Welcome to the Slipstream

by Natalka Burian

For fans of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak and Judy Gregerson’s Bad Girls Club , this is a deeply moving and exquisite novel about a girl traumatized by her mother’s serious mental illness, and the steps she takes to save her from destruction.

Bright lights, big trouble .

When Van arrives in Las Vegas at the upscale Silver Saddle casino with her mother—a brilliant businesswoman with fragile mental health—she learns that her mother assigned her a college student, Alex, to “babysit” her. Van is used to having to land on her feet—her mother and surrogate grandmother move from city to city all the time like corporate nomads, but she is not thrilled to have someone watching her now.

When Alex introduces Van, a talented musician, to an all-girl Sleater-Kinney-style band, she finally has a chance to let her guitar skills shine. But just as she’s about to play her first gig, her mother is lured to Arizona by a con man promising a “vision quest,” and Van must go on the road to find and save her mom from a self-help cult that could ultimately destroy her.

Genres: Young Adult, Mental Illness, Contemporary, Fiction, Realistic Fiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published June 6, 2017

About the author

Natalka Burian is the co-owner of two bars, Elsa and Ramona, as well as the co-founder of The Freya Project, a non-profit reading series that supports community-based activism and annually awards five unrestricted grants to further the work of women and non-binary writers.

She is the author of three novels and the cocktail cookbook, A Woman’s Drink. Natalka’s bars and books have been featured in The New Yorker, Elle, Vogue, the New York Times, and elsewhere. She grew up on a farm, but now lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters.

Reviews

[Dannii Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the evenings are growing increasingly darker and the mornings more unbearably chill, I am desperate for anything that allows me to hold on to the last vestiges of summer. And I have found it right here, in this book. Despite its sunshine setting, however, this book infringes onto darker themes and calamitous subject matters that make this simultaneously both a fun contemporary and a transgression into cimmerian fiction.

This is the story of Van. From the outside looking in, her life seems to be one of opulence and prestige. She travels the world and stays at the most exclusive resorts, as she jets with her architectural and business genius of a mother, Sofia. The truth, however, is that she is more her mother's carer than the other way around. Ida was once her babysitter and surrogate grandmother, but now she assists in running this chaotic family of two and attempts to keep Sofia's mental ill-health a secret from the illustrious clients she serves.

Van's dysfunctional family have made their current home in a glitzy casino, situated in the heart of Las Vegas. And amidst the clink of slot machines and the mania of the casino tables, Van finally feels she has found her fit. Local boy, Alex, introduces her to a band in need of a guitarist and possible new friends, for the first time. But with catastrophic timing, her mother decides now would be the perfect time to join a new-age cult and abandon Las Vegas, her family, and her client for a vision-quest with a con-man, across Arizona. And Van is left alone to lure her home.

This differs from many novels dealing with mental health, that I have read, as the insight comes from one close to the sufferer. This slightly removed perspective meant that the structure of decline could be accurately recorded and the authentic-feeling situations relayed honestly to the reader. The heavy emotion this subject imparted was dealt with in both the solemn manner that it required, but also with Van's own unique and quirky voice. The reader was spared no emotion, and this was heightened by the often sparse and lyrical penmanship, that allowed for feelings to replace an overabundance of information and drew the reader into the characters, whilst allowing them to remain at a distance to view their story.

For a relatively quick read, this is a book that packs a powerful punch and seemed to incorporate a perfect blend of many different genre facets. The atmosphere of light-heartedness, associated with much contemporary fiction, infused this novel and worked towards alleviating much of the darker emotions that were later created. Sofia's mental health added a measure of sorrow and seriousness. This gave the early fun plot-line a much-needed note of levity and worked to pique the reader's empathy and connection with the characters. The spirit of adventure was evoked by Van's solo mission to save her mother. Poignancy was delivered by the focus on the family dynamic. And all emotions were united by the ending. The truly unforgettable ending that made this a powerfully poignant insight into dealing with mental health, in the chaos of the modern world.

[Swankivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a weird book in all the right ways. You hear a lot about books that can really lift you out of your life and into someone else's, but what's especially noteworthy about this one is how you can catch so much context from so little information because of how excellently this author captures her character's full, lived experience. You can feel what it's like to be weary and resigned like Van, but also young and hopeful, teased with a possibility that could change her life. You understand her jealousy of her mother's abilities even when they result in situations she resents, and it doesn't seem contradictory that she desires some of what her mother has while acknowledging that her mother can't really even take care of herself alone. I relate to Van's discovery of her guitar ability while playing with others for the first time and feeling like she could really belong, really be part of something--it's very personal and poignant, and feels very true.

