Unborn: Three Short Stories by Rose ChristoMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
In this follow up shorts to Unborn we get to revisit these wonderful characters. Although I felt that there were no secondary characters in Unborn, it was great to see through their point of view.
In Unseen, Tim's life is colored in shades of gray. Completely color blind, there's nothing that brightens his world, until Ram. In my head as I read his and Ram's developing relationship and his growing friendships with the rest of the group, his voice and personality where precise and to the point. Much like a soldier, he sounded disciplined and self contained. It was beautiful to see his stoicism and rough edges softened by Ram. Ram is just a great kid-always the optimist or the pacifist in the group-for me his kindness felt warm. He is generous and bright and in perfect symmetry with Tim; I like how they fit together. Once again, the beauty of each of their cultures-whether it was the food, the traditions, their religions, etc. was an added enjoyment in this story.
Unsaid: Daniel has carried an undeserved pain for several years. His zealot and cowardly father and the rest of his family blame him for his mother's death at his premature birth and then dishonoring it by being gay. He suffers panic attacks and writes letters to his dead mother to alleviate the guilt. The bright spots in his life are Sahara and Kerry; but even then he feels insecure when Kerry closes up about intimacy and his scars, and a gnawing fear that Sahara might actually hate him and is only living with him because of Kerry's presence. Then he gets a call from his sister that his father's health is failing and Daniel has to decide whether to go see him and finally try to come to terms with his family. After so many years he comes face to face with his father who finally reveals the events that happened prior to his mother's death. The harsh truth stuns him, makes him question the choices he has made because of it, but also makes him open his eyes and realize where his real family lies. This story is beautiful, the depth of Daniel's love for Kerry just makes me teary eyed and the three of them just make me feel protective. It hurt so much when his father revealed his involvement in his mother's death. That the cowardly and supposedly religious beast could actually do that to his own child is just so beyond heartless I can't even find the words to describe how much I hated this character in that moment.
Unsung: Mackenzie is an opera singer, due to two subsequent tragic events in their lives her mother decides to leave their hometown to move to San Cuomo where her mother's sister lives. Along with coping with the loss of her father in the Sept. 11 tragedy, she has to deal with filling her sister Karen's shoes. She is a mezzo soprano and she is happy with it, but her mother starts driving and pushing for her to widen her range and become a soprano. Finding a friend in Walter and Sahara-a girl who plays soccer at her school eases some of the pain. After a year of not seeing her sister Karen, Mackenzie visits her at the hospital and realizes to what extent her mother has broken her sister and will break her if her mother's teaching lessons continue. Her feelings for Sahara give her the courage to finally speak up.
If you've read Unborn, you know it's not a 'pretty' story. It's painful and heartbreaking, but it's also uplifting and hopeful and so many other things-but that's life isn't it? Life is hard and brutal and filled with moments that tear you apart, but it's also bright and warm that it fills your heart to overflowing. These trio of stories are a little more brighter but there where moments where I really wanted to cry and others where I just got so mad I wanted to reach in and throttle a character or two. A great addition to the series.
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