Review by Brian Optimist -- Mixed Blessings by J.M. Muse

[Brian Optimist]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Mixed Blessings" by J.M. Muse.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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J. M. Muse's fictional book portrays a version of the USA where racism has gone too far and the chaos that ensues because of this. At the start of the book, Kimberly, a Jewish - Hispanic girl, is observed to question the relevance of disclosing one's race to a census worker. Another character - Kublai Khan, who is the head of the house of Jeremiah, is a black minister who is a major advocate for the rights of the black community in Detroit. Kublai Khan, together with leaders of Asian and Hispanic communities, come with a plan to produce many mixed-race babies and in so doing, overwhelm the population of the white race and become the greatest population in the country. Pastor Dalton is a white man who believes that the white race is the superior race and goes so far as to attack and murder the mixed-race babies.

By the conclusion of the book, it is obvious what the main theme of the book is: racism and conflict. Just like in the world today, all the leaders portrayed in the book have brainwashed their followers to agree to all their teachings. An instance of this is when Pastor Dalton riled his congregation to attack and murder babies at a birth center. Another example is when Kublai Khan makes the men in his church on (even those who are married), to agree to sleep with Asian women to produce the mixed-race babies.

The plot of the book was well written. The scenes are not easy to get mixed up in. The author portrays how religious fanaticism could be a fuel to hatred towards different ethnicities. Each party in the conflict has its own argument about why it feels oppressed and misrepresented. Some of these reasons are legitimate while others are just ridiculous. I was disappointed that the book ended inconclusively. The conflict is never really resolved.

Most of the characters in the book were not adequately developed. A few of them though were properly developed. Ahmed is shown as a former lowlife thug whose life changed when he joined the house of Jeremiah and followed its teachings. Not all of these teachings can be considered as morally correct and at one point, Ahmed is faced with a difficult decision to either follow the house's teachings or his moral obligation. He is a character that most readers will easily relate to. Pastor Dalton is portrayed as an extremely delusional and manipulative man although these qualities could be attributed to his rough past. The world building in the book is not good. Most of the scenes cannot be vividly visualized.

In general, I think the book was well written and carries a very strong message. I did not encounter any profanity in the book. There are lots of depictions of violence in the book with a lot of gore. Sexual scenes are not many and neither are they pornographic. I also did not notice any spelling or grammatical error. I would recommend Mixed Blessings to young adults. Even though it is a fictional book, I think it would also suit nonfiction readers. Mixed Blessings gets a 3 out of 4 stars rating from me.

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Mixed Blessings
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