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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Grief
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Racial slurs, Self harm
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
This is a gorgeous book, written in verse. I enjoyed it so much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death
AMAZING, HOW SO MUCH CAN BE CONVEYED WITH SO FEW WORDS
Full confession first - I actually had no idea this would be a verse novel when I started it. I have never read a novel written in verse before, so it took a little while to get into it. But once I did, I actually found myself enjoying the lyrical writing. I was fascinated by the topic of grief and coping with loss but, sadly, the repetitive plot dragged the book down in my opinion. Still worth the read though!
THE THINGS I LIKED
Topic: Many books handle the topic 'grief'. But few books handle it in such a multilayered way as this one. The MC Lottie, who is around 11-12 years old at the start of this book, has lost her mother and sister. To cope with this loss, Lottie becomes fascinated by the reanimation of dead animals through taxidermy. But her grief is not the only one in this book - there is also the quiet grief of her father, the memory-ladden grief of her grandmother and the grief-turned-fierce-protection of her aunt Hilda. Beautifully handled.
Verse: Like I said, verse novels is not something I have a whole lot of experience with, but I was truly impressed by how much meaning could be conveyed with so few words. Now, I, of course, can't say if this is the case with all verse novels, but in any case, it was impressive.
Writing: Death, taxidermy and grief are quite morbid topics, but the author here managed to make them almost beautiful with her poetic and lyrical writing. However, if you are squeamish about graphic descriptions of dead animals in various stages of decay, I would stay clear of this book if I were you. Fair warning.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
Repetition: Sadly, this book seemed to repeat itself; Lottie finds a dead animal and brings it home. Aunt Hilda destroys it. And repeat. Over and over. The inability of the story to renew itself was a blow for me and made it a little boring. On the plus side though, it is short, so even with the repetitiveness it is quickly finished.
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
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Full confession first - I actually had no idea this would be a verse novel when I started it. I have never read a novel written in verse before, so it took a little while to get into it. But once I did, I actually found myself enjoying the lyrical writing. I was fascinated by the topic of grief and coping with loss but, sadly, the repetitive plot dragged the book down in my opinion. Still worth the read though!
"Her name was always spoken
in a whisper -
Adrianna, Adrianna.
Long vowels,
rolling in waves
of pain through air."
THE THINGS I LIKED
Topic: Many books handle the topic 'grief'. But few books handle it in such a multilayered way as this one. The MC Lottie, who is around 11-12 years old at the start of this book, has lost her mother and sister. To cope with this loss, Lottie becomes fascinated by the reanimation of dead animals through taxidermy. But her grief is not the only one in this book - there is also the quiet grief of her father, the memory-ladden grief of her grandmother and the grief-turned-fierce-protection of her aunt Hilda. Beautifully handled.
Verse: Like I said, verse novels is not something I have a whole lot of experience with, but I was truly impressed by how much meaning could be conveyed with so few words. Now, I, of course, can't say if this is the case with all verse novels, but in any case, it was impressive.
Writing: Death, taxidermy and grief are quite morbid topics, but the author here managed to make them almost beautiful with her poetic and lyrical writing. However, if you are squeamish about graphic descriptions of dead animals in various stages of decay, I would stay clear of this book if I were you. Fair warning.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
Repetition: Sadly, this book seemed to repeat itself; Lottie finds a dead animal and brings it home. Aunt Hilda destroys it. And repeat. Over and over. The inability of the story to renew itself was a blow for me and made it a little boring. On the plus side though, it is short, so even with the repetitiveness it is quickly finished.
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
FOLLOW MY BLOG FOR MORE BOOK GOODNESS
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Although I'm quite squeamish, I have been fascinated by the art of taxidermy and the mindset behind such an artistic medium since reading English Animals last year. This beautiful cover instantly drew me in and when I learned it was written in verse, I just had to pick it up.
I ended up reading this in one sitting. As it is written in verse, each section is quite short and there are illustrations such as those on the cover that break up the story also.
This is quite a sad read. A lot of Lottie's experiences and interests revolve around death and there are many instances of quite grotesque animal imagery throughout. However, I didn't find that off-putting at all. I enjoyed the way that the author used Lottie's interest in taxidermy to contrast with her aunt's societal expectations of her as a woman. The discussion surrounding the concept of taxidermy and whether it is morbid or wrong in some way were fascinating. On the other hand, I felt like I would have liked a little bit more from these discussions, particularly the idea of gender and what types of jobs are "proper" for a woman to be interested in compared to a man.
Overall, I liked this book. It was a quick read that I read in one sitting and I would definitely read something else by this author again in the future. If you like novels written in verse, I would recommend you give this a go.
Although I'm quite squeamish, I have been fascinated by the art of taxidermy and the mindset behind such an artistic medium since reading English Animals last year. This beautiful cover instantly drew me in and when I learned it was written in verse, I just had to pick it up.
I ended up reading this in one sitting. As it is written in verse, each section is quite short and there are illustrations such as those on the cover that break up the story also.
This is quite a sad read. A lot of Lottie's experiences and interests revolve around death and there are many instances of quite grotesque animal imagery throughout. However, I didn't find that off-putting at all. I enjoyed the way that the author used Lottie's interest in taxidermy to contrast with her aunt's societal expectations of her as a woman. The discussion surrounding the concept of taxidermy and whether it is morbid or wrong in some way were fascinating. On the other hand, I felt like I would have liked a little bit more from these discussions, particularly the idea of gender and what types of jobs are "proper" for a woman to be interested in compared to a man.
Overall, I liked this book. It was a quick read that I read in one sitting and I would definitely read something else by this author again in the future. If you like novels written in verse, I would recommend you give this a go.
Oh man, what an interesting little book. Going in, I didn’t know it was written in verse so it took a little while to adjust to that format of writing. This is a cute, if not strange, story.
The story follows Lottie as she explores her newfound love of taxidermy. Personally, I’ve always found taxidermy a bit gross and creepy, but this book actually changed my view. Lottie has a way of describing the art of taxidermy as just that - art. Giving new life to something that has passed.
This book is beautiful and weird and heartbreaking at times. It’s a true representation of growing up in a world full of loss, and finding ways to cope with your grief.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a light story dealing with tough topics.
The story follows Lottie as she explores her newfound love of taxidermy. Personally, I’ve always found taxidermy a bit gross and creepy, but this book actually changed my view. Lottie has a way of describing the art of taxidermy as just that - art. Giving new life to something that has passed.
This book is beautiful and weird and heartbreaking at times. It’s a true representation of growing up in a world full of loss, and finding ways to cope with your grief.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a light story dealing with tough topics.