Renna's Crossing

This book was fun, and I appreciated the point of discussing pronouns. The writing style was very lovely, easily describing the world around the characters in a charming way. Ultimately this book was a fine fantasy, perfect for someone who wants an easy read.

First of all, let's just take a moment to admire that GORGEOUS cover art. Honestly, I'm so in love with it!

There were quite a few things I really enjoyed about Renna's Crossing. The premise gave an original spin to the whole "teenage hero completely unaware they were born with great powers" trope. Despite not knowing much about the demon, its presence was really felt throughout, as it guided some of the main characters' choices.

I also really liked the diverse cast, and definitely appreciated seeing a discussion on pronouns early on. Contrary to some other books I've read recently, the diversity here didn't feel token and we weren't repeatedly bashed over the head with how diverse this book is. Each character brought their own unique background and personality to the game, and that just made it... themselves. So refreshing! I really enjoyed how some elements from different religious traditions were included, and particularly the loa, which I knew nothing about and prompted me to do a bit of research. I really LOVE it when books help me learn something new!

The style was a bit hit-and-miss for me. I tended to really enjoy the descriptions and world-building: they felt extremely vivid, and I could picture it all clearly, which is always a good sign! The dialogues though fell really flat for me. Most of them felt too forced and unnatural, which made them hard to enjoy. It probably didn't help that as the story progressed, I found most of the characters annoying. The only ones I really cared about by the end were the dads and children in the foster home, and I wish we got to see more of them.

The pacing was also a bit off. The book started off strong and very quickly lost steam, so that for most of it it felt like the story was just dragging on and then it rushed to the ending. This was really a shame, as it had the potential to be much more gripping! The magic was also slightly underwhelming, and I would have definitely liked to see more of it throughout.

Overall, this was a fairly pleasant read that might appeal to someone looking for a diverse fantasy. It is a slow burn, so avoid if you're looking for a fast-paced read.

(Blog review will go live on 26th December 2020)

A very strong beginning, but slowly began having pacing issues as in two steps forward one step back. The chapter transitions were a bit clunky. There were scenes that contained descriptions that did not add to the value of the climax, but most (if not all books) seem to have this. The writing, world building and character development were great. There was a satisfying twist that I did not see coming but the end left me with unanswered questions. A unique story and a promising author!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC. This is an honest review.

This is a hard book to rate because my feelings really depend on whether this is a standalone book or part of an intended series.

I had to look "quirky" up in a thesaurus in preparation for reviewing this book, but in truth there are few other words that truly capture the intention behind "quirky". I don't think "odd" or "peculiar" or "unusual" are quite right, because quirky somehow means not merely a little bit odd, but enjoyably and endearingly so. So "quirky" is really the best description I have for this book. The characters are quirky, the writing is quirky, the trajectory of the story itself is quirky.

It tells the story of 16 yo Renna, who discovers she is magic and being chased by a demon, so has to go on a trip to a special safe building and learn to harness her magic along the way. So far, nothing ground breaking here right? We've read this story before a time or two. What really sets this one apart is the... well... quirkiness. The characters are endearing. The writing is... different, but I quite enjoyed it. You'll come across sentences like "Job was impressed, and said so." instead of actually spelling out that piece of the dialogue. This might sound a little "showing rather than telling" but it actually worked for me and was a stylistic quirk I quite enjoyed. After all, sometimes people's arguments are boring - sometimes just the fact that they argued is all you really need to know.

The cast is diverse in race and orientation - Renna's foster parents seem to be some kind of male triad, and one of the key characters uses they/them pronouns. These things sit comfortably in the story and don't feel tokenistic or overdone.

The thing I'm most confused about is that the story doesn't really seem finished. The threat of the demon is vague throughout the book, and the magic system ethereal and ill defined. There are some ways that the book felt to me like a series of vignettes rather than a connected novel - what was actually the point of the whole section in the Christian town?? How did it add to or progress the story?? And what's going on with the demon now? Is it still after Renna? And what the heck was that entire epilogue about??

If this is the first in a series, I'd probably give it a 4/5. If it is meant to be a standalone novel, it feels incomplete and I'd give it 3.5/5

I read the entirety of RENNA'S CROSSING in a day, and that is always a good sign! It was whimsy and odd and unexpected, and even though I had a different idea of what it would be like, I’m not at all disappointed by what it turned out to be in actuality.

As time goes on, the book starts going through a transformation, becoming whimsier and stranger until at the end, readers are faced full on with the magical fairy tale-like elements of the story. Ironically, I actually found myself less enamored of Renna's Crossing at this point, because the plot loses a lot of its uniqueness and instead plunges into territory that has been covered before in a plethora of other YA novels and re-imaginings with fairy tale themes or settings. Without doing into spoilers, I also did not like how the book ended. One could say this was a fitting way to wrap things up given the overall tone of the story, and, if I’m being completely honest, on some level I can even understand why the author decided to do it this way. Still, I was left pretty feeling pretty cheated and unsatisfied. It seemed a shame that we started things roaring but ended them on a whimper.