Nova Ren Suma

*Thank you to the publishers for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!*

I am such a fan of Nova Ren Suma’s writing. It’s always gorgeous and perpetually confusing and I just LOVE it.

A Room Away From the Wolves is honestly no different. This story follows Bina, short for Sabina, who suddenly finds herself kicked out of her own home (temporarily). And it’s nothing new – when she was little, she and her mother ran away and began their own hitchhiking journey. Eighteen years ago, show more Bina’s mother had taken refuge at Catherine House. Now, Bina returns, but she finds that there are things about the house – and about her mother – that she never knew.

Nova Ren Suma’s writing style has consistently been one of my favorites, especially when it comes to magical realism type stories – she does a great job balancing concrete and abstract language, which is even more powerful because I found myself questioning it all – Is it real? Is it in the character’s head?

The plot is magical, and I’ve finished reading the book, true. But I’m still confused, and in a good way. This is one of those books you’d want to reread immediately after, because you hope that maybe the second time around, you’ll get more answers. A Room Away From the Wolves filled me with the best kind of trepidation.

Bina is an extremely flawed main character, and that’s good because it’s more realistic, and yet because of that I found myself frustrated at her actions, while still symp/empathizing with her. There were definitely other characters that I wanted to know more about and wanted to see more of, but this book does leave room for lots of imagination.

Other than that, I would recommend this book to readers of magical realism and fantasy – it’s got a mysterious vibe to it while simultaneously being able to juggle a setting in the contemporary world. show less

This was such a weird book.

I still don't really know what to make of it. I'm sitting here, and I don't know how I feel about this book. I don't know how I feel about the characters, or all that happened... or... anything. I think I'm a little dumbfounded, actually. Or maybe just in some kind of lingering, soft shock of a sort I've never had before.

I guess it's because I'm confused, because there's so much to this story, these characters, and this entire book that isn't tangible. When you show more first pick it up it strikes you almost within the first few pages. You think it's a normal teenage story, and the weird thing is that it is for all intents and purposes. But then there's this oddness to it that you can't quite put your finger on. The longer you read, the more it creeps up inside of you and wraps around you, like a fog, until you can't see anything beyond the space that you're in right now. Like there's no world that exists outside of that spot right there that you're in. And all that exists in the entire world is you and what comes into that fog. Only you have no control over what comes in there with you, into that space where you can see something--a bench or chair--or someone, someone who doesn't talk about anything outside of the fog, because nothing else exists outside of the fog, where you can't see. Outside in the fog, there is nothing else.

That's what reading this book is like. And it creeps up on you and steals over your heart and mind until you start to forget that anything else exists outside of this town in the book, outside of what happens there, outside of Ruby. Nothing else matters. Nothing else does matter. Ruby is all.

Ruby is.

Nothing else in all the world matters. She is everything.

And the scariest and best part about this book is that the author has the power to make you believe this. Not believe in it. You don't question it. It is. As sure as you live, breathe, hear, smell, feel, see, and exist, you believe.

My younger sister read this book and didn't like it. And I can't say I'm in love with it either. But holy cow is this a book that will take you on a trip. It's almost like you were on a trip. And I mean--take whatever hallucinatory drug and Insert Here--this was a trip. The amazing part is that Nova Ren Suma, the author, made it real while you read it. Her voice in his book is astounding, unlike almost any other author I've ever read. It's one thing to have a concept for a book and tell a story to someone. It's another thing entirely to pull a reader right into your story and make them feel what's going on. And Nova Ren Suma makes you feel it like no one else could. I guarantee you: No one else could ever have written this book better. No one.

This is a book that doesn't deserve to be written off as another teen story. There is sufficient material here that it borders on even a thriller or suspense title, and I'm tempted to make a new shelf just for it to place it under "Eerie" or "Creepy" because that's literally how it makes you feel. There's a sensation that is sometimes overpowering when you read this book, and it pulled me in so many directions.

I both admired and disliked certain things about the characters, but I could never peg a single one as a character I fully liked or disliked. It's almost impossible for me to make up my mind on this one, which is weird. I think I have some definite end choices tending towards the dislike of characters after a certain point, but the word "Hatred" never comes outright for me. And I can't say I downright "Loved" anyone as well.

I think the most fascinating character in this entire book was Ruby herself. This enigmatic, immensely powerful being that I actually find myself questioning the existence of at all sometimes. And other times, I wonder, much like some people ask in the book, just "What the hell is she?" Because for the life of me I can't figure it out still, and the book politely ends on a note where you half wonder if you've been mad the entire time and are mad if you believe anything that just happened.

Contrary to what I set out to expect, I think this book is stunningly stupendous and should be a book you check out and read at some point. It's creepy, and mysterious, and borders on some real psychological weight at the end that's going to make you talk about this one for a whiiiile after you've put it down and stepped away from it. For anyone that loves mild-fright, psychological books, supernatural stories and more along those lines, you should definitely check this book out. It's well worth your time. And read it all the way to the end, especially if you're a psychological lover or someone looking for a creepy new story to tell. The ending makes it especially worth it for you guys.

