Name: On the Wings of a Hummingbird
ISBN: 9781627203739

Susan Mills

On the Wings of a Hummingbird

I was struggling to connect to the characters and story throughout the whole book.

One reason for this is probably that Petra and I are from totally different cultural backgrounds so I’d love to see 

. If you know of any, please link me to those reviews! The author isn’t ownvoices as well but has been working as an immigration attorney so there’s that.

Anyway. I came into On the Wings of a Hummingbird expecting it to focus on Petra being in the US but we’re actually learning more about 

 than in the US. But even though there’s this focus, I don’t feel like I actually got to know Petra herself. I 

 emotions, most of her reactions left me confused and at times questioning the reason behind them. I don’t see different cultural upbringings as the main reason for it but the writing itself. I also couldn’t connect to her family and the motivations behind those actions. Especially her grandmother, who I wanted to shake and yell at so much.

Most times it felt… disconnected and somehow written as if English hasn’t been a first language? It’s difficult to describe but it felt a little bit like it has been written using the 

. And I say this as someone whose first language is German and who has been known to do that because language shapes our thinking.

There was also the issue of Spanish thrown in in a way people who are first learning a new language throw it in. It didn’t really flow for me. Also, a

 would have been helpful. And speaking of helpful, a glossary presenting the characters and some information about them would have been too.

That’s another reason why I couldn’t connect. So many characters I was struggling to put into their place, first in Guatemala and then in the US. Especially the latter didn’t feel three-dimensional, sometimes not even two-dimensional.

some small spoilers relating to the content warnings

 but I want to take about those anyway because they occupied my thoughts during reading and after finishing Susan Mills’ book. So if you want to skip those, I’ll leave you with this parting note:

 I’m wary of the forgiving everyone message that is so dominant in this story which is connected to the content warnings.

, as a minor no less, and how accepting Petra’s mother was about this, left me confused. Especially considering she was drugged so her former childhood best friend Emilio could kidnap her, where she was sexually assaulted. This time not by him, but he kept harassing her, threatening her, oh yeah and he killed her other best friend when they were really young during whose murder he possibly raped her.

How is it healthy to forgive that person just after a small sob story 

without him actually putting in the effort

Weirdly enough, Emilio was the only character I was interested in. Maybe I would have seen his efforts if the book would have been about him. Side note, he always reminded me of another character named Emilio who is a drug dealer, murderer, and so much more. I don’t wanna recommend that book series because its author turned out to be a manipulative asshole.

Anyway. At least the forgiveness part in terms of Petra’s mother made sense. Simply as an action, here, again, I’m missing the reasoning, the working on it, behind the act.

I was struggling to connect to the characters and story throughout the whole book.

One reason for this is probably that Petra and I are from totally different cultural backgrounds so I’d love to see reviews done by ownvoices bloggers. If you know of any, please link me to those reviews! The author isn’t ownvoices as well but has been working as an immigration attorney so there’s that.

Anyway. I came into On the Wings of a Hummingbird expecting it to focus on Petra being in the US but we’re actually learning more about her life in Guatemala than in the US. But even though there’s this focus, I don’t feel like I actually got to know Petra herself. I don’t understand her emotions, most of her reactions left me confused and at times questioning the reason behind them. I don’t see different cultural upbringings as the main reason for it but the writing itself. I also couldn’t connect to her family and the motivations behind those actions. Especially her grandmother, who I wanted to shake and yell at so much.

Most times it felt… disconnected and somehow written as if English hasn’t been a first language? It’s difficult to describe but it felt a little bit like it has been written using the way of speaking a different language. And I say this as someone whose first language is German and who has been known to do that because language shapes our thinking.

There was also the issue of Spanish thrown in in a way people who are first learning a new language throw it in. It didn’t really flow for me. Also, a language glossary would have been helpful. And speaking of helpful, a glossary presenting the characters and some information about them would have been too.

That’s another reason why I couldn’t connect. So many characters I was struggling to put into their place, first in Guatemala and then in the US. Especially the latter didn’t feel three-dimensional, sometimes not even two-dimensional.

After this paragraph, there are some small spoilers relating to the content warnings but I want to take about those anyway because they occupied my thoughts during reading and after finishing Susan Mills’ book. So if you want to skip those, I’ll leave you with this parting note: I’m wary of the forgiving everyone message that is so dominant in this story which is connected to the content warnings.

The casual way of using drugs, as a minor no less, and how accepting Petra’s mother was about this, left me confused. Especially considering she was drugged so her former childhood best friend Emilio could kidnap her, where she was sexually assaulted. This time not by him, but he kept harassing her, threatening her, oh yeah and he killed her other best friend when they were really young during whose murder he possibly raped her.

How is it healthy to forgive that person just after a small sob story without him actually putting in the effort? But okay, maybe forgive him to try to heal that trauma of yourself. But letting him back into your life???

Weirdly enough, Emilio was the only character I was interested in. Maybe I would have seen his efforts if the book would have been about him. Side note, he always reminded me of another character named Emilio who is a drug dealer, murderer, and so much more. I don’t wanna recommend that book series because its author turned out to be a manipulative asshole.

Anyway. At least the forgiveness part in terms of Petra’s mother made sense. Simply as an action, here, again, I’m missing the reasoning, the working on it, behind the act.

On the Wings of a Hummingbird

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