Review by Leah Edwards -- My trip to Adele
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Leah Edwards
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Review by Leah Edwards -- My trip to Adele
[Following is a volunteer review of "My trip to Adele" by R.I.Alyaseer and A. I Alyaseer.]
3 out of 4 stars
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I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
My Trip to Adele follows three different people going through three very important/difficult stages in their lives, all of which culminates with the same Adele concert happening in Verona, Italy. It’s a well-thought out concept, with intricate characters and some interesting conflicts to go along with it-- and well worth a read if you have the time.
While I loved the build up of the story and the insight into a culture and lifestyle you don’t often see in literature, I found myself disappointed by the ending. While it was against the typical ‘happy ending’ you usually get with stories like this, I was left wanting a much neater ending. There were too many loose ends, too many things that didn’t add up, and I thought it strange that the story didn’t end with these three stories all coming to conclusion in the same place. It made sense to have them all end up at the concert in some way shape or form, and it left me completely disappointed that they all seemed to decide they had priorities elsewhere.
And it’s understandable. It faces the realities of life in a way most other books wouldn’t, but with Adele being such a momentous feature in this story it just felt silly to not include her in the ending. That being said, I felt like the inclusion of her lyrics felt almost corny at times, especially with Miriam literally texting Yazer Adele lyrics as they’re on the brink of a divorce. I felt as though it would have been more effective to just have the song titles as chapters, with the chosen lyrics before the chapter itself, just so it felt a little less forced when the lyrics came into play. There were times where they would mention the lyrics and I’d be reminded of fanfiction more than a piece of published work, but it’s an issue that could be easily remedied, and it didn’t take away from the plot to the point of it being annoying.
The stories themselves were where My Trip to Adele really came to life. It represented the mundane passing of family life in a way that wasn’t boring or predictable, and opened up some very important discussions about religion and faith that are very prevalent in modern society. I particularly liked Nadia, who in my opinion was one of the only characters who had her head firmly screwed onto her shoulders, as well as Malika, who I sort of wished carried the perspective of that portion of the story, as I found her much more interesting that Elias, and felt like she underwent much more development than he did as well.
Overall, My Trip to Adele was enjoyable, albeit a little corny. It was very easy to get through, and it never left me bored despite the small qualms I had with it, which is why it deserves all the attention it’s received-- even if for the first half of the book I kept getting Malika and Mariam confused.
******
My trip to Adele
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3 out of 4 stars
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I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
My Trip to Adele follows three different people going through three very important/difficult stages in their lives, all of which culminates with the same Adele concert happening in Verona, Italy. It’s a well-thought out concept, with intricate characters and some interesting conflicts to go along with it-- and well worth a read if you have the time.
While I loved the build up of the story and the insight into a culture and lifestyle you don’t often see in literature, I found myself disappointed by the ending. While it was against the typical ‘happy ending’ you usually get with stories like this, I was left wanting a much neater ending. There were too many loose ends, too many things that didn’t add up, and I thought it strange that the story didn’t end with these three stories all coming to conclusion in the same place. It made sense to have them all end up at the concert in some way shape or form, and it left me completely disappointed that they all seemed to decide they had priorities elsewhere.
And it’s understandable. It faces the realities of life in a way most other books wouldn’t, but with Adele being such a momentous feature in this story it just felt silly to not include her in the ending. That being said, I felt like the inclusion of her lyrics felt almost corny at times, especially with Miriam literally texting Yazer Adele lyrics as they’re on the brink of a divorce. I felt as though it would have been more effective to just have the song titles as chapters, with the chosen lyrics before the chapter itself, just so it felt a little less forced when the lyrics came into play. There were times where they would mention the lyrics and I’d be reminded of fanfiction more than a piece of published work, but it’s an issue that could be easily remedied, and it didn’t take away from the plot to the point of it being annoying.
The stories themselves were where My Trip to Adele really came to life. It represented the mundane passing of family life in a way that wasn’t boring or predictable, and opened up some very important discussions about religion and faith that are very prevalent in modern society. I particularly liked Nadia, who in my opinion was one of the only characters who had her head firmly screwed onto her shoulders, as well as Malika, who I sort of wished carried the perspective of that portion of the story, as I found her much more interesting that Elias, and felt like she underwent much more development than he did as well.
Overall, My Trip to Adele was enjoyable, albeit a little corny. It was very easy to get through, and it never left me bored despite the small qualms I had with it, which is why it deserves all the attention it’s received-- even if for the first half of the book I kept getting Malika and Mariam confused.
******
My trip to Adele
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Leah Edwards's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon
