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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! A LOT!!!
There are several reasons for that, but I'd be lying if I said that the main reason was anything other than the commitment to the magic. In so many books, there's a flirtation with magical realism, and lots of hints that all is not quite as it seems... but then a convoluted but conveniently mundane explanation drops into the reader's lap and wow, it turns out everything was a metaphor after all!
Not so in Spellbook of the Lost and Found. Oh, sure, most of the mysteries are cleared up by the end of the book, and a variety of main and supporting characters come up with half-plausible explanations for most of the book's spooky occurrences, but I reckon only the most skeptical of readers could believe any of their logic. This is a book where the line between what's real and what's not isn't supposed to be clearly visible, and that's probably my favourite thing about it.
However, the girls are a close second - because there are so!! many!! girls!! in this book!!! All of the PoV characters are girls! All but one of the other protagonists are girls too! Three of the girls are wlw (2 bi, 1 lesbian)!! One of the girls is a woc! One of the girls is disabled (partially deaf)!! The girls spend the entire book supporting each other and caring for each other and falling in love with each other and learning to relate to each other and overcoming their differences!!! In fact, my absolute favourite relationship in the entire book was probably between Olive and Emily - I am so Tired of stories where the protagonist has a Terrible Sister!!! I am MUCH more interested in this excellent "sisters gradually learn that they have more in common than they thought, for example, feminism" trope!!! Amazing!!!
Another thing I absolutely loved was that it felt SUPER IRISH. It's been far too long since I last read an Irish novel, and wow, it just felt so authentically like home? Plus magic. Excellent wonderful outstanding!!!
I was honestly contemplating giving this 5 stars, because it was FAB, but in the end I went for 4/4.5 stars because the characterisation did feel a little shallow at times, and the plotting could have been a liiiittle bit tighter - I guessed The Twist quite a bit before it was revealed - but all in all, if you like witchcraft, (queer) girls supporting each other, spooky vibes, cantankerous and possibly immortal bartenders, cryptic crosswords, some really excellent dog names, and abusive men Getting What They Deserve, then I HIGHLY recommend this book!!!
There are several reasons for that, but I'd be lying if I said that the main reason was anything other than the commitment to the magic. In so many books, there's a flirtation with magical realism, and lots of hints that all is not quite as it seems... but then a convoluted but conveniently mundane explanation drops into the reader's lap and wow, it turns out everything was a metaphor after all!
Not so in Spellbook of the Lost and Found. Oh, sure, most of the mysteries are cleared up by the end of the book, and a variety of main and supporting characters come up with half-plausible explanations for most of the book's spooky occurrences, but I reckon only the most skeptical of readers could believe any of their logic. This is a book where the line between what's real and what's not isn't supposed to be clearly visible, and that's probably my favourite thing about it.
However, the girls are a close second - because there are so!! many!! girls!! in this book!!! All of the PoV characters are girls! All but one of the other protagonists are girls too! Three of the girls are wlw (2 bi, 1 lesbian)!! One of the girls is a woc! One of the girls is disabled (partially deaf)!! The girls spend the entire book supporting each other and caring for each other and falling in love with each other and learning to relate to each other and overcoming their differences!!! In fact, my absolute favourite relationship in the entire book was probably between Olive and Emily - I am so Tired of stories where the protagonist has a Terrible Sister!!! I am MUCH more interested in this excellent "sisters gradually learn that they have more in common than they thought, for example, feminism" trope!!! Amazing!!!
Another thing I absolutely loved was that it felt SUPER IRISH. It's been far too long since I last read an Irish novel, and wow, it just felt so authentically like home? Plus magic. Excellent wonderful outstanding!!!
I was honestly contemplating giving this 5 stars, because it was FAB, but in the end I went for 4/4.5 stars because the characterisation did feel a little shallow at times, and the plotting could have been a liiiittle bit tighter - I guessed The Twist quite a bit before it was revealed - but all in all, if you like witchcraft, (queer) girls supporting each other, spooky vibes, cantankerous and possibly immortal bartenders, cryptic crosswords, some really excellent dog names, and abusive men Getting What They Deserve, then I HIGHLY recommend this book!!!
I started a new job when I started this book and it lead me into a reading slump but this book pulled me out of it and I'm so happy because of it! This book has such an interesting concept, I'm always down for magic spells, and the spell book idea was executed in a way I didn't except. I enjoyed the characters. There were a few times I was confused as there is multiple points-of-view. Overall, I really liked this story and I'm gonna add it to my favourites list. I think.
I tried not to read this book quickly so it wouldn't end. It's very unique! Overall it was paced well but some parts dragged. I enjoyed the character development. I'm not a fan of alternating POVs and in the beginning it was a bit confusing. 4 out of 5-would have been a 5 if Olive was the only narrator.
Author to watch!
Author to watch!
"Embrace the unexplained. Embrace the uncertain. Embrace the magic"
I absolutely loved this book! It was whimsical, mysterious, creepy, and different. Even though I figured out parts of the plot before the ending, it was still exciting to the very last page.
"If you don't get lost, you'll never be found"
I absolutely loved this book! It was whimsical, mysterious, creepy, and different. Even though I figured out parts of the plot before the ending, it was still exciting to the very last page.
