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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Marcus Sedgwick's books excel at atmosphere - he builds suspense slowly, inexorably, and with a finely honed edge. This book is written in reverse order, with each story taking readers back through a previously lifetime, experiencing the connection between to souls destined to interact throughout time, finishing with the story that begins the whole cycle. Each short story has its own chapters, and all but the first and last pretty much stand alone, but are made better by the whole.
This story is a set of seven parts that tell an interweaving story spanning backwards through time from the future to ancient days. It's a very interesting concept, but it's also a very odd read. I can't say that I didn't like it, but I can't say that I did either. It kept my attention. I wanted to see what happened next (or before), but I can't say that I got a sense of some great love spanning centuries which is what I think the point was. There was not much plot and very little character development since we are introduced to new characters every 50 pages or so. As a side note the hardcover edition is gorgeous with beautiful title pages for each part.
I have to say, it's interesting to see what you find when you start digging into your "to-read" list on Goodreads, and can't remember why you may have added something.
Midwinterblood was one of those books. My best guess for it being added to my "to-read" list is that it won the Michael L. Printz award. Otherwise, it isn't something I would generally seek out, I don't think. It's a fantasy, but different than other fantasies, in that it stands alone, which I can appreciate. One of the reasons I tend not to read much fantasy is that they tend to be written as huge, sweeping series, and I just can't justify sacrificing so much time and energy to a single series for months at a time (I'm doing it with Harry Potter now, and while I love the re-read, the list of things I need to read when I'm finished is quickly getting out of control. I'm so behind!).
Anyway, Midwinterblood. Fantasy. Not something I'd usually seek out. But....actually really good.
I have to note, first, that Julian Rhind-Tutt narrated the audiobook, and was PHENOMENAL. Like, seriously. A huge part of the reason I enjoyed this book, I think, was his narration. He was wonderful to listen to, and did a fantastic job of differentiating voices between characters and time periods. For that reason alone, I don't know if I would have enjoyed this quite as much had I just read the print edition. He helped me notice nuances that I think I would have easily glanced over otherwise.
The story is an interesting one. It starts in the year 2073, with a man named Erik Seven, a journalist, visiting the mysterious island of Blessed. By the time we leave Erik Seven (forgive me if spellings aren't right...again, I did the audiobook so have no idea how anything is spelled), we know no more about the island than we did when we started, but know something is going on there, and that he has some kind of connection to the mysterious woman, Merle, who lives on the island.
Erik's is only the first of seven stories the reader is told throughout the course of the book. Each story takes place a bit farther back in time, and Erik and Merle keep appearing, albeit in very different ways in each story. I recognized that this was significant, but had no idea why that was. I enjoyed the various stories to greater and lesser extents (loved the story about the mysterious writer living in the temple, didn't love the story about the fallen airman), always wondering how and why they connected, aside from taking place on the island of Blessed.
When everything finally does come together, and there is some light shed on the true origins of both Erik's and Merle's stories, it's pretty spectacular. And had me thinking back to previous parts of the story to remember different interactions, connections, and events. This was one of those rare gems that, although I liked the story well enough throughout, it wasn't until the end that I truly appreciated the true beauty of the story. The author brought everything together so well, without ever hitting the reader over the head with anything, which I always appreciate.
I really enjoyed this one.
Midwinterblood was one of those books. My best guess for it being added to my "to-read" list is that it won the Michael L. Printz award. Otherwise, it isn't something I would generally seek out, I don't think. It's a fantasy, but different than other fantasies, in that it stands alone, which I can appreciate. One of the reasons I tend not to read much fantasy is that they tend to be written as huge, sweeping series, and I just can't justify sacrificing so much time and energy to a single series for months at a time (I'm doing it with Harry Potter now, and while I love the re-read, the list of things I need to read when I'm finished is quickly getting out of control. I'm so behind!).
Anyway, Midwinterblood. Fantasy. Not something I'd usually seek out. But....actually really good.
I have to note, first, that Julian Rhind-Tutt narrated the audiobook, and was PHENOMENAL. Like, seriously. A huge part of the reason I enjoyed this book, I think, was his narration. He was wonderful to listen to, and did a fantastic job of differentiating voices between characters and time periods. For that reason alone, I don't know if I would have enjoyed this quite as much had I just read the print edition. He helped me notice nuances that I think I would have easily glanced over otherwise.
The story is an interesting one. It starts in the year 2073, with a man named Erik Seven, a journalist, visiting the mysterious island of Blessed. By the time we leave Erik Seven (forgive me if spellings aren't right...again, I did the audiobook so have no idea how anything is spelled), we know no more about the island than we did when we started, but know something is going on there, and that he has some kind of connection to the mysterious woman, Merle, who lives on the island.
Erik's is only the first of seven stories the reader is told throughout the course of the book. Each story takes place a bit farther back in time, and Erik and Merle keep appearing, albeit in very different ways in each story. I recognized that this was significant, but had no idea why that was. I enjoyed the various stories to greater and lesser extents (loved the story about the mysterious writer living in the temple, didn't love the story about the fallen airman), always wondering how and why they connected, aside from taking place on the island of Blessed.
When everything finally does come together, and there is some light shed on the true origins of both Erik's and Merle's stories, it's pretty spectacular. And had me thinking back to previous parts of the story to remember different interactions, connections, and events. This was one of those rare gems that, although I liked the story well enough throughout, it wasn't until the end that I truly appreciated the true beauty of the story. The author brought everything together so well, without ever hitting the reader over the head with anything, which I always appreciate.
