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fieldofhats's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“The story of you is not yet written. You will find these voices in your head also. You will tell yourself how you are a poor victim. Pay no heed and instead look to your soul, for that is where you originate. You write the story of you every day with your thoughts, words, and deeds. You create yourself. You get to decide your story. No one else. You.”
Read for my independent study over Norse Mythology in young adult literature.
This book has all the qualities of an amazing novel, but the execution is far from it. The story weaves mythology into the modern world so beautifully through Martha’s simple, interesting ability. There are some incredible themes of life & death, fate & free will, and love & loss.
I especially love how the goddess Hel was portrayed. So often in modern Norse fantasy media Hel is portrayed as evil because she shares a name with the christian afterlife and she’s the daughter of Loki, but Rachel Burge portrays her much more accurately and with much more reverence. There’s no mythological evidence to say that Hel is evil, in fact quite the opposite. So portraying her as a force of nature and someone with an immense amount of wisdom makes a lot more sense and it’s so refreshing to see.
What I didn’t like was that the story took so long to get going. The inciting incident for the actual plot happens about three hours in, and the action of the plot doesn’t start until four hours in, by which point the book is two thirds done. The slow pace in the beginning really drags, and the characters aren’t interesting enough to justify it. I ended up speeding the narration up so I could get through it faster. I’m glad I finished it, but it wasn’t a very exciting read.
Speaking of the characters, they weren’t developed as much as I would have liked. I didn’t think either Martha or Stig had much chemistry, and I think it’s because neither had much individual development. It’s hard to believe a love story if I don’t know the characters very well.
Overall, it had a lot of fantastic ideas which were utilized well, but only in the last few hours. The good ideas didn’t have much time to develop, and neither did the characters. It’s good, but it’s not great.
Read for my independent study over Norse Mythology in young adult literature.
This book has all the qualities of an amazing novel, but the execution is far from it. The story weaves mythology into the modern world so beautifully through Martha’s simple, interesting ability. There are some incredible themes of life & death, fate & free will, and love & loss.
I especially love how the goddess Hel was portrayed. So often in modern Norse fantasy media Hel is portrayed as evil because she shares a name with the christian afterlife and she’s the daughter of Loki, but Rachel Burge portrays her much more accurately and with much more reverence. There’s no mythological evidence to say that Hel is evil, in fact quite the opposite. So portraying her as a force of nature and someone with an immense amount of wisdom makes a lot more sense and it’s so refreshing to see.
What I didn’t like was that the story took so long to get going. The inciting incident for the actual plot happens about three hours in, and the action of the plot doesn’t start until four hours in, by which point the book is two thirds done. The slow pace in the beginning really drags, and the characters aren’t interesting enough to justify it. I ended up speeding the narration up so I could get through it faster. I’m glad I finished it, but it wasn’t a very exciting read.
Speaking of the characters, they weren’t developed as much as I would have liked. I didn’t think either Martha or Stig had much chemistry, and I think it’s because neither had much individual development. It’s hard to believe a love story if I don’t know the characters very well.
Overall, it had a lot of fantastic ideas which were utilized well, but only in the last few hours. The good ideas didn’t have much time to develop, and neither did the characters. It’s good, but it’s not great.
geovanachi's review against another edition
4.0
Really!! An IMPLICIT ENDING!!
But it’s okay I like it very much
And here’s the best quote ....
“No one can tell the story of you, but you.
Some people are gifted with a gilded tongue.
They will tell you who you are with such conviction that you may actually believe them, but this is a reflection, not the truth, for the story of you is not yet written.’ She leans back.
‘You will find these voices in your head also. You will tell yourself how you are a poor victim.
Pay no heed and instead look to your soul, for that is where you originate.
You write the story of you every day with your thoughts, words and deeds.
You create yourself. You get to decide your story. No one else. You.”
❤️❤️
But it’s okay I like it very much
And here’s the best quote ....
“No one can tell the story of you, but you.
Some people are gifted with a gilded tongue.
They will tell you who you are with such conviction that you may actually believe them, but this is a reflection, not the truth, for the story of you is not yet written.’ She leans back.
