Title: Queens of all the Earth
Author: Hannah Sternberg
Release Date: June 15th, 2011
Series: No
Release Date: June 15th, 2011
Series: No
Number of Pages: 160
Publisher: Bancroft Press
Source: NetGalley
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As her freshman classmates move into dorms at Cornell University, Olivia Somerset suffers a nervous breakdown. When months of coaxing and analyzing fail to rouse Olivia from her stupor, big sister Miranda decides the sisters should fly off to Barcelona for some "vacation therapy."
When a mistake at their Barcelona hostel leaves the Somersets in a large co-ed dorm room, Olivia and Miranda are saved by kindly Mr. Brown and his son Greg, who happily volunteer to surrender their private room. But while Olivia feels an instant connection with brooding Greg Brown, Miranda sides with fellow guest and cocky American travel writer Lenny:
The Browns are just plain weird, and must be avoided at all costs.
In the midst of urbane Peruvian priests-in-training and Scottish soccer fans, from the shops of La Rambla to the waters of the Mediterranean to the soaring heights of Montjuic, Miranda works to protect her still-fragile sister while Olivia struggles to understand her burgeoning adulthood, her feelings for Greg, and the fear that makes the next step in her life so impossible to take.
Inspired by E. M. Forster's classic novel A Room with a View, debut author Hannah Sternberg's Queens of All the Earth is a poetic journey of young love and self-awakening set against the beauty of Catalonia. Teenagers and adults alike will be riveted and moved by this coming-of-age novel about the conflicting hearts and minds of two very different sisters.
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It was quite difficult for me to write this review. I was unsure what to write.
First of all, I must say that the plot disappointed me. I just thought wasn’t that much happening. There was nothing that really held my attention, nothing that captivated me. I just felt like I was reading about someone’s trip to Barcelona, a normal trip. The ending was okay, a happy ending for the characters. It fitted well with the story, but it didn’t blow me away.
The characters were okay. I could see them being real, I could imagine myself meeting them, but I feel like she could have given us more about them. I felt like something was missing. Olivia was a great girl, Greg a nice boy, but nothing else really stood out from the characters. (Except, of course, the annoying side of Lenny.)
The writing was probably the best thing about this story. I love how she writes, I love the descriptions. It is really one of the main reasons I could go through that book like I did.
Overall, it is a short book, nicely written. Yet, I still feel like there was something missing from it, some action perhaps. I wish she could have written something longer; to make it seems more complete.
2.5/10
2.5/10
I've heard that this one wasn't the greatest, for the reasons you stated. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I'll definitely give this one a pass.
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