"If you don't get lost, you'll never be found"
I couldn't tell the characters apart with three readers each voicing all the characters in turn.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If everything is four stars, is anything really four stars?
Still, four stars! With this book I really got what I signed up for, which was sweet spooky witchy YA fun times, and maybe even a bit more! The characters are well built and easy to relate to (apart perhaps from Ivy, who remains pretty vague), the friend and family dynamics are compelling without cutting super deep (which is maybe a bit strange considering the heaviness of some of the themes) and the aesthetics is just so gosh darn magical and lovely! The Big Twist was pretty obvious from quite early on, but it was still enjoyable to see it unravel and add in the details. In regards to some of the themes, I was expecting to be annoyed but ended up being quite pleased with how they were handled in the end - especially with the concept of virginity. I actually liked how everything came together in the end, but didn't think it all needed quite the level of explaining happening in the final pages. The reader got it, the reader is fine without that much handholding.
My personal undoing: "Last year Rose and I drunkenly decided that, as the only two openly bisexual girls our age in town, we should probably give it a go. Turns out some people really are just meant to be friends." There can be more than two bi characters in a book? They can BE FRIENDS WITH EACH OTHER? They can be real characters and not just checklist items? Count me the fuck in!
(Yes I am a grown woman and it's 2020, how am I still so starved for this stuff??)
Still, four stars! With this book I really got what I signed up for, which was sweet spooky witchy YA fun times, and maybe even a bit more! The characters are well built and easy to relate to (apart perhaps from Ivy, who remains pretty vague), the friend and family dynamics are compelling without cutting super deep (which is maybe a bit strange considering the heaviness of some of the themes) and the aesthetics is just so gosh darn magical and lovely! The Big Twist was pretty obvious from quite early on, but it was still enjoyable to see it unravel and add in the details. In regards to some of the themes, I was expecting to be annoyed but ended up being quite pleased with how they were handled in the end - especially with the concept of virginity. I actually liked how everything came together in the end, but didn't think it all needed quite the level of explaining happening in the final pages. The reader got it, the reader is fine without that much handholding.
My personal undoing: "Last year Rose and I drunkenly decided that, as the only two openly bisexual girls our age in town, we should probably give it a go. Turns out some people really are just meant to be friends." There can be more than two bi characters in a book? They can BE FRIENDS WITH EACH OTHER? They can be real characters and not just checklist items? Count me the fuck in!
(Yes I am a grown woman and it's 2020, how am I still so starved for this stuff??)
This book made me want to run through the woods barefoot wearing a flower crown, twirling a shawl to the voice of Stevie Nicks. It is mystical and earthy and delightfully weird.
The writing is lyrical and reminiscent of Kelly Barnhill's prose which earned her the Newbery. Take a minute to bask in the beauty of this paragraph:
"There have always been three of us: a coven, a crowd, a three-headed dog. We have names that our parents gave us, names our teachers call in class, names the girls in school shout nastily in the hallways, names written in our textbooks and sewn into our PE shorts, but they're not the names we give ourselves. Laurel, Ash, and Holly. If there had to be a collective noun for us, it would be a forest. A forest of teenage girls." (p. 49)
The novel follows two narrative threads: one of three friends (Laurel, Ash, and Holly) who cast a spell to retrieve the lost pages of their diaries, and one of five friends (Ivy, Hazel, Rowan, Olive, and Rose) who must deal with the aftermath of the spell. What follows is a riveting twisting and turning of the story arc as the characters attempt to find out how they are connected through magic, time, and family and rectify the effect of the spell.
Spellbook will appeal any lover of American Horror Story: Coven, Charmed, and the Mists of Avalon.
The writing is lyrical and reminiscent of Kelly Barnhill's prose which earned her the Newbery. Take a minute to bask in the beauty of this paragraph:
"There have always been three of us: a coven, a crowd, a three-headed dog. We have names that our parents gave us, names our teachers call in class, names the girls in school shout nastily in the hallways, names written in our textbooks and sewn into our PE shorts, but they're not the names we give ourselves. Laurel, Ash, and Holly. If there had to be a collective noun for us, it would be a forest. A forest of teenage girls." (p. 49)
The novel follows two narrative threads: one of three friends (Laurel, Ash, and Holly) who cast a spell to retrieve the lost pages of their diaries, and one of five friends (Ivy, Hazel, Rowan, Olive, and Rose) who must deal with the aftermath of the spell. What follows is a riveting twisting and turning of the story arc as the characters attempt to find out how they are connected through magic, time, and family and rectify the effect of the spell.
Spellbook will appeal any lover of American Horror Story: Coven, Charmed, and the Mists of Avalon.
When summoning something you've lost, what are you willing to exchange? Are somethings irretrievable or can anything be regained if you're willing to sacrifice everything? This is the core question at the heart of Fowley-Doyle's Spellbook of the Lost and Found. Following three girls in search of the things they've lost, the story twists and turns through each view point, telling a tale that brings them far closer than any of them imagined. Filled with magical realism, coming of age and letting go, this is a book that offers something for anyone who's ever struggled to with finding themselves and learning to let go.