I really enjoyed this one.
It was refreshing to read such a unique and cleverly written book. Beautiful imagery and storytelling makes this a memorable read.
Strange and beautiful. Different from anything I've ever read.
Not that creepy, just boring. Gave up about halfway through
This book is a series of seven interconnected vignettes that all take place at different times in history in descending order. They explore reincarnation and love.
As I was reading this, I wasn't sure if I liked it. It is kind of weird and there did not seem to be a plot, but then when I finished, it all came together and it made more sense. I liked it, but I can't say I loved it. It was a little too weird for my taste, but the format and story was really unique and I enjoyed that. It is a hard book to explain.
As I was reading this, I wasn't sure if I liked it. It is kind of weird and there did not seem to be a plot, but then when I finished, it all came together and it made more sense. I liked it, but I can't say I loved it. It was a little too weird for my taste, but the format and story was really unique and I enjoyed that. It is a hard book to explain.
*4.5 stars*
I liked this a lot ! Wow it was definitely unlike anything I've ever read before, and it had a lot of interesting themes / symbolism going on. This book was just an experience unlike anything I've ever read before and I want to keep this review kind of short, because I think half the fun of this book is finding out what's going on along the way.
Plot- This is definitely a plot centered book. It's composed of many short stories, but they're all related and connected to one another. The threads he weaves throughout this book all end up coming together in the end, and slowly throughout the book you understand what's going on. Usually, I don't like when a book is this confusing, but it really worked for this one. It was confusing enough to keep you intrigued, but you knew enough to follow along what was happening, and pick up on any important clues. The planning that this novel must have taken is very admirable, and stories where seemingly unconnected things come together in the end are some of my favorite stories, so I really like it. I can probably say it was one of the most unique plots I've ever read as well. It was riddled with themes and symbols throughout, which I also very much appreciated, I thought it added more to the interwoven-ness of the stories, if that makes any sense hah.
Writing- The writing in this was very removed, but it worked well. It gave an almost grim tone to the story, and it made it feel like you were watching it all happen, but not directly involved. I think it worked very well, and even though I'm having a tough time describing it, just know that, like almost everything in this book, it was very unique.
Characters- This was the books biggest downfall for me, and why I can't give it five stars. I really didn't feel any connection to the characters. I only took off half a star though, because it didn't really bother me while reading, as I was so enthralled into the story. I think the characters were important yes, but the circumstances surrounding the characters were much more integral to the story than amazingly well developed characters were, so I'm glad he decided to focus on the well-crafted plot, rather than characters.
Overall- This was such a different read, that I highly enjoyed. I read this with a friend, and we flew through it in one day. The whole time I just wanted to figure out what was going on, while also just enjoying the single stories as they were. I definitely want to read more Sedgwick after this.
Recommend?- Yes, I think anyone would enjoy this.
I liked this a lot ! Wow it was definitely unlike anything I've ever read before, and it had a lot of interesting themes / symbolism going on. This book was just an experience unlike anything I've ever read before and I want to keep this review kind of short, because I think half the fun of this book is finding out what's going on along the way.
Plot- This is definitely a plot centered book. It's composed of many short stories, but they're all related and connected to one another. The threads he weaves throughout this book all end up coming together in the end, and slowly throughout the book you understand what's going on. Usually, I don't like when a book is this confusing, but it really worked for this one. It was confusing enough to keep you intrigued, but you knew enough to follow along what was happening, and pick up on any important clues. The planning that this novel must have taken is very admirable, and stories where seemingly unconnected things come together in the end are some of my favorite stories, so I really like it. I can probably say it was one of the most unique plots I've ever read as well. It was riddled with themes and symbols throughout, which I also very much appreciated, I thought it added more to the interwoven-ness of the stories, if that makes any sense hah.
Writing- The writing in this was very removed, but it worked well. It gave an almost grim tone to the story, and it made it feel like you were watching it all happen, but not directly involved. I think it worked very well, and even though I'm having a tough time describing it, just know that, like almost everything in this book, it was very unique.
Characters- This was the books biggest downfall for me, and why I can't give it five stars. I really didn't feel any connection to the characters. I only took off half a star though, because it didn't really bother me while reading, as I was so enthralled into the story. I think the characters were important yes, but the circumstances surrounding the characters were much more integral to the story than amazingly well developed characters were, so I'm glad he decided to focus on the well-crafted plot, rather than characters.
Overall- This was such a different read, that I highly enjoyed. I read this with a friend, and we flew through it in one day. The whole time I just wanted to figure out what was going on, while also just enjoying the single stories as they were. I definitely want to read more Sedgwick after this.
Recommend?- Yes, I think anyone would enjoy this.
How do I describe Midwinterblood?
It doesn't really feel like a young adult novel, BUT it did win the 2014 Printz award. The writing is beautiful, BUT you don't really know any of the characters (and there are a lot of characters). It's wildly original, BUT I don't this book would appeal to my teens at all. To be honest, I think this book would have been better as a graphic novel to really immerse the reader in the island of Blessed and to capture to mood of the novel. I would recommend this book, however, to quirky adult readers who want a quick read.
It doesn't really feel like a young adult novel, BUT it did win the 2014 Printz award. The writing is beautiful, BUT you don't really know any of the characters (and there are a lot of characters). It's wildly original, BUT I don't this book would appeal to my teens at all. To be honest, I think this book would have been better as a graphic novel to really immerse the reader in the island of Blessed and to capture to mood of the novel. I would recommend this book, however, to quirky adult readers who want a quick read.