I love that Van is such a contradiction sometimes. Wanting love, but pushing people away. Wanting to be special but denying what IS special about her aloud (even when she internally knows that her specialness exists, even if she doesn't understand it). Feeling like some people around her are excited over an illusion, then understanding fully why someone would want to live that way and wishing she could. Even some of the little mental asides were just great--little things like Van giving a passing concern to her appearance in a situation when what she looked like should be the least of her worries, or how exactly moments of terror or love or sadness are experienced in her head. I also love how this book DOES NOT pull punches. No miracle solutions; no sappy happy endings; no obnoxious recitation of how everything we were presented with tied into the plot by the end. Some may feel unsatisfied by some lack of conclusiveness in certain bits, especially regarding a very strange experience Van had in the desert and her status with the boy who in a more typical book you'd label a "love interest." People are always on their way to somewhere, traveling somewhere in their relationships and interactions and passions even if they're not traveling physically, so I love how much the story flowed around possibility and closed so few doors.

It's hard to explain without giving a bunch of examples (which I won't do), but Natalka Burian has this really special way of using description. Usually with authors who describe things in unique ways, I feel like it's forced or it's being posed in front of me while I look at it, only to move onto the next plot point when it's done pointing the camera. I never feel like that with this author, and the descriptions are always just so unique. Whether it's a description of a sensation or an opinion or an environment or a sound, there's just a certain specialness to the phrases she chooses, and they're not so weird that you don't relate to them. You might go "wow, yeah, it IS like that" as you realize you know exactly what she means. And they're always placed just so; she doesn't spend much time decorating her prose, so it never feels tacky. It might be super ordinary, like a description of how it feels to wake up on a bus or how it feels to eat too many room service meals or how it feels to meet someone who likes to listen to cassette tapes in their car. It just brings you in with these things you've either felt or could imagine feeling.

I also appreciated that the cult portrayed in the book was not portrayed as dangerous just because they were sort of wacky hippies. They had dangerous practices and ill intentions toward interference from outsiders. If they want to be weird, to each their own, but you can't leave people in the desert without any survival skills after they've been fasting, and you can't heal real mental illnesses with chanting. Similarly, I loved that everyone in the group--and in a broader sense, everyone who came into Van's life--was a complex person to Van. They weren't just helping her or hurting her. They weren't just trustworthy or untrustworthy. Some people she tried to hide things from or felt like they were against her in the beginning became allies and supporters by the end, and the reverse also happened. But it was nuanced enough that you never felt like "character x was bad, but turned good." They were all, all along, complicated humans.

And I'll wrap this up by saying you could truly feel these long-standing, complex, sometimes desperate connections between the members of Van's little family. You could see it in how they knew each other's habits, guessed at what each other were feeling and wanting, had little annoyances with each other, on top of a current of very deep love. Van's panic over the well-being of her mother and Ida were so fully felt, and they fluctuated appropriately, and they allowed her to feel like a real person with a past connected to other real people with pasts. I can't tell you how much I appreciate feeling that these people are real enough that I have to wonder who in the non-fictional world they must be based on. It's amazing when writers get this right, and this author just nails it.

Also? I have been to both Las Vegas and Sedona. No lie is told about those places in this book. Just saying.

[Rosalyn Eves · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this, but Burian is such a great writer that I was drawn in immediately by Van's quirky family: her mother and her former nurse. Van's mother is brilliant a little unstable, invited to consult all over the world on businesses and dragging Van along with her. When they land a job in Las Vegas, Van isn't initially sure she'll like it, but she finds herself befriending a young college student, Alex, and through him, a small group of friends. Just as Van begins to hit her stride, her mother falls out of sync, and Van finds herself chasing her mother through the desert into Arizona to rescue her mom from the charismatic group that has claimed her. The story was unpredictable and fascinating--I loved how complex Van's relationship was with her mom. Prickly, loving, sometimes warm, sometimes unforgiving, very real. Van is a great character and her voice pulled me effortlessly through the story.

[K.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this arc for a fair an honest review, and it did not disappoint.

The author's language choices were stellar, so literal and blunt, but at the same time, figurative and artistic--such a visceral combination. I could relate so much to the MC's awkward weirdness, her bizarre-trippy experiences (I've had more than a few), her extreme fringe life, and fear of mental breaks. This book was amazing. I couldn't put it down.

All the stars for WELCOME TO THE SLIPSTREAM!

