Review of The Unbroken Horizon

Sonia_Gonzalez · Post by **Sonia_Gonzalez** » 29 Jun 2023, 08:51

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Unbroken Horizon" by Jenny Brav.]

4 out of 5 stars

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The Unbroken Horizon by Jenny Brav is a historical fiction novel that follows Sarah as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery that will reveal some hard truths, and uncomfortable moments and take her as far from her comfort zone as possible. The biggest mystery this book has is not how to build yourself after your world crumbles, but how are we connected to others.

Sarah is a humanitarian nurse that has been running from herself for a long time. During her latest mission in South Sudan, everything starts catching up to her and causes Sarah to crumble under pressure. Jean-Claude, her supervisor decides to put her on leave while she puts herself together. Suddenly she starts having dreams and visions about a girl called Maggie, but Sarah has no idea who she is or why she feels so connected to her.

Maggie is a black teenager working in the cotton fields. During the fall of 1914, she gets involved in an attack that ends with her family in danger, and her running across the country. We follow her journey toward freedom, independence, and self-confidence, but some wounds might take longer to heal than others.

This book takes on a journey across time, with two women trying to create a life after everything they know starts crumbling. Separated by almost 100 years, we might realize that there is more for us than what we expected. Why is Sarah dreaming of Maggie? What will she learn from those dreams and visions? What secrets will be discovered during this journey?

I loved the characters. I enjoyed the similarities between Maggie and Sarah because characters with such different backgrounds, living in different historical periods, and following different paths are not expected to have similarities, but I could see connections between them. My favorite character was Pepe, it was sad to realize the story would continue without him, but those chapters where he appeared made an impact on me. The book is over 400 pages long, and it is not a light reading, but it is amazing and worth it. As we see the characters struggle and discover who they are, we get to embark on the same journey of self-discovery and reflection, and that is not common in fiction books.

There were other characters, like Phoebe that I felt unnecessary, they did not add that much to the characters nor help them grow. Her friendship with Sarah felt forced and superficial, and with a book as dense and meaningful as The Unbroken Horizon I was expecting more of her. I was also disappointed that the author missed an opportunity to teach about important persons in Black History. At the end of the book, using an Author’s Notes, we get some clarification of historical figures and facts, and I appreciate that, but I still would have loved to see Maggie interact with those historical figures.

Considering everything I have said, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. The book has been professionally edited and is free from errors. The characters are well-written and show growth (most of the time). The plot is also perfectly connected through time. However, as great as the book is, it missed some important opportunities and the ending ruined everything for me, the last chapter was completely unnecessary and made everything confusing.

I recommend this book to people wanting to know more about Black History, with the warning that not everything in the book is accurate, and historical fiction should never be taken as history lessons. I also believe this book could be great for school or book clubs as it has questions for discussions. This book is suitable for teenagers, young adults, and adults. It must be taken into consideration that it has a content advisory, and respecting the author’s wishes, I must say this novel contains descriptions of violence, racism, sexual abuse, and other topics that might trigger some readers.

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The Unbroken Horizon
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