Review of Coming Full Circle
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Oluwatosin Balogun
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Review of Coming Full Circle
[Following is a volunteer review of "Coming Full Circle" by Budd Titlow.]
StrongBow, the young son of Chief True Arrow, was brought up to always respect nature and its resources. He had followed this teaching religiously until his first opportunity to defend his title as the next tribal leader came along. Being an effective leader would mean maintaining a remarkable hunting skill. For someone who has been taught to protect anything nature presents, how could he kill one of its beautiful creatures? Not only is this going against his way of life, but it could cause a disturbance in nature, too. A disturbance so profound generations to come might not recover from it. Why would his tribe set him up like that? Is there something Strong Bow needs to learn from this callous action? What choice does he make? Coming Full Circle by Budd Titlow fetches the answers to these queries and many more.
There are so many points to adore about this wonderful book. Before this read, I never cared about nature or appreciated what it stood for. Now, I know better and I have come full circle on my approach. This book is a valuable gem that assigns knowledge of the evolution of the earth and its abundance. I loved the book's descriptions and narration style. Sceneries were painted in ways that lifted me out of my current environment into the book’s settings. The narration was done in the 3rd person narrative, which navigated all points of view of the characters in the story. It also gave me a broad expanse of the book’s themes and subgenres.
While I had fun reading this book, I found several things I disliked. First is the length of the book. The book had a lot of commentary fixed into it that made it too bulky to complete at a go. It felt as though the author was trying to dump all the knowledge he had into the book without considering how the reader would assimilate it. There was no appropriate buildup and seamless transition between scenes as well. Everything came in as a monotonous influx of information I struggled to break down. I believe this drawback can be fixed if the author considers proper chapter structuring. Each lesson or information he has to share can be broken down into brief chapters that deal with and solve a problem in each chapter. For example, the introduction of the Ogala Nation using Strong Bow’s view can be dealt with in one chapter. This chapter can build up the rules, culture, and beliefs of the people. The next chapter can tell us of his internal conflict, dealing with the burden of his upcoming title, and lessons from his father. A different chapter can form scenes on how he overcomes his conflicts, and the next chapter can introduce us to Thaddeus Adams.
Another quality I disliked about this book was its lack of dialogue. Most of the story was told in expository form. I didn’t get to relate to the characters and see them my way. I saw the characters in the author’s way. I felt like the author told me about them without giving me an avenue to discover them myself. They didn’t have personalities or accents or quirks that could give me a glimpse of who they were. The characters were flat with no room for development. An example of this flaw is Thadeuss Adams and his family. I’d have loved to know Thaddeus a different way. I’d have loved to understand his drive for nature through his interactions with his siblings. The author could have had him discussing with his siblings, on their parent’s farm, with him questioning life outside the farm. Not only would I feel more connected to the characters, they’d become so real to me that I won’t be able to forget them even after I’ve closed the book. All the same, I still found the book a lovely craft. Where I didn’t find entertainment, I at least found knowledge, and that is something to cherish.
I’d rate this book 3 out of 5 stars. I’m giving it this rating because the book needs room for some adjustments. I found some errors while reading it and the story’s plot was predictable. The story flowed as one with no element of surprise. This book has a lot of potential to become outstanding, and I know it will be after another round of editing. Regardless, I loved reading it.
I’d recommend this book to readers who value environmental-themed books. It has a lot of details to keep them occupied. Ecologists would also find relatable content and topics for debates in this book. I wouldn’t recommend the book to readers who hate slow-paced stories as this book takes its time unraveling its importance.
******
Coming Full Circle
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
StrongBow, the young son of Chief True Arrow, was brought up to always respect nature and its resources. He had followed this teaching religiously until his first opportunity to defend his title as the next tribal leader came along. Being an effective leader would mean maintaining a remarkable hunting skill. For someone who has been taught to protect anything nature presents, how could he kill one of its beautiful creatures? Not only is this going against his way of life, but it could cause a disturbance in nature, too. A disturbance so profound generations to come might not recover from it. Why would his tribe set him up like that? Is there something Strong Bow needs to learn from this callous action? What choice does he make? Coming Full Circle by Budd Titlow fetches the answers to these queries and many more.
There are so many points to adore about this wonderful book. Before this read, I never cared about nature or appreciated what it stood for. Now, I know better and I have come full circle on my approach. This book is a valuable gem that assigns knowledge of the evolution of the earth and its abundance. I loved the book's descriptions and narration style. Sceneries were painted in ways that lifted me out of my current environment into the book’s settings. The narration was done in the 3rd person narrative, which navigated all points of view of the characters in the story. It also gave me a broad expanse of the book’s themes and subgenres.
While I had fun reading this book, I found several things I disliked. First is the length of the book. The book had a lot of commentary fixed into it that made it too bulky to complete at a go. It felt as though the author was trying to dump all the knowledge he had into the book without considering how the reader would assimilate it. There was no appropriate buildup and seamless transition between scenes as well. Everything came in as a monotonous influx of information I struggled to break down. I believe this drawback can be fixed if the author considers proper chapter structuring. Each lesson or information he has to share can be broken down into brief chapters that deal with and solve a problem in each chapter. For example, the introduction of the Ogala Nation using Strong Bow’s view can be dealt with in one chapter. This chapter can build up the rules, culture, and beliefs of the people. The next chapter can tell us of his internal conflict, dealing with the burden of his upcoming title, and lessons from his father. A different chapter can form scenes on how he overcomes his conflicts, and the next chapter can introduce us to Thaddeus Adams.
Another quality I disliked about this book was its lack of dialogue. Most of the story was told in expository form. I didn’t get to relate to the characters and see them my way. I saw the characters in the author’s way. I felt like the author told me about them without giving me an avenue to discover them myself. They didn’t have personalities or accents or quirks that could give me a glimpse of who they were. The characters were flat with no room for development. An example of this flaw is Thadeuss Adams and his family. I’d have loved to know Thaddeus a different way. I’d have loved to understand his drive for nature through his interactions with his siblings. The author could have had him discussing with his siblings, on their parent’s farm, with him questioning life outside the farm. Not only would I feel more connected to the characters, they’d become so real to me that I won’t be able to forget them even after I’ve closed the book. All the same, I still found the book a lovely craft. Where I didn’t find entertainment, I at least found knowledge, and that is something to cherish.
I’d rate this book 3 out of 5 stars. I’m giving it this rating because the book needs room for some adjustments. I found some errors while reading it and the story’s plot was predictable. The story flowed as one with no element of surprise. This book has a lot of potential to become outstanding, and I know it will be after another round of editing. Regardless, I loved reading it.
I’d recommend this book to readers who value environmental-themed books. It has a lot of details to keep them occupied. Ecologists would also find relatable content and topics for debates in this book. I wouldn’t recommend the book to readers who hate slow-paced stories as this book takes its time unraveling its importance.
******
Coming Full Circle
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Musings of an Autistic Mind by Darryl Jefferson