[Mary Ann Marlowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a crazy, amazing ride filled with a colorful cast of characters. The writing is as utterly gorgeous as the Arizona settling. At times this felt a lot like a YA Tom Robbins, at others, I was reminded of Rainbow Rowell. The pacing and arc are spot-on, and overall it's just an emotionally satisfying read. Highly recommend.

[Julie Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seventeen-year-old Van is newly arrived in Las Vegas. With her slightly-unhinged-yet-genius mother Sofia and her older companion Ida, Van settles into their new "home" in a casino, hoping to just keep her head down, play her guitar, take her private schooling, and catch her mother when she falls. It's inevitable, the falling: Sofia has incredible highs and deep lows, but Van and Ida know what to expect and have learned to ride the roller coaster. When Alex, an older boy sent as a guide, becomes her tentative friend and introduces her to a place where she can play music with others for the first time, Van is surprised to discover she has a capacity for musical virtuosity and maybe even connections with others. But when her mother falls in with a group of weirdos who think she's a prophet, Van is forced to make tough decisions about where her loyalty lies, who she can trust, and what will actually be helpful in bringing her mother back without completely sacrificing herself. And now she's doing it alone, because Ida can't help her like she always has before. Van must discover what power she really holds and whose support she can truly count on.

Natalka Burian is an author who can transport a reader with a talent I've rarely seen. It's not just that you fall into the character and feel their thoughts are familiar; it's that everything around the character feels so authentic, with observations that aren't cut from the back of a cereal box, using words you can almost guarantee no one has ever put in that order before. (Maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but when you read it, it feels like that.) Even the ordinary moments are like this--a description of the smell of a bus ("other people's food and portable bathroom chemicals"), exactly what litter is in the picture, the sound a heartbeat makes in the silence. It's immersive, and feels special. That's the only way I can convey what this author can do.

I very much appreciate that Van, as a character, has a ton of conflicting thoughts, some of which she feels guilty about. The author is not afraid to make her character a person who is not perfect, and it's not just in a "she's weird and kind of fails at social relationships" external way (though that's there too). She thinks the things most of us who have difficult interactions with others have thought. Knowing someone is mentally ill and still hating that they've put you in a terrible situation, for instance--feeling frustrated enough to want to just leave them to the mess you've always cleaned up, but knowing you love them too much to do that . . . and still learning to take for yourself what you need to survive.

There were only a couple places where I didn't feel totally in sync with the story--the pacing confused me a little toward the beginning when I didn't know how much time had passed, and I got a little frustrated when Van reacted so negatively to another character saying her guide Alex was basically paid to be her guide (she straight-up assumed Alex's relationship with her was entirely fake and unwanted by him because of one conversation from someone she hadn't really trusted up to that point). Other than that and the fact that I have no idea why the wackadoos in the desert wanted Van to have a crystal on her, I felt like the book had almost no hesitations or snags as it carries the reader along with Van. You feel her aimlessness, and little bouts of competence and power balanced against helplessness and loneliness. You never doubt ANY of the feelings she has for others. And you just want her to be able to be where she needs to be, wherever that is.

And I have to say, as someone who kind of suddenly discovered her musical talent as an older young person, Van's experience of thinking "OH MY GOD I'M GOOD AT THIS" felt really familiar and realistic. The idea that you can move others with something you can make from yourself is so powerful and intoxicating. That felt very accurate.

Oh, and some readers might be a little irritated by some vagueness in the climax of the story because there's so much we don't have the "real" story on even by the end of the book. That, to me, was one of its strengths. I was hoping the story would not take a sharp turn into territory it hadn't touched before and turn it into a validation of all the abusive kooks who put people at terrible risk for their vision quests, and I was also hoping it would not resort to a heavy-handed "and this is what actually happened" spiel revealing the truth at the end. I like how open-ended everything is, and how it's okay not to know, and it's okay for Van to be frustrated and angry with people even when they're her mom, even when they're people she trusted before, even when they're dead. She can be in flux and still be in control. She can feel extreme negative feelings for people she loves without coming to the conclusion at the end that her feelings are really one of two extremes.

Full disclosure, for the record: I have worked with this author before as a reader and coach, though I was not directly involved in any aspect of this particular book. I therefore cannot expect people to read this as an unbiased review, but I mean every word of it.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

*2.5*

As I type my review, I’m torn between two opinions. On one hand, I liked Welcome to Slipstream. It was eccentric and fast paced, a book I easily devoured in one sitting. On the other hand, I was left feeling underwhelmed…wanting more - of Van’s story, of Van’s mother’s struggles, of seeing Van become her own person.

Welcome to Slipstream sets off to accomplish a lot. It’s a book about struggling with a family member’s mental illness, overcoming social anxiety, figuring out what home really is when you’re almost 18 and ready to spread your wings, falling in love for the first time, and pursing one’s dreams.

