Review by BarkleyPartyOf7 -- Elastic Girl by Olivia Rana
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Review by BarkleyPartyOf7 -- Elastic Girl by Olivia Rana
[Following is a volunteer review of "Elastic Girl" by Olivia Rana.]
4 out of 4 stars
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It appears bad things always happen to Muthu. Is she really cursed, like her grandmother says she is? This is the question that plagues Muthu Tikaram’s thoughts each day. The more time that goes on, the more she begins to believe it. Muthu has always been treated different than her older sisters and as a child, she does not fully understand why. The Elastic Girl takes the reader on an adventure through the loss of Muthu’s family home, her experiences in the circus, and her unbelievable trip back home.
Muthu’s talents are discovered when she escapes a deadly situation in a way that no one else would have been able to do. After Muthu’s family loses their home to the government, her family is desperate for a solution. Muthu’s father, inspired by her amazing talent and following what his own mother wants, takes Muthu to audition for The Great Raman Circus of Chennai. The audition goes well, and Muthu’s father sells her to the circus.
Muthu feels like she has finally found her purpose and her way to stardom but, even with this life changing experience, terrible things keep happening to her and her family. After years in the circus, Muthu makes her way back home where she learns devastating family history that threatens to ruin all the progress she has made.
Through this novel, written in the first-person point of view, the reader follows Muthu through her preteen years, into her teenage years, and then into young adult hood. The reader knows Muthu’s thoughts intimately and personally experiences each event that affects Muthu’s life along with her.
The Elastic Girl by Olivia Rana is a book about loss, love, life changes, heart ache, self-discovery and finding inner peace. I laughed, I gasped, I cringed, and cheered for Muthu while I was reading this book. There were times I could not put it down and I could rarely guess what would happen next. The Elastic Girl opened my eyes to a part of the world that I had no idea about. I had never been able to imagine another culture the way that I was able to envision this one.
The best part of the book were the details. The details are so descriptive I was able to paint a picture in my mind of every setting. The author really took the time to make sure none of the scenery was left out, making the story that much more real. While reading, I could imagine myself at the circus, watching the performers onstage or seeing a new town through Muthu’s eyes.
The part of The Elastic Girl that I liked the least was the couple of words that were in a different language that were not explained. I love to see foreign languages in the books that I read, but I also like there to be a translation following it. The author translated some of those foreign words but not all of them, which sometimes left me a bit confused. It did not take much away from the book, however, so this is just a minor issue that I noticed.
Overall, the book was phenomenally written. The author wrote a tragic story, all while bringing inner-peace to the main character. This book will inspire the reader to never give up and, despite all of life’s challenges, to strive to find happiness. The reader is left with hope for the future.
I would highly recommend this book to others who appreciate the same genre. I rate The Elastic Girl 4 out of 4 stars. The book seems to be professionally edited, with very few errors. This was a book I was unable to put down and was not disappointed with any aspect of the book.
******
Elastic Girl
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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4 out of 4 stars
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It appears bad things always happen to Muthu. Is she really cursed, like her grandmother says she is? This is the question that plagues Muthu Tikaram’s thoughts each day. The more time that goes on, the more she begins to believe it. Muthu has always been treated different than her older sisters and as a child, she does not fully understand why. The Elastic Girl takes the reader on an adventure through the loss of Muthu’s family home, her experiences in the circus, and her unbelievable trip back home.
Muthu’s talents are discovered when she escapes a deadly situation in a way that no one else would have been able to do. After Muthu’s family loses their home to the government, her family is desperate for a solution. Muthu’s father, inspired by her amazing talent and following what his own mother wants, takes Muthu to audition for The Great Raman Circus of Chennai. The audition goes well, and Muthu’s father sells her to the circus.
Muthu feels like she has finally found her purpose and her way to stardom but, even with this life changing experience, terrible things keep happening to her and her family. After years in the circus, Muthu makes her way back home where she learns devastating family history that threatens to ruin all the progress she has made.
Through this novel, written in the first-person point of view, the reader follows Muthu through her preteen years, into her teenage years, and then into young adult hood. The reader knows Muthu’s thoughts intimately and personally experiences each event that affects Muthu’s life along with her.
The Elastic Girl by Olivia Rana is a book about loss, love, life changes, heart ache, self-discovery and finding inner peace. I laughed, I gasped, I cringed, and cheered for Muthu while I was reading this book. There were times I could not put it down and I could rarely guess what would happen next. The Elastic Girl opened my eyes to a part of the world that I had no idea about. I had never been able to imagine another culture the way that I was able to envision this one.
The best part of the book were the details. The details are so descriptive I was able to paint a picture in my mind of every setting. The author really took the time to make sure none of the scenery was left out, making the story that much more real. While reading, I could imagine myself at the circus, watching the performers onstage or seeing a new town through Muthu’s eyes.
The part of The Elastic Girl that I liked the least was the couple of words that were in a different language that were not explained. I love to see foreign languages in the books that I read, but I also like there to be a translation following it. The author translated some of those foreign words but not all of them, which sometimes left me a bit confused. It did not take much away from the book, however, so this is just a minor issue that I noticed.
Overall, the book was phenomenally written. The author wrote a tragic story, all while bringing inner-peace to the main character. This book will inspire the reader to never give up and, despite all of life’s challenges, to strive to find happiness. The reader is left with hope for the future.
I would highly recommend this book to others who appreciate the same genre. I rate The Elastic Girl 4 out of 4 stars. The book seems to be professionally edited, with very few errors. This was a book I was unable to put down and was not disappointed with any aspect of the book.
******
Elastic Girl
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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