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madisone's review
adventurous
mysterious
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
4.0
Though this book was written in 2003 (a sometimes rough period for Y. A. books featuring a female protagonist), it was quite enjoyable in 2022. The best way to describe this book is a gothic fantasy that takes place in the Victorian era. It was a slow pace at the beginning, but as you get more into the intricacies of the plot, it gets much quicker. The characters were complex and intriguing because of their flaws and opinions. This book covers topics such as the restrictions put upon women (especially in the Victorian era), female relationships, and forgiveness with just a touch of a mystery. While I would have liked to see more into different characters family life, I realize this is only the first in a series. Would recommend this book, but there are a few trigger warnings you should look up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Death of parent, and Suicide
Moderate: Child death, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, and Body shaming
Minor: Sexual content, Infidelity, and Adult/minor relationship
zombiezami's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
3.75
I first read this book when I was a teenager, and I rated it 5 stars at that time. I value the book for what it gave to me at the time, feeling seen for having experiences like wondering who I truly am and wondering who would ever understand me. Plus, there's fulfillment of the teenage girl urge to have a magical world where you're all powerful for good measure. This book is, in a lot of ways, an aged up spiritual successor to The Secret Garden.
Reading this as an adult, there are parts that I'm not so enamored with, hence the lower rating. The friendship between the main characters strikes me as much more toxic than it did when I was a teenager, especially since Pippa and Felicity never apologize for tormenting Ann. I also find it hard to root for Kartik to be with Gemma, since Gemma keeps implying threats that she will get him arrested, which, at that time period, would basically be a death threat. That being said, I still really like Ms. Moore as a character.
I look forward to my re-read of the rest of the series.
Reading this as an adult, there are parts that I'm not so enamored with, hence the lower rating. The friendship between the main characters strikes me as much more toxic than it did when I was a teenager, especially since Pippa and Felicity never apologize for tormenting Ann. I also find it hard to root for Kartik to be with Gemma, since Gemma keeps implying threats that she will get him arrested, which, at that time period, would basically be a death threat. That being said, I still really like Ms. Moore as a character.
I look forward to my re-read of the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Self harm, Suicide, and Sexism
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Neglect, Antiziganism, Seizures
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