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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
In which I read through The Printz Award books for literary excellence in YA books.
Seven timelines, starting in the future and working backwards in time until time unknown. Seven stories, all containing a man named Eric, a woman named Merle, an Island, and a hare. All the stories are very different, yet connected by a story thread. I hesitate to say more about it because it really is an experience.
I thought this was going to be like other cult thriller novels, and as such remained fairly glued to the story in need of funding out what was actually going on. I'm happy to have stuck through it. It was a puzzle to be solved and it's usually pretty satisfying to have the answer. While I did assume correctly what happened at the end/beginning, I needed the why. While I was discomfited by the content of the story, the end had a little bit of sweetness that had me walking away both satisfied and melancholy.
Seven timelines, starting in the future and working backwards in time until time unknown. Seven stories, all containing a man named Eric, a woman named Merle, an Island, and a hare. All the stories are very different, yet connected by a story thread. I hesitate to say more about it because it really is an experience.
I thought this was going to be like other cult thriller novels, and as such remained fairly glued to the story in need of funding out what was actually going on. I'm happy to have stuck through it. It was a puzzle to be solved and it's usually pretty satisfying to have the answer. While I did assume correctly what happened at the end/beginning, I needed the why. While I was discomfited by the content of the story, the end had a little bit of sweetness that had me walking away both satisfied and melancholy.
Really good series of connected stories - loved the fairy-tale like premise and the straightforward but beautiful writing. A second read would definitely be interesting. Seems very Printz-ish to me too.
This is my first Marcus Sedwick and it will not be the last. This is told as stories over time, stories set on an island, called Blessed, off Scandanavia. Eric Seven is sent to investigate rumours of longevity among the inhabitabitants and meets Merle, who he feels an affinity for. It's a story of sacrafice and love and facing your destiny in an interesting way and it didn't feel like a children's story or a young adult story, it felt like an adult story.
Inspired by the Midvinterblot painting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midvinterblot by Carl Larsson, it includes a cameo by him in the story. Next time I am in Sweden I will have to see the painting in person. I have been to Upsala and to Gamla Upsala and I am still sorry I missed the May Eve bonfire there. The Swedes have a thin layer of Christianity over an undercurrent of paganism, making this story ring quite true.
The story is about sacrafice and about blood but it's sacrafice for greater good in most instances and as the stories wove their way it was a compelling read. I had to put it aside after each story to think about them and about some of the implications.
Marcus Sedwick is worth watching.
Inspired by the Midvinterblot painting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midvinterblot by Carl Larsson, it includes a cameo by him in the story. Next time I am in Sweden I will have to see the painting in person. I have been to Upsala and to Gamla Upsala and I am still sorry I missed the May Eve bonfire there. The Swedes have a thin layer of Christianity over an undercurrent of paganism, making this story ring quite true.
The story is about sacrafice and about blood but it's sacrafice for greater good in most instances and as the stories wove their way it was a compelling read. I had to put it aside after each story to think about them and about some of the implications.
Marcus Sedwick is worth watching.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I would argue that this book is more love story of an island than the main couple. Either way, it was a strange book with a lot of philosophical undertones. I enjoyed it, especially since it wasn't a traditional romance.
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
challenging
mysterious
reflective
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
I liked this book. I'm a sucker for books that show multiple historical times following the same place/family, and the creepy vibes were good.
What a pleasant surprise this book was. It's the first one I've read by [a:Marcus Sedgwick|110234|Marcus Sedgwick|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1298204345p2/110234.jpg], I've been putting off reading his other works after hearing them repeatedly described as "weird". And I get that, this was extremely weird and the kind of book that makes very little sense until the end. But it was a great story, the writing was brilliant and I really liked the whole concept.
This is a very difficult review to write beyond using rather empty adjectives like "amazing" and "great", mostly because it was so odd. What can I write without giving something important away? I will say that this has made my mind up about needing to read the author's other books, I already have [b:Revolver|6491917|Revolver|Marcus Sedgwick|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1319727900s/6491917.jpg|6683327] sitting on my shelf and I plan on getting to it as soon as possible.
The actual idea behind this story is one that has been explored many times but the way in which it is done here is highly original (and slightly mind-boggling). I can understand why Sedgwick's books are not very widely read, especially seeing as he is writing for a teenage audience. In my local library, his books aren't even in the teen section, but on the 8-12 shelves. There's very little chance that younger readers will care for his writing even if they do manage to understand it. Perhaps both he and his publisher need to rethink the target audience?
Many thanks to UK Book Tours for sending me this ARC.