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hannahbailey's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
TW: gore, violence, blood, homelessness, misogyny, sexism, absent family
Great concept, poor execution. Marketed as YA, yet the writing style and characters felt very juvenile. I'd put this in the hands of readers under the age of 12 rather than over, despite the gore and mild violence.
The story follows Ivy, a girl raised in foster care and her search for her biological mother.The search leads her to an isolated island where she encounters shadow demons, bearded evil Merlin and her 1500+ year old sisters (all eight of them). Here she discovers she has the soul of the ninth sister who was killed by Merlin, and to unlock her witchy power she has to believe in herself (something along those lines). The overarching message is that good bests evil and love trumps all, which is why I think it's better suited to middle grade rather than YA.
It's disappointing to see the 'I'm not like other girls' trope STILL being used in 2022: "I want to tell him I didn't learn martial arts the way that some girls take up yoga or gymnastics" like really? As a character growing up in the care system we could have had real insight into an alternative childhood and why Ivy felt prompted to pick up martial arts. Instead we get a quick 'kids go through too much in care' paired with 'oh but my current foster parents are really nice though, and I've always had allowances from every foster family I've been with'. Being chucked straight into the action is normally a good thing, but this history deserved more representation than it was given, both at the beginning and within the awkward flashbacks throughout the novel. Not to mention in the paragraph before we have a "that's what you get for putting your faith in people: disappointment". It's just very cliche and overdone, especially when tied in with the Tracy Beaker-esque backstory. [Edit: a reviewer who has experienced the care system commented below that this part of the storyline is accurate to their own experiences which I am happy to hear and will reserve further judgement on scenarios I know little about]
The other issues I had with this book were the plot holes and the writing. At the beginning of the book, Ivy works in a butterfly centre. I've not read any book featuring a butterfly centre! Nice! There is so much talk about butterflies at the start of this novel I thought this would be a recurring theme, which would've been great had it been executed. During her shift, 3 butterflies start flying around her head in an abnormal pattern. That's weird, and foreboding, and ominous, and all the other things a plot device like this is used for. And then they're never brought up again, save for a caterpillar reference towards the end of the book. Instead we then focus on cormorants, big birds that are actually women!
What's sad about this book too is that with a bit more time and length, it could be a really good book. We're rushed from scene to scene with no time for the character to stop and think. There's not enough character development to find Ivy relatable, nor is there enough dialogue and interaction between the other characters to make them stand out. Most revelations or truths are revealed through 1. info-dumping 2. reading it in a book and 3. memories-that-aren't-quite-her-memories. It means that every 'shock' falls a little flat and the story becomes less and less believable as it continues. Given the speed of the plot, I should've expected the ending to be the same. I was still confused as to why it was cut so short, unless a sequel has been planned.
Now, the writing: it was just so clunky and underdeveloped. Within the span of a couple of pages (and perhaps more, this is only when I started noticing) we have:
"Somehow I know it's done"
"Somehow I know they won't hurt him"
"Somehow I'm not afraid"
"Something tells me that she can heal him"
"Something deep in my gut tells me I can trust her"
"There's something unnerving about the way their bare feet step effortlessly"
"Somehow I know that I once had a special relationship with her"
"Something is happening"
That last one really takes the cake. Yeah, something is happening, it's me losing my will to live. Why hasn't an editor gone through this and tightened it up? It makes for poor storytelling, when we're getting nothing other than the character feeling "something"- I NEED MORE! I know this is an arc, but I'm doubtful how many more revisions it will have before publishing. More show, less tell, please.
There's more I could and want to say, but I've actually run out of steam writing this review. As a disclaimer, two of my favourite books are in the YA genre, so the genre or intended reading age is not the problem here. It's the plot holes, fast pace and lack of characterisation!
Thank you to Netgalley for this free arc in exchange for an honest review. (less)
Great concept, poor execution. Marketed as YA, yet the writing style and characters felt very juvenile. I'd put this in the hands of readers under the age of 12 rather than over, despite the gore and mild violence.
The story follows Ivy, a girl raised in foster care and her search for her biological mother.
It's disappointing to see the 'I'm not like other girls' trope STILL being used in 2022: "I want to tell him I didn't learn martial arts the way that some girls take up yoga or gymnastics" like really? As a character growing up in the care system we could have had real insight into an alternative childhood and why Ivy felt prompted to pick up martial arts. Instead we get a quick 'kids go through too much in care' paired with 'oh but my current foster parents are really nice though, and I've always had allowances from every foster family I've been with'. Being chucked straight into the action is normally a good thing, but this history deserved more representation than it was given, both at the beginning and within the awkward flashbacks throughout the novel. Not to mention in the paragraph before we have a "that's what you get for putting your faith in people: disappointment". It's just very cliche and overdone, especially when tied in with the Tracy Beaker-esque backstory. [Edit: a reviewer who has experienced the care system commented below that this part of the storyline is accurate to their own experiences which I am happy to hear and will reserve further judgement on scenarios I know little about]
The other issues I had with this book were the plot holes and the writing. At the beginning of the book, Ivy works in a butterfly centre. I've not read any book featuring a butterfly centre! Nice! There is so much talk about butterflies at the start of this novel I thought this would be a recurring theme, which would've been great had it been executed. During her shift, 3 butterflies start flying around her head in an abnormal pattern. That's weird, and foreboding, and ominous, and all the other things a plot device like this is used for. And then they're never brought up again, save for a caterpillar reference towards the end of the book. Instead we then focus on cormorants, big birds that are actually women!
What's sad about this book too is that with a bit more time and length, it could be a really good book. We're rushed from scene to scene with no time for the character to stop and think. There's not enough character development to find Ivy relatable, nor is there enough dialogue and interaction between the other characters to make them stand out. Most revelations or truths are revealed through 1. info-dumping 2. reading it in a book and 3. memories-that-aren't-quite-her-memories. It means that every 'shock' falls a little flat and the story becomes less and less believable as it continues. Given the speed of the plot, I should've expected the ending to be the same. I was still confused as to why it was cut so short, unless a sequel has been planned.
Now, the writing: it was just so clunky and underdeveloped. Within the span of a couple of pages (and perhaps more, this is only when I started noticing) we have:
"Somehow I know it's done"
"Somehow I know they won't hurt him"
"Somehow I'm not afraid"
"Something tells me that she can heal him"
"Something deep in my gut tells me I can trust her"
"There's something unnerving about the way their bare feet step effortlessly"
"Somehow I know that I once had a special relationship with her"
"Something is happening"
That last one really takes the cake. Yeah, something is happening, it's me losing my will to live. Why hasn't an editor gone through this and tightened it up? It makes for poor storytelling, when we're getting nothing other than the character feeling "something"- I NEED MORE! I know this is an arc, but I'm doubtful how many more revisions it will have before publishing. More show, less tell, please.
There's more I could and want to say, but I've actually run out of steam writing this review. As a disclaimer, two of my favourite books are in the YA genre, so the genre or intended reading age is not the problem here. It's the plot holes, fast pace and lack of characterisation!
Thank you to Netgalley for this free arc in exchange for an honest review. (less)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Vomit, Misogyny, Gore, Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, and Murder
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