Sula’s
Voyage
by
Catherine Torres
Publication
Date: May 2016
Publisher:
Scholastic
Source: Author
Rating:
4/5
I
was provided a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
I’m not sure if I
was in the position to truly comprehend and appreciate the culture represented
in this novel, but I loved to try. The novel included beautiful portrayals of
the Philippines and their culture, though some of it might have gone over my
head. Divine superstition, kissing elder’s hands and the food is mainly what I
got from this novel. I’d only read one other book set in the Philippines
before, so it was great to leave the usual American setting (Memoirs of a Non-Enemy
Combatant by Alex Gilvarry for those interested).
This was a great
coming of age book about the main character, 15 year old Sula, with some
fantasy elements and romance swept in for good measure, which was really cool.
The book wasn’t particularly focused on Sula’s magical healing powers; in fact
they weren’t even 100% confirmed until the very end of the book. Instead it was
about Sula’s self-identity and family. As the daughter of a marine science
researcher she constantly moves and changing schools which can’t be easy when searching
for stability and a place one can call home.
On a different note,
a major plot point was that Sula was made fun of for her dark skin, which
contrasts starkly from her family’s pale skin. Her father’s parents even seemed
to disown them because Sula was a “bastard” child. This plot point left me
extremely confused. Maybe it’s a difference of culture? I don’t understand why Sula’s
parents didn’t just admit and say that she was adopted to begin with. Obviously
she is not theirs, so why pretend up to the point where you have a fake story
of her birth and the father’s parent’s believe you has an affair with a dark
skinned man? Does it really matter that she’s not their flesh and blood? That’s
pretty much the only thing that bothered me with this novel, but again it could
just be a cultural thing that I’m not getting? But at the end this was kinda
swept under the rug really fast and they became a happy family again without
much discussion about them lying to her about her heritage after all these
years. This is the one thing that detracted from the book for me.
I thought that Sula’s
relationship with her parents, especially her dad, was really cute. The story
starts out with Sula being in her father’s college classes because she decided
to not go back to her high school. She hits it off with another student named
James until he mysteriously disappears and her mother sweeps her off to The
Cove, the home of her Mother’s best friend. More characters are then introduced
including the best friend, her husband, and their three children, which whom
Sula has intricate relationships with. My favorite was probably her newly
formed relationship with the daughter, Mira. Beach bonding and fire dancing was
just so sweet and fun to read. It wasn’t even a big part of the book but it
really is all about the little moments adding up, and this was done really well
by Catherine Torres! This was an extremely enjoyable and easy read and my
biggest problem with it is that there should be more! There’s lots of nice
details in the book and it overshadows the relationships a bit, but I wouldn’t
want the details cut either. Making the book a bit longer would have been worth
it to show off the different relationships at a deeper level!
I don’t normally do this, but a quote really got to me and this review
wouldn’t feel right without me sharing it. The quote was Tita Lupe’s (who is
dying of cancer) last words:
“The sea had salt enough without us adding
our tears to it”
This simple
eloquence really made me think, which is exactly what a great book should do!
Another thing that
I loved was Sula’s relationship with James. He was mentioned before as her
fellow classmate and love interest in the novel. I felt like their relationship
was important to the novel, but it didn’t become the center point or take over the
plot. Furthermore, they actually had interesting and intelligent conversations
instead of the clichéd jabs-back-and-forth-until-the-inevitable-kiss. This as
not only refreshing, but also extremely thought-provoking to read. Particularly
their first conversation alone when James discusses his project about turning
the sea waves into music. This reminded me of the sort of smart, creative,
weirdness that my own friends get into. It again wasn’t a huge plot point in
the novel, but it was probably my favorite part. I love getting to learn new
things and the second I read this I immediately texted them up about what a
cool concept this would be!
All in all, I'm glad I had the opportunity to read this book and it's no surprise this was an Asian Book Award finalist!
4 Neil
Gaiman
