Kindle Book: The Vine Basket

The Vine Basket

by Josanne La Valley

Length: 256 pages

Format: Kindle Book

Price: $1.99!

Author Website: http://www.josannelavalley.com/

Basic Premise: In her oppressed Uyghur village, 14-year-old Mehrigul struggles to be the family's breadwinner after her brother desserts them, her mother falls into a deep depression, and her father takes to drinking and gambling what little money they have.  When an ordinary basket fetches an outrageous price at market from an American woman, Mehrigul wonders if it might be her key to an education, and a different life.

My Take:  5 out of 10 (scale here)

I REALLY REALLY wanted to like this book.  I love reading books about other cultures - particularly those with which I have some experience - so when I heard about this book at my YAL conference, I instantly wanted to read it.  And when I saw it was only $1.99 on Amazon, I got even more excited.  But I was disappointed.  Though artistically and beautifully written, I found this book rather boring.  I wanted more back story - Why exactly had her brother left? Why was her father so hard to the world? Why did her mother refuse to contribute to the running of the household?  I loved the main character and her fierce commitment to keeping her family going at whatever cost to herself, but I wished for more character development, more movement in the plot, and a rounder, more thorough telling of the story.  I did like the map and the information at the back of the book about the Uyghur people and how the Han Chinese were taking away rights because the region was rich in natural resources.  Having traveled to China, and having friends who are living and working in the neighboring regions, I appreciated this bit of history.

I would give this author another try, but this certainly won't be a reread.