Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson

PRISONER OF NEW HALF-WAY TREE It's Carnival time and the Caribbean-colonized planet of Toussaint is celebrating with music, dance, and pageantry. Masked "Midnight Robbers" waylay revelers with brandished weapons and spellbinding words. But to young Tan-Tan, the Robber Queen is simply a favorite costume to wear at the festival--until her power-corrupted father commits an unforgivable crime. Suddenly, both father and daughter are thrust into the brutal world of New Half-Way Tree. Here monstrous creatures from folklore are real, and the humans are violent outcasts in the wilds. Here Tan-Tan must reach into the heart of myth--and become the Robber Queen herself. For only the Robber Queen's legendary powers can save her life . . . and set her free.

There are some fascinating ideas in this book, and it's commendable for Hopkinson to take on some serious ideas that aren't often looked at through these lenses in fiction, but I had to push myself to finish the book–it's good, but it's a tough read from an emotional point of view, and I need writing that engages me more when there are so many damaging things happening to the characters. I suspect I'll read this book again some day and enjoy it more, but right now it felt like more work than I wanted it to be.

Let me start with this was one of my most anticipated books of the year. In fact, anything by Hopkinson is on that list now after I listened to Falling in Love with Hominids earlier this year - I absolutely fell in love with that short story collection and I want to consume everything Hopkinson's mind created and will create. So this book, wow. It's a sci-fi, fantasy tale that follows a young girl as she grows up. It is not a teen/YA book and it is not a comfort read. It is brutal and truly horrendous things happen, but it is also magical and heartwarming and beautiful. If you like magical creatures and mixed genres, don't mind reading about some tragedy, and just want to pick up an excellent audiobook, I highly recommend this one. Last I'll say I think not only is Hopkinson underrated, but also under-read. the Midnight Robber only has 3,000 rating and Hopkinson's most read book (the award winning The Brown Girl and the Ring) just over 5,000. For someone who has been publishing for over two decades and won multiple awards, that seems way too low. Not sure which Hopkinson I'll pick up next, but this one is a 5 outta 5 stars from me.