Soul Kiss

Rating:
Summary: quite a good first effort
Review: "Soul Kiss" is quite a good book. The good thing about it is that the author (Shay Youngblood) is talented, this is her first novel & she's done a good job. It's a "coming of age" story of a young girl who is deserted by her drug-addicted mother, & who tries to make sense of life & to deal with her pain. The story is well told & there are some very touching scenes...The only thing I didn't like was that the book was kind of short, meaning that the characters I think were not that well developed, & the story itself left some loose ends. Shay Youngblood seems to be a creative & inspired writer, so I look forward to reading her next books in order to see whether she's developed her writing style.

Rating:
Summary: bold
Review: Damn! This book deserves a bestselling status. It was hauntingly nostalgic,erotic and sad, but funny at the same time. My mother left me in the hands of strangers too, but my life story is not as entertaining as the narrator's. I would cringe at the mere thought of seducing my father or worst, posing nude for him. Sometimes I was moved to tears as I read the narrator's painful quest for love and the feel of belonging. I was not surprised at her fettish for self gratification considering the fact that she was a lonely,healthy teenager. Neither was I phased by her desire for same sex relationships. I think she should've acted upon her sexual attraction to women. Forget about childhood games. I was looking forward to a deeper, more mature relationship between the narrator and one of the objects of her attraction. Nevertheless, I admire Youngblood's subtle, erotic approach. I can't get over the fact that it was a tease, but hey, it makes us think and undoubtedly seduces the imagination---especially with a little poetic flavor.

Rating:
Summary: Memorable coming-of-age story, but incomplete
Review: I would actually give this book somewhere between three stars and four stars.

Poetry is an amazing thing, and my favorite place to find poetry is locked in with prose. This book consists of almost nothing but prose/poetry, and I think that is a good thing. The words are captivating. At the same time, I thought that some of the "poetry" did not have enough meaning, and in some places it made me think that the author had tried to hard, unecessarily, to make poetry instead of telling the story. Overall, I wanted more. Despite all the difficult events that Mariah, the protagonist, suffered through, I finished the book understanding only that Mariah had had a hard life, and still not knowing Mariah very much at all. The metaphors and the colorful images painted by the poetic lines were often interesting, but sometimes hard to accept coming from someone of Mariah's age without any childlike ways, habits, or vulnerabilities to temper them.

Rating:
Summary: beautiful!!!!!!!
Review: Its not very often that a book leaves me emotionally wrung out. This one did. It was beautiful and poetic, heart wrenching, erotic, familiar, and uplifting.
It's the story of a little girl who is abandoned by her mother, the only family she has ever known. Although her aunts love and raise her, the separation from her mother completely strips the poor child of any sense of security and creates a hole in her that she thinks will never be filled. Eventually she reconnects with her father, a Mexican painter in Los Angeles. The reunion isn't everything she thought it would be. The mother's abandoning has bonded them in a way that has the potential to be very dangerous. There was actually a scene between the Miriah and her father that was so powerful, I was afraid to turn the page. Ultimately, Miriah realizes that her family will forever be fractured no matter what she does or where she lives, and that it really doesn't matter because she isn't the little girl waiting for her mother to return.
Youngblood is commonly praised for her poetic style, but is grossly overlooked for her timing. When the book opens, Miriah is just a young girl and Youngblood guides you effortlessly through her adulthood, without being too lengthy or losing the reader. In fact, she leaves you wanting more.
This is one of my favorite books. 2 of my Top 5

Rating:
Summary: Mouth-watering
Review: Soul Kiss is by far one of the best first novels I have ever read. Read is a gross understatement. I devoured this book in two days. I could have completed it in one, but as with any luscious meal, it required savoring. It was as anticipated, as delicious, and as satisfying as Thanksgiving dinner. This story flows as elongated poetry. Brilliant and beautiful, Shay Youngblood's writing style stirred my emotions and awakened every sense.

Kudos to Shay Youngblood.


Rating:
Summary: A Delicous Book!
Review: The language of this novel is so beautiful that I found myself rereading sentence after sentnce to savor the words. I finished this book in two days not because I read it quickly but because I could not put it down. Youngblood's words are the kind you should enjoy slowly and read some outloud to feel them on your tongue.There are parts of this story that are disturbing. Mariah gets raped as a young teenager--devasting--but written in a way that does not sensationalize it or provide fodder for perverts. The sexual attraction between Mariah and her father disturbs but rings true and is thankfully not acted upon.The part of this book that i related to most is a story most lesbian and bisexual women will find very familiar. It describes the pain felt by adolescent Mariah as she loses the love of her "girly girl" friend to heterosexual puberty. I think we have all been there.Unlike other reviewers i don't think that this book contains any sexually explicit scenes. I don't think that the plot is unfocused or the story depressing. This is one of the best books i have ever read--and i have read a lot of books. It is as near perfect as humanly possible. It has a spiritual beauty to it that will resonate in your soul long after reading it. It does indeed kiss your soul.

Rating:
Summary: It's So Dreamy
Review: This book is Excellent. It is an easy read, but I guarantee you will enjoy. It is good to the last line. I've read this book 3 times. And every time I read it, it feels like it is the first time. Mariah, which is her main character, holds your hand and emotionally takes you into her world. It is a world that is filled with pain, love, misunderstanding, and questions of one's sexuality closure to open wounds. Shay Youngblood did an excellent job.

Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: This book was enthralling the story line keeps you wanting more.An excellent change of pace from the normal relationship books. Well done Mr Youngblood

Rating:
Summary: One of the life-changing books that I've read
Review: This book was truly incredible and has left quite an impression on me. I can't express the types of emotion that this book made me feel, from joy to sadness and frustration.

Rating:
Summary: Smile & Frown
Review: This writer is definitely a poet. The way she writes and the Spanish review was what I enjoyed most about the book. I like the way she ties simple words together and makes them music--reminds me of my favorite poet Langston Hughes. I love reading stories about little girls growing up to become women. There were a few parts of the book that disturbed me (ESPECIALLY TEXAS and the paintings in California) but it was extremely realistic and the dialogue was on point. I like the fact that it didn't go for the fairy tale ending, it went for the Real World ending.