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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
As always, a really good urban fantasy book. Real Urban Fantasy, not that bullshit with sexy witches and witchhunters falling in love with their most hated love all romeo and juliet and crap like that. Charles De Lint knows where it's at.
<3
<3
This book was the perfect antidote to the last book I read, so I fell in happily to De lint's world of fairies and worlds beyond. The characters are kind of idealized. They're the cadre of best buddies that everybody wants, but I think few people rarely have.
Nevertheless, I was up for some wishful idealized relationships so I don't fault De lint for that because it made reading the trials of the main character that much easier knowing she had all these friends that constantly spew unconditional love at her.
My one problem with the book was the southern accent that came with one of the POV characters. It was bad, and if it had been relegated to the dialogue only, I wouldn't complain. It was everything within that character's POV though. Being from the south, I've never met anyone with grammar that atrocious and certainly not anyone who uses more colorful metaphors per minute than Mike Huckabee (who is himself a somewhat dishonest characterization).
Nevertheless, I was up for some wishful idealized relationships so I don't fault De lint for that because it made reading the trials of the main character that much easier knowing she had all these friends that constantly spew unconditional love at her.
My one problem with the book was the southern accent that came with one of the POV characters. It was bad, and if it had been relegated to the dialogue only, I wouldn't complain. It was everything within that character's POV though. Being from the south, I've never met anyone with grammar that atrocious and certainly not anyone who uses more colorful metaphors per minute than Mike Huckabee (who is himself a somewhat dishonest characterization).
Oof. Yes. I disremember when I've identified with a protagonist so hard as I identify with Jilly. I came to this book a de Lint virgin, and now I'm going to start with Newford #1 and read them all. It was hard to read, hard to put down, hard to surface from. If you are one of the children of the secret, I recommend this highly. Provided you are in a safe place to read it, because it's a searing live thing in your hands.
This is a beautiful story that ties two estranged sisters together through hardship and pain. A look at sexual abuse, abuse of power, and tough choices. Jilly looks back over her life after a hit and run accident leaves her crippled and with the help of her friends learns to forgive herself and come to terms with the past. Her younger sister Raylene finds her way to forgiving those around her while learning to look more closely at her own choices. Both find themselves surrounded by magic and mystery and learn to appreciate it in completely different ways. I really loved this entire book. I actually listened to it during my commute and while I hated the reader at first, I ended up really liking her voices and especially her voice for Raylene. Laugh, cry, read again!
Charles de Lint always does a fantastic job of intertwining multiple stories at once. It was nice to get to know Jilly a bit more after having read some other Newford stories. Memory and Dream is still my favorite.
Every once in awhile I read a book that makes me want to push it on all my friends and say: read this, NOW! This is one of those books.
I was hooked from the first page. Jilly Coppercorn is a fantastic heroine. The intermingling of magic and myth is just too good for words. Jilly and her friends have wonderful worlds to travel, heartbreaks to heal, abuse to overcome, and strength beyond imagining.
I reached a point 100 pages from the end where I felt dread. I had a preconceived notion of where this was heading and I wasn't pleased. But it took a turn and changed it course. I was surprised and happy by this. Seriously wonderful way to end the book.
I highly recommend this to all my friends who love Magical Realism
I was hooked from the first page. Jilly Coppercorn is a fantastic heroine. The intermingling of magic and myth is just too good for words. Jilly and her friends have wonderful worlds to travel, heartbreaks to heal, abuse to overcome, and strength beyond imagining.
I reached a point 100 pages from the end where I felt dread. I had a preconceived notion of where this was heading and I wasn't pleased. But it took a turn and changed it course. I was surprised and happy by this. Seriously wonderful way to end the book.
I highly recommend this to all my friends who love Magical Realism
3.5 stars
So good, but so hard to read because of therealistic portrayal of sexual abuse and its longterm effects on an individual's life and the people and systems that fail victims and survivors. This is the real-est magical realism I've ever read, and I'm not sure if that's a compliment or an accusation right at this moment because getting through this book took work. I certainly didn't expect magical realism to be this real. Didn't know that it could get this real.
That aside, my main issue with this book was not knowing where it was going. The writing was at times sharp and hard hitting, but also dreamy and lyrical; other times, it was slow moving and seemed to be going in circles or nowhere. I couldn't figure out where it was leading or what it was setting up for until I was over halfway through. At this point I imagine is where most people would've given up if this book had been their entry point into the Newford series, but since I'm a completionist by nature and this was a buddy read with Beth, I pushed on.
Not sure if I can say that the effort paid off or that the ending is worth the struggle that came before it, but I can confirm that the characters do grow on you and you do end up caring about them before you realize what's happening. I get now what other reviewers mean when they call these books spellbinding--they pull you in bit by bit and you don't realize it until you reach the end.
Objectively speaking, I have immense appreciation for this book and the depth and range of Charles de Lint's writing, and I plan to go back and start the Newford series from the beginning one day. But subjectively? I will probably, most definitely, never read this volume again. Not even to refresh my memory.
Grand Marais, Lake Superior
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Cross-posted at https://covers2covers.wordpress.com/2020/03/23/the-onion-girl-newford-8-by-charles-de-lint/
“There's more to life than just surviving . . . but . . . sometimes just surviving is all you get”
So good, but so hard to read because of the
That aside, my main issue with this book was not knowing where it was going. The writing was at times sharp and hard hitting, but also dreamy and lyrical; other times, it was slow moving and seemed to be going in circles or nowhere. I couldn't figure out where it was leading or what it was setting up for until I was over halfway through. At this point I imagine is where most people would've given up if this book had been their entry point into the Newford series, but since I'm a completionist by nature and this was a buddy read with Beth, I pushed on.
Not sure if I can say that the effort paid off or that the ending is worth the struggle that came before it, but I can confirm that the characters do grow on you and you do end up caring about them before you realize what's happening. I get now what other reviewers mean when they call these books spellbinding--they pull you in bit by bit and you don't realize it until you reach the end.
Objectively speaking, I have immense appreciation for this book and the depth and range of Charles de Lint's writing, and I plan to go back and start the Newford series from the beginning one day. But subjectively? I will probably, most definitely, never read this volume again. Not even to refresh my memory.
“I suppose the other thing too many forget is that we were all stories once, each and every one of us. And we remain stories. But too often we allow those stories to grow banal, or cruel or unconnected to each other. We allow the stories to continue, but they no longer have a heart. They no longer sustain us.”
Grand Marais, Lake Superior
* * * * *
Cross-posted at https://covers2covers.wordpress.com/2020/03/23/the-onion-girl-newford-8-by-charles-de-lint/
emotional
reflective
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes