Quarter Finalist
Assessment:
Plot: The plot to find the unseen blossoms of a fig tree—a tree believed not to produce flowers before its fruit—is intriguing, and sets the folktale-like tone of the book in the first few pages.
Prose/Style: The strongest element to this book is its prose/style. There is a quiet strength and calmness that gives the characters and voices of this story an endearing and comforting quality. Beautifully written, reminiscent of a fine piece of music, this work will captivate the reader.
Originality: The use of a fairytale format to tell this original, spiritual story about finding a magical fig blossom is unique and enchanting.
Character Development: The characters of Zuli and Lamar are well written, brought to life in the readers’ minds in a vivid, memorable setting. The characters’ internal thoughts and descriptions are amazingly organic.
Date Submitted: April 27, 2019
The Unseen Blossom is reminiscent of classic tales of adventure like The Wizard of Oz, Treasure Island, and Homer’s Odyssey. Younossi and Samad do a marvelous job at drawing parallels
between the reality we live in and the quaint world they’ve created. The tale of The Unseen Blossom starts with the serendipitous friendship formed between co-authors L’mere Younossi
and Zlaikha Y. Samad, and without their friendship The Unseen Blossom may have stayed unseen.
Reviewed by Justine Reyes for Readers’ Favorite, Starred
