Skip to main content

Book Review: City of Saints & Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson


29995905

Rating: 4 stars. 

 Are you sick of YA mystery novels yet? Had enough of stories whose plots revolve around a teenager going missing? Over Gossip-Girl like plots? Well, let me tell you, this book will actually blow your socks off because it has none of those things! 

City of Saints & Thieves is about Tina, a Congolese girl whose mother was murdered. Ever since, she has become part of a gang and is trying to get revenge for her mother's murder. But when she gets caught by someone from her past, she starts to question her mother's past and who she can trust. She must navigate the world of oil industry men to find out why her mother was killed. 

The first awesome thing about this book is that it is set in Kenya. I have never read a book set in Africa and it was so interesting! The author is knowledgable in the field of refugees in Africa and it really shines through in her writing. There was one scene where the main character and her friends have to travel across the continent to investigate her mom and they have to travel on a truck that transports bananas. It was so interesting to read about a culture that is so different than what I'm accustomed to (Canadian culture). Natalie C Anderson is really great at making an imaginable setting. Even though it's almost been a month since I've read this book, I can still imagine the places described and the feelings this author was able to invoke in me while reading. 

I really loved the main character, Christina, and her childhood best friend, Michael. Christina, or as she is known in the book Tina, is a really good thief and this is actually proved in this book. (I know, what a concept!) She learns about revenge from reading the The Count of Monte Cristo, a treat for all you literary nerds out there. Overall, she is a complex, strong, and diverse heroine that you can't help but root for. Michael is an intriguing character as he is the son of Christina's enemy and also grew up with Christina. They have been separated for a while and Christina wants to get revenge on his father so watching them interact kept me reading. The plot was also pretty thrilling. The ending wasn't a huge letdown and I didn't guess the plot twist so I was very satisfied after reading this book. 

I would highly recommend this book if you are looking for a diverse read that offers an interesting setting, complex characters and thrilling plot twists. 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Favourite YA Historical Fiction Novels (as of August 2017)

I feel like Historical YA fiction is kind of an underrated genre. YA Dystopian novels used to be huge back in the Hunger Games craze and now YA Fantasy and YA contemporary Romances are popular. A lot of the Historical YA books can run a little young sometimes but here's some of my favourites.
Post a Comment
Read more

ARC Review: Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian

Rating: 3 stars. I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. (Thank you!) Stay Sweet is a book about ice cream, friendship and feminism. The main character Amelia is tasked this summer with keeping the town's famous ice cream stand open after tragedy strikes. She has to work with the owner's nephew, a cute college boy, and struggles to maintain her friendship with her best friend.  What I really liked about this book was Amelia's emotional growth. She starts the book almost kind of whiny. Amelia doubts her ability to be a leader, doesn't think that she's very fun, and is wondering why she was chosen to be the manager of the ice cream stand. As the book progresses, Amelia discovers her passions and becomes more confident, which I really loved seeing.  I also really liked the diary entries from the owner of the ice cream when she started making ice cream during WW2. I did feel like there was a point where there were too many, but I do real...
Post a Comment
Read more

ARC Review: Welcome to the Slipstream by Natalka Burian

Rating: 1.5 stars.  I received an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. (Thanks!) You know that feeling you get sometimes when you are watching a foreign film? The feeling that something of the importance that is happening is a bit lost on you because you're missing that context? That's sort of how I feel about this book. I would say that this novel was definitely unique, but I just wasn't knocked off my feet by it. I'm sure some people will like it, but I just don't think the writing was for me. Welcome to the Slipstream is about Van, a girl who moves a lot because of her mother's mental illness. Van's mom is a genius, but her mental illness makes her a bit difficult for people to deal with so she constantly changes jobs. The constant in Van's life is her surrogate grandmother, who helps to keep her mother sane. They move to Vegas, where Van discovers her dream of being in a band. But when her mother goes off to a self-help cult,...
Post a Comment
Read more