What is your opinion?
A Sparrow Falls
"It is a professional authority of a writer knows every word and sentence and has studied the authors which makes it daunting descriptive and well versed in the actions of her characters. The descriptions are the actors and the girl in the story although interesting is of some less importance then what is going inside her head. What is her head like it is crammed full of stuff. Poverty is made much of and the colonialism is there. But why go back to a place which you left behind is not answered. We do not know what has changed her she is still at school. So here is hoping for the next chapter when all this can be cleared up?"
A Sparrow Falls
"A beautifully written drama that follows a brilliant young woman through her journey of self-discovery. I struggled with the first chapter but after that, the story picks up without rushing. It’s a lovely recollection of the protagonist’s past, and the youthful energy in which most of the story is narrated is enchanting. It reminds me of Isabel Allende’s early novels, as it is whimsical in its simplicity. The description of Sumi’s everyday life and her excitement for her promising future is a pleasure to read. For the most part, the narrative shows a great balance between dialogue, inner monologues, settings, and actions. The story turns darker once jealousy begins to show on her neighbors, and the lightheartedness gives way to concern, and ultimately, dread. I enjoyed how easy it was to get lost in the pages, being transported to the other side of the world and to a different time. The talent of the author to jump from one POV to the other is clear when you have characters from different ages, ethnicities, social status, and education, and you can clearly tell who’s talking. However, the ending feels rushed, and after what Sumi went through, I would have loved her triumphant return to be more detailed. There were things left unsaid, and the absence of many characters was regrettable. This story is one of the best I’ve read on Inkitt, and I recommend it to anyone who would like to travel far without moving from their seats. Note: This is a judge's review written in accordance with the Roadmap Awards writing competition, round three."
A Sparrow falls
"A Sparrow Falls is a unique, compelling story driven by a postcolonial subject matter. It reminds me in many ways of novels like Andrea Levy's "Small Island" or Arundhati Roy's "The God of Small Things". The author shows an incredible talent for language and word choice that transforms the text into a vivid picture with authentic characters. Starting with the protagonist Sumi, who returns to her home village as an adult woman, we experience her teenage years in retrospect. The author's writing style is very poetic, and the text is bathed in subtlety, yet a sense of unease builds with each progressing chapter. It is a kind of foreboding that a great disaster is about to happen, and ultimately the reason for Sumi's confused feelings when she returns to her home village. In addition to the postcolonial theme, the coming-of-age aspect is also very prominent. We meet a girl experiencing the emotional rollercoaster of falling in love, the many confusions of growing up, and all the hardships of life many young women and girls have to withstand. There is one thing I would like to emphasise: Hempra has incorporated a great literary symbol - the rough sea and the ever-raging wind; an image that underlines the girl's emotional state but also the approaching threat. Absolutely fantastic! A lot has been done right in this story, and I was amazed at how the author navigates the reader through the narration. However, the text needs polishing, especially in terms of paragraph structure, dialogue and general punctuation. I discovered several repeated words, as well as missing articles, pronouns and verbs. However, all these aspects can be easily fixed with thorough editing. I would also have paid a little more attention to the ending, giving the frame story a bit more substance. Otherwise, I guarantee a fantastic book with incredible storytelling - a rough diamond among Inkitt stories, so to speak. Once the author has revised the text, I am more than happy to give this story five stars."
So smart I don't get it??
"Typo in the book title not a good sign; no author name on the cover looks unprofessional; conversely the words found within proved the author to be a very talented writer. Chapter One, anyway; the blurb which one reads at first was (in my opinion) very over-written, even to the point of rambling. Did not establish what the main character wanted nor what was keeping her from getting it. The first page, however, was beautifully written. Very engaging and with lovely descriptions. This would be a feature throughout the piece, at least the first third - lovely descriptions. Little to no dialogue, little to no character interaction in the first few chapters, little to no stakes or conflict or plot movement...just paragraph upon paragraph of lovely description. I felt like I had lived in the village my whole life - but unfortunately felt almost completely disconnected from the main character. When Chapter One introduced very little I was hoping Two or Three or Four would...but though characters came in, they seemed incidental to the overall continued description. I have literally never seen a book with less dialogue; felt like the first chapters averaged maybe a dozen lines per chapter. Dialogue is, of course, one of the easiest ways to establish character and develop plot and the author left this tool sitting in the corner. By Chapter Six the plot was thickening and the story beginning - but that's about five-and-a-half chapters too late in my opinion. By the end of the first third there were indeed glimmers of high stakes, of conflict, but such was far too late to draw me into the rest of the story. But make no mistake; this writer is talented. Though very unbalanced there were nonetheless shades of genius in the story overall"
