It's hard finding beauty in the badlands of Washokey, Wyoming, but 14-year-old Grace Carpenter knows it's not her mother's pageant obsessions, or the cowboy dances adored by her small-town classmates. True beauty is wild-girl Mandarin Ramey: 17, shameless and utterly carefree. Grace would give anything to be like Mandarin. When they're united for a project, they form an unlikely, explosive friendship, packed with nights spent skinny-dipping in the canal, liberating the town's animal-head trophies, and searching for someplace magic. Grace plays along when Mandarin suggests they run away together. Blame it on the crazy-making wildwinds plaguing their Badlands town. Because all too soon, Grace discovers Mandarin's unique beauty hides a girl who's troubled, broken, and even dangerous. And no matter how hard Grace fights to keep the magic, no friendship can withstand betrayal.
My Review:
There are some books I read and enjoy. Others I read and adore. And then, there are some I wish I'd written because they are so achingly beautiful. LIKE MANDARIN is one of those ones.
From the very first sentence: "The winds in Washokey make people go crazy," to the moment I reluctantly closed the book, I was captivated by Hubbard's writing. The wildwinds whistle through the pages, and poignant emotions tumble through the space between the words. Her prose sings.
And characters dance.
Grace, with all of her quirkiness and insecurity, is so tenderly written that you can't help but be there with her, yearning to break of her small town and be something different.
Someone like Mandarin.
And Mandarin. She's one of those almost mythic characters, so big and bold you can't help but be taken with her. But she's troubled too. Vulnerable. Scared.
The beauty of this book lies in the fact that every bit of it is gorgeously rendered: the stark beauty of the badlands, the sensuous draw of Mandarin, and Grace's intense, tenuous relationship with her. Hubbard captures the hugeness of the land and wind as expertly as she does the complicated nature of friendship and admiration between girls. And what you get when you finish is a story that stays with you long after you've read its last lines.
If you've yet to read this gem, go get it. You'll wish you'd written it.
And while you're at it, check out what the other Bookanistas are up to this week:
And last but not least, if you haven't yet entered the Week 1 Moonglass Inspiration Giveaway yet, scroll on down and enter! Deadline is Friday at noon, winners will be announced Monday!
Grace, with all of her quirkiness and insecurity, is so tenderly written that you can't help but be there with her, yearning to break of her small town and be something different.
Someone like Mandarin.
And Mandarin. She's one of those almost mythic characters, so big and bold you can't help but be taken with her. But she's troubled too. Vulnerable. Scared.
The beauty of this book lies in the fact that every bit of it is gorgeously rendered: the stark beauty of the badlands, the sensuous draw of Mandarin, and Grace's intense, tenuous relationship with her. Hubbard captures the hugeness of the land and wind as expertly as she does the complicated nature of friendship and admiration between girls. And what you get when you finish is a story that stays with you long after you've read its last lines.
If you've yet to read this gem, go get it. You'll wish you'd written it.
And while you're at it, check out what the other Bookanistas are up to this week:
- Beth Revis features Between Shades of Gray all week--with giveaway!
- Christine Fonseca gives a Guestanista video review of 11 Birthdays
- Jamie Harrington is giddy for Texas Gothic
- Myra McEntire introduces "Bookanistas Give Back" - with prizes!
- Sarah Frances Hardy delights in Divergent
- Megan Miranda gushes over Blood Magic
- Bethany Wiggins Praises the Princess of the Midnight Ball
- Gretchen McNeil sings about Spoiled
- Carrie Harris loves The Lipstick Laws--with giveaway!
- Rosemary Clement-Moore is ensnared by The Demon Trapper's Daughter
- Veronica Rossi marvels at Moonglass
- Stasia Ward Kehoe raves about Rival
And last but not least, if you haven't yet entered the Week 1 Moonglass Inspiration Giveaway yet, scroll on down and enter! Deadline is Friday at noon, winners will be announced Monday!
I don't have Like Mandarin yet, but it's on the way to me now. I've only seen great things about it too, making me want to read it even more.
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