There was bad as well as good to this.

The good: I applaud and admire Natalka’s ambition in this novel. The wide variety of plot points here are ones that I not only highly enjoy reading about but also feel are incredibly pertinent topics in YA.

The bad: I felt that with so much going on, some plot lines were more developed than others, leaving me feeling underwhelmed. Also, I feel that some plot lines (the cult Van's mom joins, the stalking one of Van’s band mates was facing, the consequences of Van’s mom’s actions) were just ignored all together by the end.

Even with my problems regarding the plot, I did enjoy and come to love the characters.

Van has had a very unique childhood. Shuffled from town to town, country to country, Van has had very little time to make friends as well as connections. She's only ever had her mother and Ida, the women who is equal parts her "babysitter" as well as her mother's. From the first page, I was instantly taken with Van's voice. I found her to be funny, charming, and just the perfect amount of eccentric. I could easily relate to her feelings of social anxiety. I especially loved the bond Van had with Ida. It was equal parts friendship as well as grandmotherly, and I loved how easily these two could not only joke around with each other but also team up to make the best out of the worst possible situation. I wish I had an Ida in my life!

In all, Welcome to the Slipstream has good as well as bad to it, and if you can overlook the lack of plot development and instead focus on the main characters, you're bound to enjoy it! I look forward to seeing what Natalka writes next!

Grade: B-

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

YA novel about a girl living in a rundown casino. Van's backstory is completely inventive and I've never read a character like her. I didn't like the cult plotline as much as I just liked Van and her mom just living their lives. A lightning fast read and so much fun and the ending was fantastic.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the very first page Welcome to the Slipstream was apt in letting us know Van’s mother isn’t traditional. Having taken apart the airplanes sink to fix their water pressure, which some would call tampering with an aircraft we are shoved right into Van’s hectic lifestyle and otherworldly mother. I enjoyed every bit of this book, even the not so nice pieces like Marine and her cult-like religious get-away with Van’s mother. This book is really unique and unlike other mental health centered novels in that we get a inside look from someone who isn’t the one with mental health issues. Van is vital in telling us this story and we see how things unfold in her narrative. The whole book has this real feeling, if that makes sense. Each character is so true and fleshed out, the way they handle situations was exactly how I could see myself react. The Las Vegas setting was really fun since I’ve never been and I enjoyed imaging everything Van saw and did in that glitzy town.

I don’t do spoilers so I won’t really go into details about the swindling scum that is Marine, but this book as a whole packs a very powerful and emotional punch. My only gripe would be how much the synopsis spoils the plot. This was very similar to The Crown’s Game where I knew what was going to happen and there was no huge, OH NO! moment. Ida was hands down my favorite character (besides Van.) She is the center of this dysfunctional family. Without Ida it’s easy to see Van and her mother’s lives being thrown into a spiral. Overall with how short this book was it was brimming with adventure, discovery, budding romance, and the unyielding love between a family.

[PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps · Rating 1 out of 5]

**Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary copy of WELCOME TO THE SLIPSTREAM in exchange for my honest review**

Van, her surrogate grandmother Ida and her mentally ill mother never stay in one place long thanks to her mother frequently stopping her meds. Now they're staying in a ritzy casino in Vegas, and Van's just hoping they'll stay put this time. Unfortunately, her mom runs off to join a cult in Arizona.

I was disappointed in the way mental illness was handled in WELCOME TO THE SLIPSTREAM. Van appears to have social anxiety in the beginning of the book, which conveniently disappears when the plot dictates she needs to be around a crowd. Her mother seems to be bipolar, although her diagnosis is never mentioned and her symptoms also seem plot driven.

The beginning of WELCOME TO THE SLIPSTREAM pulled me into the plot and characters, but the slow pace had me skimming. Natalka Burian created interesting characters and had a great premise for a story. Unfortunately, she bogged down the intriguing parts with excessive description and used more telling than showing. I wasn't at all interested in the happenings at the cult or the followers, which was a good half of the book.

Additionally, there were plot holes like her mom's not being fired from her job for disappearing without telling her boss, the insta-acceptance into the band etc.

Regretfully, I can't think of a reason to recommend this book.

[Booksandchinooks (Laurie) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting but quirky book. You couldn't help but love Van, age 17. She had an unsettling upbringing and also a very unique personality. You were rooting for her throughout the story. Her mother had mental illness issues and had moved from place to place providing no stability for Van growing up. Van hadn't been to a regular school or enjoyed any of the other things kids have. She mainly had to rely on her quasi nanny for normality and stability. This book begins in Las Vegas and then moves to Sedona for about a third of the book. I think the book got a bit bogged down in Sedona when Van's mom joins a cult. I found this part of the book a bit slow although you were definitely still invested enough to see how everything ends. I enjoyed this book and recommend it but it is a different type of book!

