30 Books in 30 Days, Vol. 4
Book 10/30
The ending killed my buzz a little on this one, which up until then had been extremely interesting with arresting imagery (not something I normally care about!) and an extremely unique look at modern religion, from the perspective a queer, chain-smoking, tattooed Catholic nun who was a former punk rocker until traumatic events pushed her to seek solace—as her mother did before her—in a sisterhood of fellow nuns. Plus, there is a mystery here, but honestly, it was the least interesting part of the book for me.
Also, when I say the ending killed my buzz, it’s not that I didn’t like what happened, but that it felt rushed. I wanted them to have spent more time leading up to it emotionally for our main character, Sister Holiday (her pre-nun name was Holiday Walsh), and then coming down from the fallout. A lot of things were left on the table as well, though some of that could be mitigated by the sequel. I think it’s a fair complaint to have, though, in that this book should be able to mostly stand on its own, and several of the things not fully resolved should have been. Especially since it’s my understanding that the next book has quite a time jump.
As a lapsed Catholic, I found Sister Holiday’s spirituality very wholesome. She seeks solace and wisdom, wants to help others, and it’s important to her that she live in a progressive convent (though one of the sisters hates her and uses her queerness against her). There was so much lovely prose about her thinking about god and her place in the world. On like page three she compares praying to a witch’s spell, and I was in.
Will definitely continue this series!