‘You will find these voices in your head also. You will tell yourself how you are a poor victim.
Pay no heed and instead look to your soul, for that is where you originate.
You write the story of you every day with your thoughts, words and deeds.
You create yourself. You get to decide your story. No one else. You.”
❤️❤️
shimauchiha's review against another edition
4.0
Read this for:
-Norse myth inspiration
-Atmospheric Norweigian Cabin feels
-A short, relatively fast-paced story.
-Punk-type love interest.
Do not read this if you don't want:
-A typical YA type story.
-Insta (ish) romance.
-Protagonist judging herself for her disability.
Very short summary:
17-year-old Martha flies to Norway with the hopes that her grandmother can help her understand why she can read others' emotions in their clothes. Except, instead of her grandma, she finds the boy who's been squatting in her cabin, and has to figure out what's been happening to her by herself.
My thoughts:
This is a perfectly fine, better-than-average YA story. It's not unnecessarily long or flowery. It has a new unique setting and I love the Norse mythology inspirations. I've seen reviewers being bothered by Martha's negative self-talk surrounding her disability; Where because of her scarred face and loss of sight in one eye, she views herself as undesirable. However, I personally didn't view it as ablism since her character-arc is about her coming to understand and accept herself for her strengths. But you might still want to skip this one if that's not the type of story you want to read.
Other than that, the book has no major flaws. It's true that the character's relationship progresses pretty rapidly, but I wouldn't go as far as to call it insta-love, and besides the book is so short that it's less jarring. It's certainly not something that many YA books haven't done much worse of before, and in many many more pages. The fact that so many of those books blow up, while ones like this, which are at least more interesting in atmosphere and plot remain obscure just shows the impact of marketing on the book industry.
-Norse myth inspiration
-Atmospheric Norweigian Cabin feels
-A short, relatively fast-paced story.
-Punk-type love interest.
Do not read this if you don't want:
-A typical YA type story.
-Insta (ish) romance.
-Protagonist judging herself for her disability.
Very short summary:
17-year-old Martha flies to Norway with the hopes that her grandmother can help her understand why she can read others' emotions in their clothes. Except, instead of her grandma, she finds the boy who's been squatting in her cabin, and has to figure out what's been happening to her by herself.
My thoughts:
This is a perfectly fine, better-than-average YA story. It's not unnecessarily long or flowery. It has a new unique setting and I love the Norse mythology inspirations. I've seen reviewers being bothered by Martha's negative self-talk surrounding her disability; Where because of her scarred face and loss of sight in one eye, she views herself as undesirable. However, I personally didn't view it as ablism since her character-arc is about her coming to understand and accept herself for her strengths. But you might still want to skip this one if that's not the type of story you want to read.
Other than that, the book has no major flaws. It's true that the character's relationship progresses pretty rapidly, but I wouldn't go as far as to call it insta-love, and besides the book is so short that it's less jarring. It's certainly not something that many YA books haven't done much worse of before, and in many many more pages. The fact that so many of those books blow up, while ones like this, which are at least more interesting in atmosphere and plot remain obscure just shows the impact of marketing on the book industry.
elliecaitlin16's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sammymus's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
scatz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
4.0
I enjoyed the book it was mysterious and dark and I liked how it followed the gods and the fates. And even though it was was integral to the book I still didn't understand why she would let a stranger back into the house that just felt wrong to me
pewterwolf's review against another edition
2.0
Review Taken from The Pewter Wolf
***eProof given by publisher, Hot Key Books, in exchange for an honest review/reaction, even though I borrowed and listened to audiobook from local library via BorrowBox***
This might be my last review/write-up of 2019! It depends how fast I can finish my current read (unless I finish it prior to this weekend). Anyway, back story. I went the to the Hot Key Blogger Launch to The Twisted Tree earlier this year at the publisher and we were all intrigued by this. A ghost story with hints of Norse mythology? Sign me up!
But I kept putting this off. So, in the end, when I saw the audiobook version on the BorrowBox app (in connection with Essex Libraries), I requested it and listened to this over the course of several days at work.
