Official Review: The Queen of Sheba by Jessica V. Barnett

[peprica21]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Queen of Sheba" by Jessica V. Barnett.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Queen of Sheba by Jessica V. Barnett is a young adult novel that follows seventeen-year-old Rachel as she tries to deal with her depression and balance her senior year. The author constructs a society in which those who suffer from depression, at any point in their lives, have their depression materialize as a dempo, which stands for depression manifestation. Dempos are animals that represent the internal struggle a person deals with when depression hits. Rachel's dempo is a female lion named Sheba.

Rachel's personality and priorities are like many teenagers. She has a crush on a boy at school named Leif, and is shell shocked when he invites her over for a movie marathon. Rachel spends her days practicing with her tennis team, hanging out with her friends, Jenny and Didi, and planning for her future after high school. What makes Rachel unique, however, is having a two hundred pound lion at her side through most of her days. The book follows Rachel as she gains her first boyfriend, experiments sexually, struggles with family issues, and learns what it means to be a true friend.

I enjoyed reading this story and thought the author did a superb job at depicting what a person goes through with depression by using the dempo animals. Almost all the main characters in the book, including Rachel's mother, Jenny, Didi and Leif, all have different dempos. The bond between the animal and character shows the different sides of depression. For example, Leif has a bunny rabbit as his dempo and the animal is only around when he focuses on a bad childhood experience. Once Leif learns how to deal with his experience and emotions, the rabbit slowly comes around less and less. On the flip side, Didi, who is transgender, always has her ferret dempo draped around her neck. When Didi is bullied by other students for being transgender, her dempo becomes aggressive. I interpreted her dempo's actions as how Didi is currently treating herself when struggling with her peers.

I applaud the author because I did not find any major grammar errors. Good editing keeps the reader focused on the story. When I first started reading this novel the idea of the dempo was hard to process. I think the author could use the beginning to make it more clear how the dempos are part of the society constructed for the plot. Also there are a few places where a scene in the story line does not fit. For example Rachel's half-sister, Kaylee, has a birthday that Rachel talks about, but then the story line jumps days ahead without an explanation as to why Rachel missed the party. Another example happens towards the end of the book when Rachel has several bad days in a row. According to the plot, these bad days are caused by her favorite comedian committing suicide. Before this scene Rachel never mentions this comedian. It seems very out of the blue and I think the author could work this comedian into the story earlier.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. It has a very unique concept, with diverse characters and focuses on the affects and importance of mental health. However, the story can be crafted to close loops and give the audience more understanding of this dempo world. I think teens, young adults and those who enjoy reading YA would appreciate this novel. I also think this book would be a good way for someone without depression to understand someone who does suffer from depression.

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The Queen of Sheba
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[kandscreeley]

Good review. This sounds like a really interesting book. It's probably something that I would enjoy reading. It would probably be a good conversation starter as well. Thanks.

[peprica21]

Good review. This sounds like a really interesting book. It's probably something that I would enjoy reading. It would probably be a good conversation starter as well. Thanks.

Thank you for your feedback. Yes it could be a conversation starter for sure!

[mewsmash]

Wow, this sounds like an amazing book! I don't think I've ever heard of anything similar to it. The professional editing is a plus, as well.
Nice review!

[peprica21]

Wow, this sounds like an amazing book! I don't think I've ever heard of anything similar to it. The professional editing is a plus, as well.
Nice review!

Thank you! It really has a unique plot. I hope you get the chance to read it.

[Katelyn Scott]

Sounds like the author did an excellent job in describing a topic that is difficult to portray and that most people shy away from.

[peprica21]

Sounds like the author did an excellent job in describing a topic that is difficult to portray and that most people shy away from.

Thank you! I really enjoyed reading this book that, like you say, people shy away from.