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A review by metalmakubex
We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have been hyping this book up for myself for at least a year now, convinced that it was going to be a 5 star read for me. But for one reason or another, other things kept me from reading it. I’m happy to say after finally getting to it that it did not disappoint.
This book is delightful and strange, though it wasn’t strange in the way I was expecting. I was going into it expecting it to be a bit more surreal, like Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi. Don’t get me wrong, it still had surreal elements. I mean, “The Claw” is its own character, who is a set of bleached, over-hairsprayed bangs on the top of another character’s head. But it was less esoteric and more accessible, which I feel was to its benefit.
At the very beginning, there is a big cast list of all the characters in the field hockey team, which worried me that I was going to mix them up. I didn’t at all. Each character was so unique and had such lovable quirks that it was easy to tell them apart, even when they were talked about as a unit. I loved every single one of them, too. Don’t ask me which one was my favorite, because I wouldn’t be able to tell you.
Another thing I loved about this book was the representation that was given. It was appropriate to the 80s time period, informative, and fun all at once. The homophobia and racism was taken seriously and was valuable, but it wasn’t depressive to read about. It fit the mood of the rest of the book perfectly.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in getting into “weird” books, but isn’t sure where to start.
This book is delightful and strange, though it wasn’t strange in the way I was expecting. I was going into it expecting it to be a bit more surreal, like Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi. Don’t get me wrong, it still had surreal elements. I mean, “The Claw” is its own character, who is a set of bleached, over-hairsprayed bangs on the top of another character’s head. But it was less esoteric and more accessible, which I feel was to its benefit.
At the very beginning, there is a big cast list of all the characters in the field hockey team, which worried me that I was going to mix them up. I didn’t at all. Each character was so unique and had such lovable quirks that it was easy to tell them apart, even when they were talked about as a unit. I loved every single one of them, too. Don’t ask me which one was my favorite, because I wouldn’t be able to tell you.
Another thing I loved about this book was the representation that was given. It was appropriate to the 80s time period, informative, and fun all at once. The homophobia and racism was taken seriously and was valuable, but it wasn’t depressive to read about. It fit the mood of the rest of the book perfectly.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in getting into “weird” books, but isn’t sure where to start.