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A review by readwithmesashamarie
The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson
5.0
Wow. I'm going to have to do a full review on this one. It was a 4, 4.5 for most of the story but overall, due to the effect this novel had on me, I can't give it anything below a 5.
You can see my full review here: http://akamissfiercereviews.tumblr.com/post/145187479065/the-summer-prince-review
***I won this book from IReadYA and Scholastic. However, all opinions are my own.***
Initial Thoughts:
I’ve honestly put off reading this book for years. I won it back in 2013, the same day I put my dog Lady to sleep. I guess I’ve had that negative association with this book (and the 6 others I won with it from IReadYA and Scholastic) ever since. I was also told by a friend and fellow reviewer, whose opinion I highly value, that this book was extremely underwhelming. Add all those factors together and I stayed far away from this, yet I was never able to convince myself to take it off my shelf. I was committed to at least trying it, and after the major reading spree I’ve been on this month, I decided why not close it out with something I was unsure about. Plus, with summer literally sweating down my back already, now seemed like the perfect time.
Spoilers!
I may have read the synopsis for this novel back in 2013, but going into this novel EXACTLY 3 YEARS LATER *I had that realization just this moment as I’m writing this post…I picked up this novel to read it exactly 3 years to the day after winning it and putting my dog to sleep…LIFE WHAT IS THIS BOOK MAGIC? WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME?* Where was I…? Oh, yes, I had no idea what this novel was about, and as I love to do, went in completely blind.
In my head, I call this book The Summer King, because that’s what Enki was. I feel so connected to this story, in so many ways, I’m actually having an extremely difficult time deciding where to start this review.
Art.
June, our main character, is an artist (the best artist in Palmares Tres). Everyone in this futuristic society has a talent for something: drawing, painting, dancing, singing, technology. What attracts June to Enki, aside from his raw beauty and charisma, is that he is like her. He will do literally anything for his art.
There was so much imagination and world building in this novel. The art that is described was so easy to imagine, so breathtaking and painstakingly beautiful. In this novel, art always had a purpose, it always had a deeper meaning, even when June was oblivious to that meaning herself. She’d create from her soul every time, without realizing what others might see when they looked at it. It was freeing, sad, and amazing to watch. We discovered who June really was, who she was becoming, and how she really felt through her art.
Death.
Everyone knows that the Summer King will die a year after he is crowned. Women rule in this society, which should have been great, since powerful women is kind of a must have for me in novels (more on this later). Their logic behind female power in society is that men caused the collapse of the world we, the readers, know today. The Aunties promise to never let that happen again, by allowing no man to have power, in any real sense of the word. For that reason, Enki must die, and he is fulling accepting of his fate. Enki embodies and embraces death, he greets it in every action every day, and he lives his life full of unrestrained purpose that is unparalleled by any other living person.
Enki is such a great reminder of how close we all are to death, and how that knowledge/acceptance/ignorance changes our actions. His character was so uninhibited, so calculative in his motives, so jarringly honest, it was truly haunting and beautiful to read.
In this futuristic society, medicine and technology have progressed so that people can live upwards of 200, in some extremely cases even 300, years old. When elders get to a certain age, they can choose to die (assisted suicide, if you will). June’s father chose this death, and she never forgave her mother for not doing more to stop him, or for attempting to move on with her own life by remarrying. Throughout the novel, as June’s relationship with Enki grows, so does her understanding of her mother’s actions (or lack thereof). She begins to dwell less in her past, and move her thoughts and focus outwardly. She becomes less concerned with her future, which she had a firm and unrelenting grip on through the majority of the novel, as she watches Enki’s inevitable death loom nearer with each passing day.
Politics.
For a novel about art and death, it dwelt heavily in the political sphere. Although powerful women (ESPEICALLY WOMEN OF COLOR…DID I MENTION THIS NOVEL IS SET IN FUTURISTIC BRAZIL?!) commonly elicit a HURRAH from any feminist in the room, this novel reminds us that feminism isn’t about women becoming more powerful or better than men. If you practice the true form and definition of feminism (noun: the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men) you support equality among the sexes. The Summer Prince shows women who are quickly on their way to becoming everything they fear most. It isn’t until the arrival of radical thinkers (Enki and June) in a tiny position of power, the power to spread their message and ideas to the masses, that any hope of balance is restored.
