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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
It took me a while to pull my thoughts together to write a review after reading this book. It is so rich and complex! Definitely a worthy winner of the Printz Award.
Full review at:http://writingboutreading.wordpress.com/2014/04/12/a-supernatural-mystery-across-the-ages/
Full review at:http://writingboutreading.wordpress.com/2014/04/12/a-supernatural-mystery-across-the-ages/
I absolutely love that this book takes off from a painting, and I appreciated the layers of the story...excellent read on a rainy afternoon.
http://hickeypicks.wordpress.com/2014/01/30/2014-printz-winner-is-a-well-constructed-page-turner/
this book was not very good .It won the Printz award .I don't think it was deserving of the award and was not very YA .I read plenty of Ya last year that were better oh well !
This is one of those books I can't say too much about without dwelling into potentially spoilerish territory, so I will be brief.
Some books I never really know about until I turn the final page. For instance, I loved Alison Goodman's Eona literally all the way up to the final chapter. I still liked it afterwards, but the ending proved to be so utterly disappointing that I could no longer love it.
Midwinterblood was the opposite for me. For 90% of the time I was reading this book, I didn't understand what was so great about it. It was interesting, but not amazing as I had been led to believe. Then came home stretch and everything changed. Marcus Sedgwick's tale of strangeness went from "meh" to being truly creepy, touching, and, quite honestly, brilliant.
But be warned, if you decide to pick this one up, don't give up half way through. You will probably walk away feeling the characters are flat and the writing is just a little too whimsical. I almost gave up once or twice for the reasons stated above. I'm glad did not. Stick with it. You will not be disappointed. Highly recommended.
Some books I never really know about until I turn the final page. For instance, I loved Alison Goodman's Eona literally all the way up to the final chapter. I still liked it afterwards, but the ending proved to be so utterly disappointing that I could no longer love it.
Midwinterblood was the opposite for me. For 90% of the time I was reading this book, I didn't understand what was so great about it. It was interesting, but not amazing as I had been led to believe. Then came home stretch and everything changed. Marcus Sedgwick's tale of strangeness went from "meh" to being truly creepy, touching, and, quite honestly, brilliant.
But be warned, if you decide to pick this one up, don't give up half way through. You will probably walk away feeling the characters are flat and the writing is just a little too whimsical. I almost gave up once or twice for the reasons stated above. I'm glad did not. Stick with it. You will not be disappointed. Highly recommended.
Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick is a lyrical, haunting book which I devoured in a single evening. It was shelved in the science fiction/fantasy section of my local bookstore, but the work really defies genre. It's more in keeping with the Garcia tradition of magical realism. I love narratives that challenge the linear nature of time and push at the edges of everyday reality, especially when they incorporate beautiful language and recurring motifs. This novel does all that and more.
Set on the same island in seven different time periods, the novel explores the themes of love and sacrifice as it weaves together characters who recur in different iterations and permutations. "I might be lots of people [...] Why do I have to be just one? I am lots of people and I love all of the and they love me."
Sedgewick drew inspiration from a painting in the Swedish National Gallery called Midvinterblot (Wikipedia link here). His vivid description of the painting and the way he brought its narrative to life inspired me to research it further. This passage from the book characterizes the real-life reception of the painting, which was relegated to the dust-heap of history until almost a century after its creation:
Set on the same island in seven different time periods, the novel explores the themes of love and sacrifice as it weaves together characters who recur in different iterations and permutations. "I might be lots of people [...] Why do I have to be just one? I am lots of people and I love all of the and they love me."
Sedgewick drew inspiration from a painting in the Swedish National Gallery called Midvinterblot (Wikipedia link here). His vivid description of the painting and the way he brought its narrative to life inspired me to research it further. This passage from the book characterizes the real-life reception of the painting, which was relegated to the dust-heap of history until almost a century after its creation:
"Sacrifice. That's a somewhat... outdated... notion, isn't it? In this modern world?"
"Outdated?" echoed Eric. Suddenly, he felt very old. He felt that he didn't understand.
"The theme is old, but not outdated," he explained, feeling bewildered. "And it refers to the island, whose very name is written in blood!"
"Really?" said one of the men.
"Indeed. People think the name of this island means 'blessed,' and so it does, but 'blessed' does not mean what people think it does. In the old tongue it was blestian and before that blotsian, and before that, just blod. It means sacrifice.
Sacrifice.
"To bless means to sacrifice, and in blood."
There is a pause. A long pause.
Then, "Good. Well, thank you for your time here today, Mr. Carlsson."
With that they left.
A beautiful, epic and classic tale of love everlasting. Told with some traditional elements and modern twists, this is a story sure to become a favourite. Hold it close to your heart and breathe it in.
A creepy tale written in seven short stories that move backward through time from 2073 to prehistoric pagan days on a small Scandinavian Island where the rare Blessed Dragon Orchid is rumored to give the inhabitants immortality. This book is beautifully written and keeps the reader guessing at the connections that begin to emerge through the seven stories. This is a quick read filled with romance, mystery, and suspense - a book that sticks with you long after the last page is turned. -Erin J.
This book was interesting. It told 7 stories that take place in descending chronological order (in terms of the time period) that all relate somehow. That relationship makes no sense until the last story, however, which was sort of frustrating. Ultimately there were strong themes of love and sacrifice that permeated each story. I enjoyed it because it's so different from what I normally read but it's slow paced and slightly confusing till the end. I would recommend it to those who enjoy a bit of mystery, good writing, and a story that wraps up all the loose ends by the time the final page has turned. Oh and I didn't find any of it to be "horror" and I het scared really easily, so don't let that marketing term scare you from reading this book.
WHY OH WHY??? ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
This book was so brilliant, so stunning, so 5-stars-and-faves-shelf awesome... and then the end happened ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ And it's not even that it ends the way it does, it's that it was so bloody obvious that I never thought MS would go for it. It's like he had this crazy and perfect idea for a story and then on the last three pages he got bored. I'm giving it 3 stars because I absolutely loved the previous 260 pages, and it probably deserves more, but that final chapter killed me, and not in a good way ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
This book was so brilliant, so stunning, so 5-stars-and-faves-shelf awesome... and then the end happened ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ And it's not even that it ends the way it does, it's that it was so bloody obvious that I never thought MS would go for it. It's like he had this crazy and perfect idea for a story and then on the last three pages he got bored. I'm giving it 3 stars because I absolutely loved the previous 260 pages, and it probably deserves more, but that final chapter killed me, and not in a good way ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