Thanks to the author for sending me this book for an honest review.

[Beatriz Lopes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nunca imaginei que o enredo tomaria o rumo que tomou, da metade do livro pra frente me conformei que tudo era possível -e imprevisível. Comecei pensando que seria apenas a história de uma garota que muda muito de cidade e toca guitarra, mas Natalka conseguiu ir muito, muito além disso. Também gostei da forma como o egoísmo da Van é frisado por ela mesma, mostrando que todos nós temos esse lado -e até somos conscientes disso- mas ir contra é o que complica.

[Faith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 1.5 stars.

I received an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. (Thanks!)

You know that feeling you get sometimes when you are watching a foreign film? The feeling that something of the importance that is happening is a bit lost on you because you're missing that context? That's sort of how I feel about this book. I would say that this novel was definitely unique, but I just wasn't knocked off my feet by it. I'm sure some people will like it, but I just don't think the writing was for me.

Welcome to the Slipstream is about Van, a girl who moves a lot because of her mother's mental illness. Van's mom is a genius, but her mental illness makes her a bit difficult for people to deal with so she constantly changes jobs. The constant in Van's life is her surrogate grandmother, who helps to keep her mother sane. They move to Vegas, where Van discovers her dream of being in a band. But when her mother goes off to a self-help cult, Van has to drop everything to save her.

I think my favourite part of this book was the cult scenes. Unfortunately, this part wasn't described in too much detail, but I did like what I saw. I like that mental illness was part of this book, but I don't think it was handled that well. The characters' mental illnesses were never really addressed by the characters and I would have liked to see them gain some progress towards healing.

I think one of the main issues I had with this book was Van. She comes off very distant, mostly because she really only socializes with tutors and her immediate family. I really don't like reading books where you really can't understand the character because it feels like there is a brick wall between you. I want to know what this character's favourite things are so I can relate to them and understand how they react to things. THEN I can follow your character's crazy adventures.

If you like YA books about cults, like The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly or This Side of Salvation, you might be interested in reading Welcome to the Slipstream. This book is out now, so go grab it if you're interested!

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Judging by its long synopsis, Welcome To The Slipstream sounds really random, messy, and sometimes unintentionally funny (all of them combined at certain points), which it is, but not on the incredibly large scale you want it to be on. The novel is actually quite short, at only 272 pages, and despite its promise of snazzy hotels, big cities, punk-rock vibes, and weird-ass cults, it still manages to cram everything in very tidily, exploring each aspect but always coming short somehow. I was actually enjoying the first half of the book and if I had continued to enjoy it all the way, it would have been at least a 3.5 star book. However, the second half had to come along and take away all my hopes of enjoying a contemporary fully for once. I am once again in a state of conflict. *deep sigh*

The story takes place in two areas: the fancy Silver Saddle hotel and casino in Las Vegas and the Arizona desert. The entire first half is set in Vegas, before Van goes to find her mother, and I definitely liked the descriptions and the vibe of the hotel/casino and its everyday routine. I do which that setting was more explored on a larger scale, and I could say the same for most of the aspects of this book. I definitely thought the same for the musical, punk-rock feel of the book, while it was there I did like it, but I wanted to feel more of that vibe. This book clearly contains a lot of random and unique elements that set it apart from most contemporaries, and if only those elements had been told in a bigger and bolder manner on a larger scale, Welcome To The Slipstream would have been a lot more memorable. The prose is very straight-forward and easy to understand, but I do wish the same kind of narration was kept constant throughout. The second half was entirely set in Arizona, where Van finally meets the creepy cult her mother had become entangled in, and it's really, really boring. I was just gaining some interest for this mystery 'vision quest' by that time, but Van's narration through the desert was so draggy and uninteresting, I honestly skimmed through most of it.

The characters were surprisingly more interesting and layered than I had initially expected them to be. Van herself is a quite relatable heroine that has gone through her fair share of pain, guilt, and emotional conflict concerning her mother's behavior and their frequent moves. I loved Ida, she was such a force of nature with her vibrant personality and hilarious one-liners. I did feel as though Alex was a tad one-dimensional, and that Joanna, Carol, Marcos were only added to stir up unnecessary drama, but I appreciated their much-needed diversion from Van, Ida, and Sofia.

