Review: The Girl in the Road by Monica Byrne

Publish Date: May 20, 2014
Publisher: Crown

Synopsis: Meena, a young woman living in a futuristic Mumbai, wakes up with five snake bites on her chest. She doesn't know how or why, but she must flee India and return to Ethiopia, the place of her birth. Having long heard about The Trail -- an energy-harvesting bridge that spans the Arabian Sea -- she embarks on foot on this forbidden bridge, with its own subculture and rules. What awaits her in Ethiopia is unclear; she's hoping the journey will illuminate it for her.

Mariama, a girl from a different time, is on a quest of her own. After witnessing her mother's rape, she joins up with a caravan of strangers heading across Saharan Africa. She meets Yemaya, a beautiful and enigmatic woman who becomes her protector and confidante. Yemaya tells Mariama of Ethiopia, where revolution is brewing and life will be better. Mariama hopes against hope that it offers much more than Yemaya ever promised.

As one heads east and the other west, Meena and Mariama's fates will entwine in ways that are profoundly moving and shocking to the core. Vividly imagined and artfully told, written with stunning clarity and deep emotion, The Girl in the Road is a true tour de force. (from goodreads.com)

Review: When I was choosing my next book, I pulled this up on Goodreads and saw a 3.75 average rating and so many people raving in their 5-star reviews. I thought to myself, well this must be a good book! It finally came in the mail and I dove right in. I wanted to love it, I really did. But, alas, I did not. I closed this book feeling unsatisfied and confused.

This book follows Mariama and Meena, two different girls living in two different time periods that share a common goal of getting to Ethiopia. Meena takes The Trail, a dangerous path of metal conductors strung across the ocean. Mariama takes a more logical approach, stowing away in a caravan, hiding between oil drums. And that is about the extent of my ability to tell you the plot of this book. I was having a hard time keeping characters straight, the names were very exotic and I couldn't remember who was who most of the time. They were not likable characters for me, I made no connection with them and couldn't engage in their struggles/journeys. 

The plot in the middle of the book was good, I will admit that much. Throughout this portion of the story, I really did want to see what happened next. The adventure/plot line was building for both characters and you really just want to know what the outcome of their stories are. However, it lost me again, the characters got dull again, and I just wanted to get to the end of the story for the sake of finishing it.

I'm disappointed. The plot of this book had real promise. Some of you out there may still love it, but for me this book fell quite flat. 

Recommended For: Dystopian fans. I know I rated this book low but other people raved about it.

*I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.