Ever since the accident, Martha can sense things. She can tell things about a person by touching their clothes. Their emotions, memories, regrets, all soaked into the fabric. Trying to come to terms with this new, unsettling gift and how the accident left her blind in one eye, Martha goes to her grandmother - Mormor - house in Norway. But when she gets there, she finds that her Mormor is dead and a runaway is living in her cabin. Not only that but something is outside the cabin, waiting… and all the while, the Twisted Tree is watching. Watching and waiting…
Oh boy… ok, this is going to be hard to write as I had such high hopes for this. I want a ghost story that creeps me out and put me on edge. I was ready for it!
And yet…
And yet, it never quite worked for me. Which means I’m in the minority as nearly everyone I know who has read this really enjoyed it.
And, here’s the thing. I can see why. I can see the potential this book has. The writing is good, the idea is good and how everything links together is good. And yet… and yet, I kept thinking “This isn’t sticking the landing. It’s not quite there for me.”
Plus, there were things I went “Huh?” and hugely dislike. I disliked how fast the relationship between Martha and the runaway she met, Stig, develops. It was rushed and I kept going “You only just met him and he broke into your dead grandmother’s house! And now… now, you’re cooking him dinner and trusting him with your life!?” I dislike the one/two occasion I felt that Martha being blind in one eye was a plot device rather than an issue or trauma she has to overcome.
And the concept of ghost story and Norse myths. Oh, I wish I knew what it was. Because there were ghostly elements I liked, but once these elements were removed and it became norse mythology explantation, it lost it. The story lost that edge of spooky.
I can see the author can write, and I am willing to reading something else by her, but this… the idea had potential, but the execution didn’t live up to what I hope it would be. But, I know that a ton of people have read and enjoyed it, so if you want to read this, go for it and I hope you enjoy it!
***eProof given by publisher, Hot Key Books, in exchange for an honest review/reaction, even though I borrowed and listened to audiobook from local library via BorrowBox***
This might be my last review/write-up of 2019! It depends how fast I can finish my current read (unless I finish it prior to this weekend). Anyway, back story. I went the to the Hot Key Blogger Launch to The Twisted Tree earlier this year at the publisher and we were all intrigued by this. A ghost story with hints of Norse mythology? Sign me up!
But I kept putting this off. So, in the end, when I saw the audiobook version on the BorrowBox app (in connection with Essex Libraries), I requested it and listened to this over the course of several days at work.
Ever since the accident, Martha can sense things. She can tell things about a person by touching their clothes. Their emotions, memories, regrets, all soaked into the fabric. Trying to come to terms with this new, unsettling gift and how the accident left her blind in one eye, Martha goes to her grandmother - Mormor - house in Norway. But when she gets there, she finds that her Mormor is dead and a runaway is living in her cabin. Not only that but something is outside the cabin, waiting… and all the while, the Twisted Tree is watching. Watching and waiting…
Oh boy… ok, this is going to be hard to write as I had such high hopes for this. I want a ghost story that creeps me out and put me on edge. I was ready for it!
And yet…
And yet, it never quite worked for me. Which means I’m in the minority as nearly everyone I know who has read this really enjoyed it.
And, here’s the thing. I can see why. I can see the potential this book has. The writing is good, the idea is good and how everything links together is good. And yet… and yet, I kept thinking “This isn’t sticking the landing. It’s not quite there for me.”
Plus, there were things I went “Huh?” and hugely dislike. I disliked how fast the relationship between Martha and the runaway she met, Stig, develops. It was rushed and I kept going “You only just met him and he broke into your dead grandmother’s house! And now… now, you’re cooking him dinner and trusting him with your life!?” I dislike the one/two occasion I felt that Martha being blind in one eye was a plot device rather than an issue or trauma she has to overcome.
And the concept of ghost story and Norse myths. Oh, I wish I knew what it was. Because there were ghostly elements I liked, but once these elements were removed and it became norse mythology explantation, it lost it. The story lost that edge of spooky.
I can see the author can write, and I am willing to reading something else by her, but this… the idea had potential, but the execution didn’t live up to what I hope it would be. But, I know that a ton of people have read and enjoyed it, so if you want to read this, go for it and I hope you enjoy it!