I am disappointed in lack of directness involved with Sofia's mental stability, because it's clear that she has trouble with mental illness, and in this case it happens to be bipolar disorder. I thought we would at least hear the words 'bipolar' or 'mental illness' in the story, but it was never went over or even directly insinuated. There is plenty amount of depth to match the funnier sides of this novel, but I was expecting something more concrete, considering they had plenty to work with.

There is a romance involved that does a perfect job of not overtaking the story, but I do feel as though it was added in unnecessarily. Alex seems to be interested in Van almost immediately, and while their relationship is slow burn, there wasn't enough information to truly make their mutual attraction pop out. I did like how Van was still at center stage and that her insecurities and doubts affected her motivation to further her relationship with Alex, but I still think the book would have been better if the romance was reduced a tad.

Welcome To The Slipstream was a fairly engaging novel, but it could have been something much more than 'average' if it utilized its unique themes, and crafted itself to be bigger and bolder. I would recommend if you're looking for something short, weird, and different from typical YA contemporary.

[Savannah Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I recieved an ARC of WELCOME TO THE SLIPSTREAM from the publisher.

I can easily say that WELCOME TO THE SLIPSTREAM is one of the weirdest books I have ever read... but in a good way. (Maybe.) There were a lot of elements I had never seen before in a book, and while I found that really refreshing, the elements were... peculiar. Again, they worked very well together, but it was still odd.

Anyways! Let's get into the actual discussion.

W R I T I N G:
The writing was one of my favorite elements of WELCOME TO THE SLIPSTREAM. It was descriptive but not boring; it kept me present in the story without dragging; it let me see inside Van's head and feel what she was feeling.
On the other hand, I feel like the writing was insufficient at times. There were certain spots where I honestly had no idea what was happening (mainly, when Van was hallucinating/definitely not hallucinating in the desert), but those were few and far between.

P L O T:
Honestly, I still have no idea what the true plot of this story is. At first, I thought it was going to be about Van and her journey to find herself; while that was still present by the end of the story, the plot had changed to being more focused around Van's mom.
I feel like this novel's main plot is follow-the-characters. There's nothing really happening behind-the-scenes, and there's no big reveals or plot twists; it's mainly just centered around Van's experiences in this situation. I know that's how most novels are, but in those novels, there's usually other factors at work than only the ones we see through the characters' eyes.
It also really annoys me that we still don't know what Van's mom does. What is her job? I got the impression of interior designer, but I'm pretty sure that's not it. Oh well.

C H A R A C T E R S:
Van. I can't say that Van really developed through the course of WELCOME TO THE SLIPSTREAM, but her experiences (and Van herself) were fun to read about. She had a fun personality and snarky comebacks; I highly appreciated that. What I didn't appreciate, though, was her tendency to blame her decisions on other people- "If they made me come with them, this never would have happened!"
Van's mom. Van's mom is very... interesting. Honestly, I want a whole other novel dedicated to her life and her backstory. I found her really intriguing and I just want to know more.
Ida. Ida was super fun. She was one of my favorite characters, and I'm glad we had her voice of reason throughout most of the novel.
Alex. Alex, while nice, was... well... boring. He didn't really intrigue me, and he's your typical YA love interest.

All in all, WELCOME TO THE SLIPSTREAM was really enjoyable, but I had my own share of problems with it. It took me foreeeever to read it, but I think that was worth it (and that reading pace was due to my own decisions, but it was really easy to read when I sat down and did so). I would recommend it to anyone looking for a really good read that is (hopefully!) extremely quick.

[Jenn | Thrice Read | HitTheBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Also posted on Thrice Read

The release date of Welcome to the Slipstream is June 6th, 2017

I received this book for review on NetGalley. The synopsis immediately captured my attention. I am a huge fan of books that deal with mental illness. The whole world of psychology is intriguing for me. So, I thought that this combined with a Las Vegas version of Eloise in the Plaza sounded perfect. I wasn't as big of a fan of this book as I hoped.

To be fair to this book I think I came into it with far higher expectations than I should have. I try to come in with no expectations and not being able to do that really hurt my experience with this book.

The beginning of Welcome to the Slipstream was wonderful. I was intrigued and found myself flying through the pages. Van was a character that I really loved. She was different from a lot of other contemporary main characters. Van is a girl who is sheltered yet strong. Looking through Van's perspective was fun and refreshing.

Another aspect I loved in this book was Ida. Oh my goodness Ida was a spitfire. Van's caretaker truly stole the show in my eyes. Her relationships with both Van and Sofia were endearing and honest. I could have read an entire book just about Ida and her life. Seriously, I loved her that much.

