justice_turtle: MacGyver reading with finger to lips, text "im in ur library shushin ur books" (shushin)
justice_turtle ([personal profile] justice_turtle) wrote in [community profile] readallthenewberys2017-08-29 04:06 pm

Review: Vaino, A Boy of New Finland (Julia Davis Adams)

Summary: Retold tales from the Kalevala, surrounded by a frame story about the Finnish Civil War of the late 19-teens. The frame story follows a preteen boy named Vaino (presumably there should be diacriticals there, but the book uses none) and his family through the conflict.

Reaction: No suspense, a lot of "oh, war is fun and thrilling!", very little nuance, no character development at all. I didn't like it enough to finish it.

Rating: One star, because it wasn't as gobsmackingly bad as most of the zero-star offerings we've had. I don't recommend reading it, though; there are far better Kalevala retellings out there, and the frame story is boring as hell.