The Second Mango

I wanted to read something cute and fluffy and basically undemanding and just randomly picked this book. (Mostly because I've been interested in it since I read Knit One, Girl Two by Glassman.) And, you know, it was pretty much exactly what I wanted to read. Shulamit is likable to me, but she reads a little young (something that was actually acknowledged in the book) and Rivka is delightful. However, I think my favorite thing was that Shula and Riv were FRIENDS without any love or lust getting in the way. In fact, they each have a bit of a romance subplot. The adventure/quest thing-y was fun though it was a little more topical than I would have liked. But it was fun.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I hoped to. It's not at all a bad book; in fact, it's clearly a labor of love. But it didn't really charm me.

The story is really about Shulamit and Rivka's friendship, yet somehow, I didn't get caught up in it. They both worked through their issues and everything, and saved the day. But they accomplished a lot of important things without each other's help. Maybe that's not it exactly, but for whatever reason, I didn't feel their bond the way I have in other novels that focused on friendship.

It's a quirky book overall, with a fairy-tale plotline and a lot of elements of YA fantasy, yet some of the characters' problems and thoughts felt very modern, occasionally in a jarring way. There were a few genuinely funny moments, though.

My real issue with this book: I thought I was going to be reading Shulamit's story - and I did like her very much - but her romance was significantly less epic than Rivka's. Also, I don't really know what the resolution of Shulamit's romance will be, whereas Rivka's was very much tied up neatly with a bow. I'm sure Shulamit's story continues in the rest of the series, but I'm on the fence about reading more.