Unfortunately, this book had some things I did not enjoy in it. To be honest, I was not bothered by aspects of the book until the end. That's when the strange cult aspect came into play and I really got lost. Now, I love stories about cults. Honestly, I do. Just ask Eden or Caitlynn. But, the development of the group felt very forced and convoluted. I really wish this aspect had been omitted.

Were it not for the ending I would have rated this book higher than three stars. It was a great contemporary read. There was a great deal of emotion yet the pacing was fast and easy to get through. I would like to see more from Natalka Burian since I really enjoyed her writing style.

[Onyx · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm slightly torn between 3 and 4. But I quite enjoy this book. I like the eccentricity and relationships written and shown. It was a quirky book!

The mom, Sofia, is a really flawed character, but despite that, Van still loves her. I personally was not that attached to Sofia. I was much more attached to and adored the relationship between Van & Ida. They are much more lovable to me. I also like Van's friends, Alex, Joanna, etc. Really like how the author wrote Van & Alex's relationship and its growth. It was sweet and chill. The moment when they realized they like each other was cute. The moment before Van left made my heart feel bittersweet too.

"She's my mom. She's the only person I have."
" I'm a person," he said. "You have me." And then he hugged me for a long time, and I hugged him too. "Will you come back?"
"I want to," I told him. It was the truth.

And I'm glad she decided to do that in the end! Van's decision made sense and what she told her mom was nicely written as well.

"I'm not going to go with you, wherever you're going next. I'm going to do my one thing, okay? A girl from the Silver Saddle has a band that's going on tour, and she asked me to be in it. I'm going to tell her yes."

The ending was written not in a way that was definite but showed that no matter what happened, Van is gonna figure it out which makes me root for her despite it being the ending.

The only con is that I mainly skimmed through all of the cult parts of the book that the mom was part of. I'm sure it's engaging for other people but it was dull and uninteresting for me.

[Camillea Camillea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminiscent of Janet Fitch’s White Oleander but with a little more light heartedness, WELCOME TO THE SLIPSTREAM, Natalka Burian’s debut novel, is an exploration of love, mental illness, and family.

The narrative is very simple, told from the perspective of a teenager about her life with her mother and her nurse. In short, I wasn’t prepared enough for this novel. Looking at the cover I expected it to be cheerful, or in the least, a breeze to read through.

I loved being proven wrong.

Our narrator, Van, is such a complex character. You cannot help questioning her, judging her actions, and eventually loving her. Even though the story focuses on heavy emotions Burian doesn’t dump information on the readers; through Van’s experience we begin to understand the complicated situation she’s been in. As a reader, we begin to catch on to things and honestly, I didn’t know who I felt for sadder for.

Was it Van? Or Sofia?

The one caught in her mother’s whirlwind? Or the woman who wanted to feel wanted and special?

It really twisted up my emotions, this book.

Reading things from Van’s perspective, it’s easy for the reader to judge her for not helping her mother enough, for being selfish, and also for being insensitive. But as I read it, a part of me asked myself, “Is this how I am?” Now, I’m not at Sofia’s level where I run off to the desert and join a cult, for me, it was more of “To what extent does my own mental illness affect others?”

WELCOME TO THE SLIPSTREAM illustrates how it is possible to love someone and yet still step away from them. That’s really an important aspect to remember when it comes to issues of mental illness. We expect our loved ones to follow us, to always be there for us without thinking of the consequences. This isn’t to insult those suffering, but to use it as an eye opener to become more aware of our actions.

A thoughtful blend of humour and grimness, Natalka Burian writes a poignant and yet blunt narrative drawing clear lines between love and self love, between support and letting go.

Follow me at Camillea Reads and on IG: biblio.khaleesi for more bookish adventures.

[Rebekah Haas · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I had my own place to go, and my own things to do. I could figure it out."

This book is a very odd book. It deals with mental illness and unusual family structures very very eloquently, however, the plotline is all over the place, and it's a little hard to follow in some places.

'Welcome to the Slipstream' i=tells the story of Van, whose mother is a mentally-ill ginancial advisor who was hired by a struggling Vegas Casino, the Silver Saddle. Van, her mother Sofia, and surrogate grandmother Ida all move to this casino, where they try to live life as normal as is possible. While staying at the Silver Saddle, Van meets cute Alex, and his friends, a rowdy girl band. After Van is brought into the band as a guitarist, she finally fells like she has friends. Her mom, well, falls for a new-age cult, and a middle-aged beauty named Marine. After her mom strays too far from normal, much with Marine's help, Van and Ida must try to bring her back.

The book was interesting, but I finished it at 1:00 am, so it wasn't that bad.