Happy reading! show less

Nova Ren Suma has been on my absolutely-must-read list since her debut, but I've only just gotten around to reading one of her books. With any new author so beloved in the blogosphere, there's the fear that the books won't live up to the hype. Well, Nova Ren Suma did. Imaginary Girls wasn't what I expected, but it was so much better than that. Suma's debut is a gloriously dark magical realism mindfuck of a novel that kept me curious through every page.

On the surface, Imaginary Girls is a show more contemporary mystery, the story of two sisters, relatively calm and placid, like the surface of a reservoir. Underneath those waters, though, is another story, a whole town of issues, buried beneath the waters. Suma plumbs these depths, leaving the reader questioning what is real and what is insanity. Imaginary Girls walks the line between realistic fiction, magical realism and flat-out paranormal in such a way that I'm still not sure precisely how I should categorize it.

Chloe, the narrator, is hardly the heroine of her own story. She lives in the orbit of her older sister, Ruby, like everyone else in their town. Ruby is a sun, and everyone within the pull of her personality moves according to her whims. All the boys want her, all the girls want to be her, and she will never love anyone as much as she loves Chloe. Whatever Ruby wants, Ruby gets; no one can deny her anything, so long as they remain in their little town. Everything else is like our world, but Ruby exerts a pull that is truly out of this world.

When Ruby orders Chloe to swim across the reservoir and back at night, and to dive down at the center to grab a souvenir from Olive, the town underwater, Chloe does it. She believes Ruby's assertions that she can do it; Ruby will protect her from anything, absolutely anything. As she swims, cold water and fear engulf her, the sounds of the partiers watching her attempt this feat quieting behind her. Just when she feels she can't swim anymore, she encounters a boat with a dead girl inside, London, a girl from her class.

After this, her father, different from Ruby's, takes her away with him, away from Ruby's influence and their alcoholic mother, away from the reservoir, away from the tragedy. Ruby comes for her, though, finally, two years later. When Chloe arrives back in town, she learns something surprising: London's there and alive. Everyone says she swam across the reservoir that night and that London had gone away to rehab, not that she died. Needless to say, the mystery deepens.

Of course, Chloe could just be crazy, her mind splintering from the tragic events of that night. As in Ian McEwen's Atonement, this whole story could be some sort of creation of her own mind to explain what happened that night or her delusional dream in the institution where she's living out her life. In no way do I think Chloe's a reliable narrator, which adds layers to the already complicated narrative. Nothing is ever certain, which leaves the reader thinking and desperate to unravel the truth.

Suma's writing style is one that I would not ordinarily love, but it worked perfectly for this tale. There's a poetic element to it, and a sort of watery uncertainty, as through the truth is a moving target, bobbing on the ripples. The entirety of Imaginary Girls is dreamy and thought-provoking. Also, dark. Suma does not shy away from drug use, sex, violence, or other tough topics.

At its core, Imaginary Girls focuses on the relationship between Ruby and Chloe. The love between the two is powerful, but also a burden. It's so rare to find YA that focuses on sisterhood over romance, but Suma barely touches on romance. Boys matter so much less to both Ruby and Chloe than sisterhood does.

On a lot of levels, I'm still not sure what went down in this novel and that's really the beauty of it. If you liked your novels wrapped up in a bow with a moral and clear resolution, Imaginary Girls is not the read for you. However, if you love to open your mind up to new ideas and the puzzle of trying to figure out a mindfuck, go read this ASAP. show less

I ended up enjoying this children's middle-grade novel once I realized that it wasn't really a mystery. Dani, the titular classic movie-lover (she worships Rita Hayworth) and amateur sleuth, spends the summer trying to figure out if Jackson, the older boy working at the movie theater in their small town, who Dani has connected with over old films, is cheating on his girlfriend. This matters not just because she likes Jackson and his girlfriend, but because Dani's still dealing (or not show more dealing) with the fact that her dad cheated on her mom and is now living with his new girlfriend and her daughter. Most readers will know right away that Jackson is cheating on his girlfriend, so it's not really a mystery -- it's more about Dani learning to accept that sometimes people you care about let you down, but that doesn't mean you stop caring about them, or them about you. She also learns a little more about not taking people for granted, not being selfish and blind to the needs of others (friends and family).

As this book is mostly a character-driven novel, it succeeds or fails based on whether you are invested in Dani or not. I think Dani is great character with a very unique voice -- she wants to be inscrutable and haughty like Hayworth, but instead she comes off as prickly and self-centered (and she is), but she remains likable. She does a lot of growing up in this book, but it�Ûªs really the amazing descriptive, unique writing that makes this book. I think this is a stand-out title, as long as you know right off the bat that it isn't really a mystery (which disappointed me for about 50 pages once I figured that out).

Also, how great is this cover? It includes important images from the book (the movie marquee, the purple tights) and captures the kiddie noir feeling of Dani's narrative with the angles and the lighting. Perfect. show less