Review
Nicole Haldoupis’ Tiny Ruins
A personal commentary on Haldoupis’ book released in October 2020
A UNIQUE AND RELATEABLE TAKE TO COMING OUT AND COMING OF AGE FICTION, Nicole Haldoupis’ Tiny Ruins begins with a young Alana living through her childhood with connections many readers can relate to. As she grows, she learns about herself, leading to more questions than answers with little support in her corner. Haldoupis’ character development through an original storyline has readers on the edge of their seats, but not for reasons we expect.
Although Haldoupis’ stylistic choices stand out to the reader, the character development carries the story. The story highlights each stage of Alana’s life, allowing the reader to watch her grow up, learn, develop and become attached to her as a character. As a coming-out story, its creative approach gives it a space to be relatable and not overpowering or predictable. The symbolism carries through the story and creates a cycle: a loop from beginning to end, to back again.
For some readers, a slow story cannot hold their attention, Tiny Ruins doesn’t have a lot of action, but this method of writing will enthrall the readers with authentic moments in Alana’s life. Moments of anticipation, of foreshadowing, of knowing what she had to discover about herself, and waiting for that discovery to happen.
Non-traditional approaches to storytelling say a lot about the story itself. This book didn’t have pages of description, it didn’t give lots of detail about the setting, and this technique allowed the reader to focus on what was important in the story, the characters. The short stories that unfold themselves into one account made it much more empowering for the reader, allowing them to connect to each word, phrase, and paragraph.
Haldoupis’ book was original and honest. The story allowed the reader to follow the flow of a character learning about themselves and being themselves. The hints of nostalgia, the powerful connections, and the relatability made for a story you can’t put down. I firmly recommend this book for readers looking to find themselves in a character or young adults looking for a connection to learn more about themselves. It is a book I wish I had had in my younger years when learning about myself.
9/10