[John Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to echo what other reviewers have said. This is an excellent look at a girl who not only feels trapped, but in essence really is by circumstances beyond her control. I read it in an afternoon, fascinated by the way those few elements of stability she had to rely on, fell apart and how new and more normal ones appeared to save her sanity. The author does a stellar job of keeping readers turning pages in order to learn why her mother is willing to run off to a cultish affair while leaving a daughter and an elderly assistant to deal with the chaos left behind. Van is a gutsy and extremely appealing main character.

[Kelli Newby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me on page one. I was hooked by the mother/daughter relationship and the absolutely gorgeous prose. It's not a book with big action sequences; it's a book with big emotions and big real life problems handled with complexity and care. I love that the quest here is about finding how to be oneself when you're the child of a larger than life personality (a personal favorite theme of mine). I also loved how it explored what it's like to be the child of someone with mental illness--Van is forced to grow up far before her time because she's the caregiver when she should be the cared for. The book maintains that perfect balance of frustration, resentment, and love.

[Talia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just really weird. It started off reasonably normal, and I liked the relationship that Van was building with Alex. But then when Van's mom joined the cult thing, and she went off in the forest to find her, and she started hallucinating, I was like what the heck is going on. It just took a really weird twist there that I wasn't exactly expecting. Then the vibe totally changed again when Ida died, so that was a pretty sad way to end the book with the funeral for her. As strange as the book was, I found myself not being able to put it down though because it was very intriguing. Overall it was an interesting book for sure.

[Readersaurus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very powerful. Van is a young teenager who has led a nomadic life with her talented but troubled mother and their family friend, Ida. They are well-off now, but Van remembers lean and scary times from when she was very young. She is old enough now to understand that her mother Sofia has a mental illness as well as brilliance. Van and Ida work together to keep Sofia out of hospitals and jails. As Van gets older, she begins to see the appeal of the normal life she did not get to have.

The characters in this book were wonderful, particularly Ida and Van. Their relationship was lovely and well written. Van’s growing awareness that her own talents and intelligence may also have their seeds in mania, and the realization that she may need to separate from her mother to stay sane is heartbreaking and effectively presented.

The only thing I din't like was the speed with which the Silver Saddle staff came to love and truly care for Van and Ida didn’t ring true. It was a false note in an otherwise skillfully presented story.

Burian is an author to watch.

[Melleny · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 Stars ***


If you would like to see all my thoughts on this book, be sure to check out the review on my blog:

www.abooktropolis01.blogspot.co.za

But here is a snippet and overview of what I thought:



Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I thought the writing had a nice pace, the plot was interesting and the characters were real life transferred onto the page. Thank you so much to Smith Publicity for providing me with a copy of this book!

[Melissa Ramirez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entirely middle-of-the-road book for me. I chose it based on the clever title (though I have to admit, I had to look up the definition of "slipstream") and while I liked the road trip, nomad vibes of Van and her family, it was all just a little too weird for me to fully enjoy. Van was a fine narrator, but I felt like I never really grasped much about the other characters.

[Rupali · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was pretty good in the beginning, but got weird really fast.

[Kristin Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. The author handles mental illness from a teen's perspective in a truly sensitive way. I loved this story.

[Laura Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started as an intriguing novel about a daughter and her mom with some mysterious quirks and talents. Nosedived into some weird astrology cosmic mind mapping. Had to put down.

[Amanda Searcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so unique. The main character Van, who's been dragged around the world by her mother, finds herself living in a Las Vegas casino that's seen better days. She struggles to find herself while dealing with her mother's deteriorating mental health. Van is such a great character, and I love how well developed the adults who become her support system are. The ending takes the book in a completely unique direction that pushes Van to her limits. This is a really great contemporary YA.

[Alinne the queen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

The story revolves around 17 year old Van, her mom and mothers friend as they move to Las Vegas after Van's mother is offered a job to revamp a dwindling Las Vegas hotel. But the story is also about mental illness, specifically as it impacts Van's mother and the choices she makes once she gets involved with a new age cult. It's really a story about a girl who grows up much too early all in order to ensure her mother is safe and who because she fears being separated from her mom has prevented her self from perusing her passion for music.

Though I'm always very excited and apt to read books about mental illness and how teens deal with them I found myself feeling very frustrated by this book. Mostly because I didn't connect with Val at all and it was hard for me to try and really understand her as a character. The story itself is solid, but there's something about Val that makes her unlikable and I found myself more drawn to her mother or her mothers friend. The twist at the end also didn't work for me, I felt it was just added there and then left without much meat. This book just wasn't for me.