Review of The Weed Lady
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Deidre Sindile B
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Review of The Weed Lady
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Weed Lady" by Shea R Embry.]
A spoiled and hungover Jesi Viscuso is startled one morning by the sudden appearance of a mysterious woman pulling weeds from her garden. Entirely absorbed by the unusual occurrence taking place in her front yard, the Sicilian firecracker is about to have her life radically transformed by the woman who would soon become her Weed Lady.
Starting off on a rather intriguing note, Shea R Embry sets up a very 'L.A vibe,' introducing our main protagonists - a trio of young, modern day career women, dabbling in the world of spirituality, sage and group meditation from the comfort of their suburban Atlanta living room. However, one starts to notice early on that while The Weed Lady has great potential, the novel suffers from a lack of strong storytelling ability.
The storyline is put together in a cluster of events that need not exist in the same story, but are loosely tied together to form a novel. You'll find yourself questioning situations that don't make sense and are never really explained during your reading experience. Why did Jesi have to work for Jules? Why did Jules continuously threaten to replace Jesi as his best man when he wasn't even engaged? Is Jesi's friendship with Jules deep enough for her to deserve to be Best Man?
In a few places the novel suffers from unnecessary plotlines and character additions that the story might have done well without. The presence of the deceased Aunt Mary Opal is the most notable example. The character had a significant impact on the lives of our three main protagonists, and she is mentioned several times throughout the novel. However Aunt Mary Opal adds no depth to the storyline and without her, we would still have a fairly good story.
The novel could also do without the numerous references to our main character Jesi Viscuso's Sicilian heritage. The spirit of patriotism is always encouraged, it is a admirable quality. However, it becomes tedious when we can't go a chapter without Jesi's Sicilian ethnicity being mentioned. Jesi is sassy because she is Sicilian. Jesi is beautiful because she is Sicilian. Jesi is loud because she is Sicilian. When the trio welcomes their new dark skinned black friend to the group, Jesi remarks that she is no longer the darkest in the room, you know, being Sicilian. This had to be the most pointless comment in the novel. No reader cares as much about Jesi's Sicilian heritage as it was mentioned.
While the novel needed a few omissions, it had many errors. Dictionary.com defines a cocktail as "an alcoholic drink consisting of a spirit or spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as fruit juice or cream." Jack Daniels on ice can be called Jack on the Rocks, but it is not a cocktail as it was named in the novel. Furthermore, the reading experience gives one the impression that the novel has not been edited. The Weed Lady would benefit from being modified. The story has a lot of potential, but it needs to be polished up a bit in terms of grammar, and the plot needs to be refined.
The novel's major flaw is that it misses an opportunity to properly address the serious issue of domestic violence and abuse as it pertains to the story's 'Weed Lady.' It's a little unsettling that none of the characters ever really address the major issue that the Weed Lady was dealing with. Instead, everyone just allowed her to exist in their space, compassionate only from afar and more concerned with their own lives. In truth, Jesi Viscuso in particular took advantage of the Weed Lady for her own personal gain. Jesi became so fixated on the Weed Lady's presence that she would deliberately plant weeds in her garden just to see her every day. Instead of making a real effort to help the deeply wounded woman, Jesi is more interested in watching the woman pull weeds from her garden while she goes about her privileged life. The sad reality is that the Weed Lady went through the hurt alone and the first genuine attempt to help her heal occurred at the very end of the novel.
The Weed Lady is a work with great potential, however it's lack of editing, sub-par storyline and wasted opportunity to tackle the pressing issue of abuse earns it a fair 2 out of 4. Rather than feeling the aftereffects of a remarkable story after you've finished reading it, you'll be relieved it's over.
******
The Weed Lady
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
A spoiled and hungover Jesi Viscuso is startled one morning by the sudden appearance of a mysterious woman pulling weeds from her garden. Entirely absorbed by the unusual occurrence taking place in her front yard, the Sicilian firecracker is about to have her life radically transformed by the woman who would soon become her Weed Lady.
Starting off on a rather intriguing note, Shea R Embry sets up a very 'L.A vibe,' introducing our main protagonists - a trio of young, modern day career women, dabbling in the world of spirituality, sage and group meditation from the comfort of their suburban Atlanta living room. However, one starts to notice early on that while The Weed Lady has great potential, the novel suffers from a lack of strong storytelling ability.
The storyline is put together in a cluster of events that need not exist in the same story, but are loosely tied together to form a novel. You'll find yourself questioning situations that don't make sense and are never really explained during your reading experience. Why did Jesi have to work for Jules? Why did Jules continuously threaten to replace Jesi as his best man when he wasn't even engaged? Is Jesi's friendship with Jules deep enough for her to deserve to be Best Man?
In a few places the novel suffers from unnecessary plotlines and character additions that the story might have done well without. The presence of the deceased Aunt Mary Opal is the most notable example. The character had a significant impact on the lives of our three main protagonists, and she is mentioned several times throughout the novel. However Aunt Mary Opal adds no depth to the storyline and without her, we would still have a fairly good story.
The novel could also do without the numerous references to our main character Jesi Viscuso's Sicilian heritage. The spirit of patriotism is always encouraged, it is a admirable quality. However, it becomes tedious when we can't go a chapter without Jesi's Sicilian ethnicity being mentioned. Jesi is sassy because she is Sicilian. Jesi is beautiful because she is Sicilian. Jesi is loud because she is Sicilian. When the trio welcomes their new dark skinned black friend to the group, Jesi remarks that she is no longer the darkest in the room, you know, being Sicilian. This had to be the most pointless comment in the novel. No reader cares as much about Jesi's Sicilian heritage as it was mentioned.
While the novel needed a few omissions, it had many errors. Dictionary.com defines a cocktail as "an alcoholic drink consisting of a spirit or spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as fruit juice or cream." Jack Daniels on ice can be called Jack on the Rocks, but it is not a cocktail as it was named in the novel. Furthermore, the reading experience gives one the impression that the novel has not been edited. The Weed Lady would benefit from being modified. The story has a lot of potential, but it needs to be polished up a bit in terms of grammar, and the plot needs to be refined.
The novel's major flaw is that it misses an opportunity to properly address the serious issue of domestic violence and abuse as it pertains to the story's 'Weed Lady.' It's a little unsettling that none of the characters ever really address the major issue that the Weed Lady was dealing with. Instead, everyone just allowed her to exist in their space, compassionate only from afar and more concerned with their own lives. In truth, Jesi Viscuso in particular took advantage of the Weed Lady for her own personal gain. Jesi became so fixated on the Weed Lady's presence that she would deliberately plant weeds in her garden just to see her every day. Instead of making a real effort to help the deeply wounded woman, Jesi is more interested in watching the woman pull weeds from her garden while she goes about her privileged life. The sad reality is that the Weed Lady went through the hurt alone and the first genuine attempt to help her heal occurred at the very end of the novel.
The Weed Lady is a work with great potential, however it's lack of editing, sub-par storyline and wasted opportunity to tackle the pressing issue of abuse earns it a fair 2 out of 4. Rather than feeling the aftereffects of a remarkable story after you've finished reading it, you'll be relieved it's over.
******
The Weed Lady
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Killing Abel by Michael Tieman
