Book Review: Kindred by Tammar Stein
Kindred by Tammar Stein. © 2011 Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers (Random House). ISBN 9780375858710. Hardcover. Young Adult/Urban Fantasy. 272 pages. Source: ARC furnished by Book It Forward ARC Tours
Kindred releases in February 8, 2011
Synopsis: Miriam is an unassuming college freshman stuck on campus after her plans for spring break fall through. She’s not a religious girl—when pressed, she admits reluctantly to believing in a higher power. Truth be told, she’s about as comfortable speaking about her faith as she is about her love life—which is to say, not at all. And then the archangel Raphael pays Miriam a visit, and she finds herself on a desperate mission to save two of her contemporaries. To top it all off, her twin brother, Mo, has also had a visitation, but from the opposite end of the good-evil spectrum, which leaves Miriam to wonder—has she been blessed and her brother cursed or vice versa? And what is the real purpose behind her mission?
Review: Like the synopsis above reads, Miriam is a college freshman left behind during spring break. While in her room one night, studying, Miriam comes in contact with a light so bright and powerful that is makes her physically ill. This light tells her, in ancient Hebrew no less, that it is her task to save Tabitha. Problem is, she has no clue who Tabitha is. After finding this mystery girl and taking on the task (and failing in her own eyes), Miriam is left tortured. She is losing weight and becoming ill and let‘s face it, after you’ve been visited by an archangel and given a mission from God … college is kind of trivial.
After a visit from her twin brother, Mo, and his stark revelation that he is been recruited by the devil himself, Miriam decides to drop out of school in order to come to terms with everything. She scores a journalist job in the small Civil War town of Hamilton, Tennessee and things only get worse from there: another task is set upon her, she struggles with her faith and her health grows poorer by the day.
Kindred really drew me in and I quickly read my way through it, which is shocking since it is a bit on the theological side of things and religious fiction is not my favorite thing. As Kindred is written from Miriam’s point of view, we spend a great deal of time in her head so we witness all her grapples, thoughts and doubts regarding what she is doing, her concerns about Mo and her (re-)developing faith. Her divorced parents help her out a bit here (her father is a Rabbi and her mother an ex-nun, and both are professors theology) as well as Emmett, a newfound friend.
As most of you know, I really have a thing for angels and demons (the more the merrier, I always say) but it was actually refreshing to read a book that dealt with those beings but didn’t put them at the forefront (can’t believe I just said that lol). Sure, this book is considered paranormal but really it’s about a troubled girl struggling with God and a disease that debilitates her. I won’t say this was one everyone should rush out a read, because it does deal a good bit with religion and I think it will only appeal to certain people, but even I, a polytheist, rather enjoyed it so that’s got to say something.
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