Generational Gaps: The old versus the new.
This novel shed a light on the age old debate about generation gaps. Everyone thinks that they know what is best. The older generation will insist that because they’ve lived longer they have more life experience, and therefore…you get the idea. The younger generation will argue that they have fresh eyes, open minds, and new technology that can make life safer/easier/better/insert-adjective-here. The Summer Prince shows us why we need both sides in order to form a well-rounded society, why a middle ground must be reached, and why we must be willing to listen and compromise with each other for the benefit of all.
LGBTQ+
This novel dealt with sexual partners, marital partners, any kind of partner really, in such an open way it was at first, rather shocking. To date, I’ve never read a novel that was so pro LGBTQ ideals, as if that has always been and always will be the norm. At first, they say that our Summer King sleeps with whomever he wants, with no one blinking an eye, because he’ll be dead in a year. Boys, girls, women, men 15 times his age, it doesn’t matter, they’re all fair game for the Summer King. When Enki falls in love with June’s best (male) friend Gil, and in many ways with her as well, it was more than hinting at bisexuality and the possibility of polyamorous relationships. I’m not able to do this description justice; labels simply did not exist, they didn’t matter. June’s mother married a woman after her father’s death, and there was no outrage that her mother was suddenly with someone of a different gender than her father. This novel’s take on sexuality and gender was so progressive it was less in-your-face, it simply existed.
Conclusion:
For a novel that is relatively short, there is so much to look at, soak in, and work through. I’ll definitely be thinking about this one for a long time, and rereading it to absorb anything I’m sure I may have missed. I can’t even say that I love this novel. It dealt with so many great issues that I honestly cannot wrap my mind around it. It’s a novel I want to think about for a really long time, but the more I think about it the more my head and my heart hurt. It was so passionate, so true, so raw, and so weird. It’s a novel I think I’ll forever be grateful for having read. I think everyone should give this a try, but I can see why this novel isn’t for everyone. I feel very lucky that it fit perfectly for me.
Rating: 5/5 Stars
You can see my full review here: http://akamissfiercereviews.tumblr.com/post/145187479065/the-summer-prince-review
***I won this book from IReadYA and Scholastic. However, all opinions are my own.***
Initial Thoughts:
I’ve honestly put off reading this book for years. I won it back in 2013, the same day I put my dog Lady to sleep. I guess I’ve had that negative association with this book (and the 6 others I won with it from IReadYA and Scholastic) ever since. I was also told by a friend and fellow reviewer, whose opinion I highly value, that this book was extremely underwhelming. Add all those factors together and I stayed far away from this, yet I was never able to convince myself to take it off my shelf. I was committed to at least trying it, and after the major reading spree I’ve been on this month, I decided why not close it out with something I was unsure about. Plus, with summer literally sweating down my back already, now seemed like the perfect time.
Spoilers!
I may have read the synopsis for this novel back in 2013, but going into this novel EXACTLY 3 YEARS LATER *I had that realization just this moment as I’m writing this post…I picked up this novel to read it exactly 3 years to the day after winning it and putting my dog to sleep…LIFE WHAT IS THIS BOOK MAGIC? WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME?* Where was I…? Oh, yes, I had no idea what this novel was about, and as I love to do, went in completely blind.
In my head, I call this book The Summer King, because that’s what Enki was. I feel so connected to this story, in so many ways, I’m actually having an extremely difficult time deciding where to start this review.
Art.
June, our main character, is an artist (the best artist in Palmares Tres). Everyone in this futuristic society has a talent for something: drawing, painting, dancing, singing, technology. What attracts June to Enki, aside from his raw beauty and charisma, is that he is like her. He will do literally anything for his art.
There was so much imagination and world building in this novel. The art that is described was so easy to imagine, so breathtaking and painstakingly beautiful. In this novel, art always had a purpose, it always had a deeper meaning, even when June was oblivious to that meaning herself. She’d create from her soul every time, without realizing what others might see when they looked at it. It was freeing, sad, and amazing to watch. We discovered who June really was, who she was becoming, and how she really felt through her art.
