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A review by ninegladiolus
Rosewater by Liv Little
emotional
reflective
fast-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
4.0
Rosewater by Liv Little is an engaging queer coming-of-age debut that glued me to its pages and kept me invested from beginning to end. Rosewater offers a complexity I found fascinating: complex characters and their flawed if believable decisions, engagement with very real issues of social justice, and an ode to poetry and community.
Elsie, a Black lesbian poet struggling to get back on her feet after a devastating eviction, ends up crashing with her longtime best friend Juliet. The two have a long and complicated history since Juliet previously confessed her romantic feelings towards Elsie and was rejected. Despite this, Juliet is there for Elsie to lean on as she undergoes setback after setback—some of which Elsie does herself as a form of self-sabotage. As Elsie finally gets some breathing room and starts to re-imagine the shape of her life, she also begins to re-imagine the nature of her relationship with Juliet.
I love stories with complex, messy queer characters, and Elsie and her social circle certainly fit the bill. Her struggles feel realistic, and the emotional narrative as she both struggles to find her footing and reconnects with her poetic art are compelling. The poetry spread throughout this novel was easily one of my favourite parts, as it was gorgeous and heartfelt and cut to the emotional quick. This novel blends both coming-of-age and romance elements and the transition between the two was mostly smooth.
The dramatic parts of this novel were sometimes over the top with how quickly events exploded and were subsequently resolved. This contributed to a noticeable inconsistency in pacing. Miscommunication also featured predominantly as a plot device which is never my favourite.
Still, the emotional journey Rosewater takes the reader on is to be commended; it gives us characters you want to root for and a gorgeous tapestry of intergenerational lesbian identity, cultural history, found family, and community. Rosewater was a strong debut and I will be looking forward to Liv Little’s future work. For those looking for a compelling queer literary fiction novel, Rosewater is certainly worth picking up.
Thank you to Get Lifted Books and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.
Elsie, a Black lesbian poet struggling to get back on her feet after a devastating eviction, ends up crashing with her longtime best friend Juliet. The two have a long and complicated history since Juliet previously confessed her romantic feelings towards Elsie and was rejected. Despite this, Juliet is there for Elsie to lean on as she undergoes setback after setback—some of which Elsie does herself as a form of self-sabotage. As Elsie finally gets some breathing room and starts to re-imagine the shape of her life, she also begins to re-imagine the nature of her relationship with Juliet.
I love stories with complex, messy queer characters, and Elsie and her social circle certainly fit the bill. Her struggles feel realistic, and the emotional narrative as she both struggles to find her footing and reconnects with her poetic art are compelling. The poetry spread throughout this novel was easily one of my favourite parts, as it was gorgeous and heartfelt and cut to the emotional quick. This novel blends both coming-of-age and romance elements and the transition between the two was mostly smooth.
The dramatic parts of this novel were sometimes over the top with how quickly events exploded and were subsequently resolved. This contributed to a noticeable inconsistency in pacing. Miscommunication also featured predominantly as a plot device which is never my favourite.
Still, the emotional journey Rosewater takes the reader on is to be commended; it gives us characters you want to root for and a gorgeous tapestry of intergenerational lesbian identity, cultural history, found family, and community. Rosewater was a strong debut and I will be looking forward to Liv Little’s future work. For those looking for a compelling queer literary fiction novel, Rosewater is certainly worth picking up.
Thank you to Get Lifted Books and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.