BOOK REVIEW: Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford
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Publisher: Grove Press
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Synopsis
It’s 1974 in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and fifteen-year-old Justine grows up in a family of tough, complicated, and loyal women presided over by her mother, Lula, and Granny. After Justine’s father abandoned the family, Lula became a devout member of the Holiness Church – a community that Justine at times finds stifling and terrifying. But Justine does her best as a devoted daughter until an act of violence sends her on a different path forever.Review:
I loved the description of this book but was sadly disappointed after reading
it. Each chapter is a leap in time making the book feel a bit
disjointed. I also found that it was sometimes difficult to figure out
who was speaking since some chapters are narrated by Justine and some by
Reney.
Justine started out as a strong willed woman hell bent on giving her child the
best she could but somewhere she just became wishy washy and forgettable.
Reney also started out strong and then petered out to something
unrecognizable. There was also the story of a lesbian couple and the
slow boy who lived next door who were all more interesting than the main
characters but their story is left dangling - you get a glimpse of them in the
future but the chapter on them is so strong it almost felt like I was reading
a different book.
The descriptions of the Holiness church and the strict ways in which Justine
grew up were interesting but overall not enough to really hold my attention.
No matter how much I tried I just couldn't fall in love with this book.
I felt next to nothing for the main characters and after I finish
writing this they will be a distant memory. Definitely not something that will
stick with me.
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