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A review by chaptersofmads
The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko
4.5
Jordan Ifueko, we do not deserve you.
This book was so good, holy crap. If I had ever had any doubt in Jordan Ifueko's stellar ability to craft a story (which I didn't) this book immediately quelled it. Everything she writes is nothing less than a masterpiece. No matter whether the focus is on worker's rights or a cute little gecko animal sidekick, you're about to read something incredible.
I loved everything about this book. I adored Sade and getting to follow her was an absolute delight. She's put through so many absolutely atrocious things, but the story never feels... overtly grim. That isn't to say the atrocities are just ignored, because much of this book focuses on the structural issues in a society that relies on people it can't even treat as people.
Running alongside that, there's also an underlying message that Sade's life is her own, no matter what other people attempt to place on her, that gives the story a strength. Her struggles with being small and then the ultimate realization that 'ants vs giants' still plays into a system she doesn't wish to uphold was handled so well.
Also, this is a highly personal compliment, but as someone that's been deconstructing from my religion for years, Jordan Ifueko's personal stories have been incredibly helpful in making me feel less alone. And because of that, there were quite a few lines in this book that I tied with deconstruction (even if that wasn't the original intention) and they meant the world to me.
(Especially a particular paragraph in one of the last chapters.)
That's not even starting on the love interest (whom I adore) or the animal sidekick or the disability rep or the side characters I loved or the food descriptions or the magic system or even just my own excitement to be back in this universe. Getting any mention of characters from the Raybearer duology felt like a little treat and I loved how they were handled.
If it wasn't clear, I loved this book. It's so cozy (not in the genre sense, but in the feeling of a warm fireplace and nostalgia) and magical, while also being both harrowing and incredibly empowering.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book along with anything else Jordan Ifueko has written/shall write from now unto the end of time.
This book was so good, holy crap. If I had ever had any doubt in Jordan Ifueko's stellar ability to craft a story (which I didn't) this book immediately quelled it. Everything she writes is nothing less than a masterpiece. No matter whether the focus is on worker's rights or a cute little gecko animal sidekick, you're about to read something incredible.
I loved everything about this book. I adored Sade and getting to follow her was an absolute delight. She's put through so many absolutely atrocious things, but the story never feels... overtly grim. That isn't to say the atrocities are just ignored, because much of this book focuses on the structural issues in a society that relies on people it can't even treat as people.
Running alongside that, there's also an underlying message that Sade's life is her own, no matter what other people attempt to place on her, that gives the story a strength. Her struggles with being small and then the ultimate realization that 'ants vs giants' still plays into a system she doesn't wish to uphold was handled so well.
Also, this is a highly personal compliment, but as someone that's been deconstructing from my religion for years, Jordan Ifueko's personal stories have been incredibly helpful in making me feel less alone. And because of that, there were quite a few lines in this book that I tied with deconstruction (even if that wasn't the original intention) and they meant the world to me.
(Especially a particular paragraph in one of the last chapters.)
That's not even starting on the love interest (whom I adore) or the animal sidekick or the disability rep or the side characters I loved or the food descriptions or the magic system or even just my own excitement to be back in this universe. Getting any mention of characters from the Raybearer duology felt like a little treat and I loved how they were handled.
If it wasn't clear, I loved this book. It's so cozy (not in the genre sense, but in the feeling of a warm fireplace and nostalgia) and magical, while also being both harrowing and incredibly empowering.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book along with anything else Jordan Ifueko has written/shall write from now unto the end of time.