help solve her murder.

The book has alternating timelines between when Siwar was growing up in Jordan and in the present day (which is actually the future, 2026) when she is living through Wyatt. I really enjoyed the portions of the story that focused on Siwar's experience growing up as a woman in Jordan and her strive to leave and attend college in the United States. I wish the book focused more on that. I felt as though there was a lot going on between learning about Siwar's life and learning about how Wyatt is trying to solve the murder. Some parts did feel a little disjointed and the ending did not give me the "edge of my seat" feel that I hope for in a thriller. That being said, this book straddled between three and four stars for me. I enjoyed Natasha Tynes writing style and would read another one of her books, but the storyline was not for me.

This is one of the weirdest books I have ever read. Told from two different points of view that share the same body, "They called me Wyatt" talks about themes like racism, sexism, murder, family dynamics, and pre 9/11 the Middle East and America. Throughout the book, we get to learn how it was to grow up as a girl in Jordan in the 90's and we later return a generation later to see what's changed. I particularly loved the main characters because they wore so enormously flawed and it was only when you saw them through other people's point of view that you got a more complete idea of who they were in reality or at least of how they were perceived.
Thank you to Net Galley and

A 25 year old Jordanian college student, Siwar is murdered in the U.S. in 2001 months before 9/11. Her consciousness wakes up in the body of a 3 year old boy. She is intent on finding out who murdered her but unfortunately Wyatt barely speaks. Her efforts are not successful. Fast forward 25 years to 2026, Wyatt is 25 years old and having recurring dreams about falling, has a strange affinity to Arabic and is dating Siwar's niece. Siwar must convince Wyatt, somehow, to follow up on her case and try to solve her murder.

I really enjoyed this book. A unique and different story, it centres around the murder of Siwar but is not a crime thriller. It deals with lots of topics, from racism, gender equality and stereotypes to fitting in and standing out. I particularly liked reading about Jordan, it's culture, traditions and general way of life. Siwar and Wyatt are great, well developed multi-faceted characters and I was rooting for both of them throughout the book, It wasn't a major whodunnit but the story was nicely tied up at the end. 4/5

A very entertaining read! I loved the Arabic flair and the unique story. I’ll miss Siwar and Wyatt.

***

Let’s be honest, there is a weird thing about a grownup in a toddlers body. The author did a splendid job, still it was I bit weird for me. At least the first couple of chapters.

Siwar is a very likable person. I really enjoyed the jumps to the past and Siwar telling the reader about her childhood and teens in Amman, Jordan. I’ve been to Jordan (sadly not Amman, I only got to see the airport of Amman) and really loved this country. It has a certain flair which is hard to explain. (Find out more on this German article on my blog).

The author captured Siwar great, I had a clear picture of her in my head and I was cheering for her all along. The story starts with her murder and the only thing I was thinking on those first pages was: Why? And Who?
Well, you have to read, to find out.

The story had me hooked within one chapter. I immediately liked the characters and the way the story was told. Also I find the idea to be quiet unique.

Between the lines of the story, the book focuses on racial clichés and the question of ‘belonging’. Siwar has a hard time adapting to her live in the US and has to overcome some of the clichés which are stuck in her head about Americans. I really enjoyed these parts of the book, because it brought me a lot closer to Siwar. As a ‘boring’ Caucasian Female, I (luckily) never experienced any racial related rejection or discrimination, therefore I was enjoying to read more about Siwars experiences.

Don’t mistake it for a crime story. It’s not. Not really at least. Yes the murder of Siwar is what the story is built on, but the book didn’t feel like a crime-story to me. There is a twist coming up but not as in those thriller-books where you get all like wohaaaaaaaaa wtf. It felt more like deserved closure!

A very entertaining read! I loved the Arabic flair and the unique story. I’ll miss Siwar and Wyatt.