Review by MorganKnightOfficial -- Mixed Blessings
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MorganKnightOfficial
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- Latest Review: Mixed Blessings by J.M. Muse
Review by MorganKnightOfficial -- Mixed Blessings
[Following is a volunteer review of "Mixed Blessings" by J.M. Muse.]
This novel from the pen of J.M. Muse offers a glance into the extremities of racism. Mixed Blessings is a powerful depiction of the struggle of not having an ideal skin color and a memorable warning of the dangers of inequalities.
Minister Kublai Khan is the leader of the mostly African American church called the House of Jeremiah. Khan dreams of a country where African Americans hold the power. In the hope of creating a better world for his people, Khan, backed by a demographer called Les Solomon and a Korean minister called Hung Suk, hatches a devious plan to challenge racial stereotypes. Khan plans to create a brand new population consisting of biracial children from African and Korean origin – a multibillion-dollar project that includes mass weddings, birthing centers and, above all, absolute secrecy. When Pastor Dalton Tucker, the leader of a Caucasian church, gets wind of the plan, he decides to stop the meddlesome project.
Intertwined with the story of Kublai Khan are the stories of two biracial girls – Kim (a teenager of Jewish and Mexican origin) and Star (a woman of Japanese and African origin). The struggle of being biracial becomes evident as Kim copes with bullies and rejection while Star meets her downfall at a Japanese beauty contest. Kim’s story merges with the story of Kublai Khan in a shocking climax that will the reader breathless for hours after closing the book.
I was unable to put this book down until I had finished reading. The author’s skillful journey towards the climax and the slow revelation of shocking details kept me pinned to the pages for the entirety of the story. Mixed Blessings gave me an entirely new perspective on racism – I have seen the terrors of being oppressed for something you have no control over. The pure power of the narrative urged me to want to do something to change racism.
I also liked the way that each character’s story was resolved in a bittersweet way. This served as a strong reminder that there are not always happy endings in life, but that there is still hope for a better future. I appreciated the character development shown by Kim and Kublai Khan because of the hardships they experienced. The universal message that suffering makes you stronger was a beautiful theme alongside the somewhat harsher story of racism.
The only thing I didn’t like about this novel was the confusing purpose of Star’s story. It seems as if the author simply included this perspective to add a shock factor, as Star’s struggle as a biracial beauty queen does not contribute to the plot in any way. The end of the narrative about Star was also blunt and unsatisfactory. It left me with many unanswered questions.
I rate Mixed Blessings 3 out of 4 stars because of Star’s unnecessary inclusion in the novel. The rest of the novel, however, was a marvelous and emotional tale about finding your place in the world and would have been given a higher rating if not for the single disappointment of Star’s unsatisfactory story. I appreciated that the book was practically error-free, which made it possible to focus solely on the narrative. I recommend this novel for anyone with an interest in human rights and equality, but only for readers older than sixteen due to profane language and explicit sexual content.
******
Mixed Blessings
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
This novel from the pen of J.M. Muse offers a glance into the extremities of racism. Mixed Blessings is a powerful depiction of the struggle of not having an ideal skin color and a memorable warning of the dangers of inequalities.
Minister Kublai Khan is the leader of the mostly African American church called the House of Jeremiah. Khan dreams of a country where African Americans hold the power. In the hope of creating a better world for his people, Khan, backed by a demographer called Les Solomon and a Korean minister called Hung Suk, hatches a devious plan to challenge racial stereotypes. Khan plans to create a brand new population consisting of biracial children from African and Korean origin – a multibillion-dollar project that includes mass weddings, birthing centers and, above all, absolute secrecy. When Pastor Dalton Tucker, the leader of a Caucasian church, gets wind of the plan, he decides to stop the meddlesome project.
Intertwined with the story of Kublai Khan are the stories of two biracial girls – Kim (a teenager of Jewish and Mexican origin) and Star (a woman of Japanese and African origin). The struggle of being biracial becomes evident as Kim copes with bullies and rejection while Star meets her downfall at a Japanese beauty contest. Kim’s story merges with the story of Kublai Khan in a shocking climax that will the reader breathless for hours after closing the book.
I was unable to put this book down until I had finished reading. The author’s skillful journey towards the climax and the slow revelation of shocking details kept me pinned to the pages for the entirety of the story. Mixed Blessings gave me an entirely new perspective on racism – I have seen the terrors of being oppressed for something you have no control over. The pure power of the narrative urged me to want to do something to change racism.
I also liked the way that each character’s story was resolved in a bittersweet way. This served as a strong reminder that there are not always happy endings in life, but that there is still hope for a better future. I appreciated the character development shown by Kim and Kublai Khan because of the hardships they experienced. The universal message that suffering makes you stronger was a beautiful theme alongside the somewhat harsher story of racism.
The only thing I didn’t like about this novel was the confusing purpose of Star’s story. It seems as if the author simply included this perspective to add a shock factor, as Star’s struggle as a biracial beauty queen does not contribute to the plot in any way. The end of the narrative about Star was also blunt and unsatisfactory. It left me with many unanswered questions.
I rate Mixed Blessings 3 out of 4 stars because of Star’s unnecessary inclusion in the novel. The rest of the novel, however, was a marvelous and emotional tale about finding your place in the world and would have been given a higher rating if not for the single disappointment of Star’s unsatisfactory story. I appreciated that the book was practically error-free, which made it possible to focus solely on the narrative. I recommend this novel for anyone with an interest in human rights and equality, but only for readers older than sixteen due to profane language and explicit sexual content.
******
Mixed Blessings
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Mixed Blessings by J.M. Muse