Death.
Everyone knows that the Summer King will die a year after he is crowned. Women rule in this society, which should have been great, since powerful women is kind of a must have for me in novels (more on this later). Their logic behind female power in society is that men caused the collapse of the world we, the readers, know today. The Aunties promise to never let that happen again, by allowing no man to have power, in any real sense of the word. For that reason, Enki must die, and he is fulling accepting of his fate. Enki embodies and embraces death, he greets it in every action every day, and he lives his life full of unrestrained purpose that is unparalleled by any other living person.
Enki is such a great reminder of how close we all are to death, and how that knowledge/acceptance/ignorance changes our actions. His character was so uninhibited, so calculative in his motives, so jarringly honest, it was truly haunting and beautiful to read.
In this futuristic society, medicine and technology have progressed so that people can live upwards of 200, in some extremely cases even 300, years old. When elders get to a certain age, they can choose to die (assisted suicide, if you will). June’s father chose this death, and she never forgave her mother for not doing more to stop him, or for attempting to move on with her own life by remarrying. Throughout the novel, as June’s relationship with Enki grows, so does her understanding of her mother’s actions (or lack thereof). She begins to dwell less in her past, and move her thoughts and focus outwardly. She becomes less concerned with her future, which she had a firm and unrelenting grip on through the majority of the novel, as she watches Enki’s inevitable death loom nearer with each passing day.
Politics.
For a novel about art and death, it dwelt heavily in the political sphere. Although powerful women (ESPEICALLY WOMEN OF COLOR…DID I MENTION THIS NOVEL IS SET IN FUTURISTIC BRAZIL?!) commonly elicit a HURRAH from any feminist in the room, this novel reminds us that feminism isn’t about women becoming more powerful or better than men. If you practice the true form and definition of feminism (noun: the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men) you support equality among the sexes. The Summer Prince shows women who are quickly on their way to becoming everything they fear most. It isn’t until the arrival of radical thinkers (Enki and June) in a tiny position of power, the power to spread their message and ideas to the masses, that any hope of balance is restored.
Generational Gaps: The old versus the new.
This novel shed a light on the age old debate about generation gaps. Everyone thinks that they know what is best. The older generation will insist that because they’ve lived longer they have more life experience, and therefore…you get the idea. The younger generation will argue that they have fresh eyes, open minds, and new technology that can make life safer/easier/better/insert-adjective-here. The Summer Prince shows us why we need both sides in order to form a well-rounded society, why a middle ground must be reached, and why we must be willing to listen and compromise with each other for the benefit of all.
LGBTQ+
This novel dealt with sexual partners, marital partners, any kind of partner really, in such an open way it was at first, rather shocking. To date, I’ve never read a novel that was so pro LGBTQ ideals, as if that has always been and always will be the norm. At first, they say that our Summer King sleeps with whomever he wants, with no one blinking an eye, because he’ll be dead in a year. Boys, girls, women, men 15 times his age, it doesn’t matter, they’re all fair game for the Summer King. When Enki falls in love with June’s best (male) friend Gil, and in many ways with her as well, it was more than hinting at bisexuality and the possibility of polyamorous relationships. I’m not able to do this description justice; labels simply did not exist, they didn’t matter. June’s mother married a woman after her father’s death, and there was no outrage that her mother was suddenly with someone of a different gender than her father. This novel’s take on sexuality and gender was so progressive it was less in-your-face, it simply existed.
Conclusion:
For a novel that is relatively short, there is so much to look at, soak in, and work through. I’ll definitely be thinking about this one for a long time, and rereading it to absorb anything I’m sure I may have missed. I can’t even say that I love this novel. It dealt with so many great issues that I honestly cannot wrap my mind around it. It’s a novel I want to think about for a really long time, but the more I think about it the more my head and my heart hurt. It was so passionate, so true, so raw, and so weird. It’s a novel I think I’ll forever be grateful for having read. I think everyone should give this a try, but I can see why this novel isn’t for everyone. I feel very lucky that it fit perfectly for me.
Rating: 5/5 Stars