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apetite's review
5.0
I read my first book when I was 5 years old. That book, Tistou of the Green Thumbs, taught me to discern what is great from what is average. Having a photographic memory, I can tell you what happens in every page of most books I've read. In a great book, I can tell you exactly what I felt when I read each scene. I remember precisely what I felt like when Tistou filled his father's gun factory with roses (Tistou of the Green Thumbs); when Lucy went too far into the wardrobe (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe); when Hagrid said, "You're a wizard, Harry" (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone); when Bernardo Soares said that if the heart could think, it would stop (The Book of Disquiet); and the view from a chestnut tree in Macondo (One Hundred Years of Solitude). And I will always remember what it felt like when Lindy collapsed on the floor during the Spirit Week Lock-in.
Like J.K. Rowling, whose books marked my generation with Plataform 9 and 3/4, V. created a universe within ours behind a pair of green eyes with a ring of gold. My favorite thing about this story is how all the characters are real and relatable, despite the extraordinary circumstances of their lives. I went to High School with those kids. Lindy probably didn't have striking green eyes, but she loved History and hated Chemistry, she probably did things she didn't like to please her best friend and she wanted to skip school after an embarrassing event. Daniel was there too, and although he didn't wear a leather jacket, the seat next to him was always empty and I'm sure if I had paid more attention, I would see his eyes set on a single girl every day. I may or may not have quietly admired Peter for years.
V.'s imagery is striking. For three days, the end of spring outside my window was replaced with Autumn leaves falling and snow on my window sill. The eyes I knew to be a dull brown and the memories of mere 24 years were both respectively replaced with deep green and everything from an actual dinosaur to a groupie in the 1980's, going through things History forgot to teach me. The research put into this is extraordinary. Everything I learned to be my favorite myths from Greco-Roman culture came to life along with monsters that didn't grace my wildest nightmares and languages I didn't even know existed. The entire book is a delicious learning experience, from the mind of a Metempsyche to a healthy relationship between two kids who love each other just as they are.
I didn't want to leave this universe after nearly 500 pages. I'm still not sure I left it. I might be looking at green, black and teal eyes differently now. I might dream about a boy with a freckle on his Adam's apple and laughter that sounds like a bark, who treats me like I'm special and is surprisingly honest. All I know is that I'll be the first to buy this book when it comes out, I'll give my unborn daughter that first edition to read when she is old enough not to fear werewolves and I will always be in love with Lindy Cook and Daniel Mannaro.
Like J.K. Rowling, whose books marked my generation with Plataform 9 and 3/4, V. created a universe within ours behind a pair of green eyes with a ring of gold. My favorite thing about this story is how all the characters are real and relatable, despite the extraordinary circumstances of their lives. I went to High School with those kids. Lindy probably didn't have striking green eyes, but she loved History and hated Chemistry, she probably did things she didn't like to please her best friend and she wanted to skip school after an embarrassing event. Daniel was there too, and although he didn't wear a leather jacket, the seat next to him was always empty and I'm sure if I had paid more attention, I would see his eyes set on a single girl every day. I may or may not have quietly admired Peter for years.
V.'s imagery is striking. For three days, the end of spring outside my window was replaced with Autumn leaves falling and snow on my window sill. The eyes I knew to be a dull brown and the memories of mere 24 years were both respectively replaced with deep green and everything from an actual dinosaur to a groupie in the 1980's, going through things History forgot to teach me. The research put into this is extraordinary. Everything I learned to be my favorite myths from Greco-Roman culture came to life along with monsters that didn't grace my wildest nightmares and languages I didn't even know existed. The entire book is a delicious learning experience, from the mind of a Metempsyche to a healthy relationship between two kids who love each other just as they are.
I didn't want to leave this universe after nearly 500 pages. I'm still not sure I left it. I might be looking at green, black and teal eyes differently now. I might dream about a boy with a freckle on his Adam's apple and laughter that sounds like a bark, who treats me like I'm special and is surprisingly honest. All I know is that I'll be the first to buy this book when it comes out, I'll give my unborn daughter that first edition to read when she is old enough not to fear werewolves and I will always be in love with Lindy Cook and Daniel Mannaro.
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