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3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Alcohol
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Grief
Minor: Self harm, Suicide, Car accident
/Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review/
A modern retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, “A Song for Ella Grey” does a decent job of presenting the myth to a young adult audience in a contemporary setting. However, Almond takes a gigantic risk in utilizing a strong north English dialect for the characters’ speech; a risk that ultimately fails as it the effect quickly tires for non north English readers.
The beginning part of the book is by far the strongest point. Almond hooks readers in immediately, informing us that there will be two deaths. He then gives us the fulcrum of the novella, one of the confirmed dead running away with a boy she’s never met in person before. With those two tidbits provided, the focus then switches back to the beginning as he has the narrator, Claire, begin to unwind the events that led to the demise of Ella.
Were this a simple, straightforward contemporary retelling, “A Song for Ella Grey” may have been fantastic, and would definitely have received more than the two star rating I’m giving it. Even with the dialect writing, the story of Ella and Orpheus was done well. Unfortunately, Almond splices through the myth with large sections of existentialist ramblings that detract from the main theme, the main story, and only work at boring the reader. I’m all for existential crises, but I don’t want to reread the same issues of self awareness every few pages when I am supposed to be reading a simple retelling. Especially when the two halves of the book, the myth and the existentialism, never seem to connect or even highlight one another. I was incredibly tempted to give “A Song for Ella Grey” a one star rating, but my love for the myth bumped it up to two. I also do think that there are some that would enjoy the novella, but mostly that would be a small niche audience of fifteen year olds in North England.
A Song for Ella Grey Review was originally published on By Lulu with Love
A modern retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, “A Song for Ella Grey” does a decent job of presenting the myth to a young adult audience in a contemporary setting. However, Almond takes a gigantic risk in utilizing a strong north English dialect for the characters’ speech; a risk that ultimately fails as it the effect quickly tires for non north English readers.
The beginning part of the book is by far the strongest point. Almond hooks readers in immediately, informing us that there will be two deaths. He then gives us the fulcrum of the novella, one of the confirmed dead running away with a boy she’s never met in person before. With those two tidbits provided, the focus then switches back to the beginning as he has the narrator, Claire, begin to unwind the events that led to the demise of Ella.
Were this a simple, straightforward contemporary retelling, “A Song for Ella Grey” may have been fantastic, and would definitely have received more than the two star rating I’m giving it. Even with the dialect writing, the story of Ella and Orpheus was done well. Unfortunately, Almond splices through the myth with large sections of existentialist ramblings that detract from the main theme, the main story, and only work at boring the reader. I’m all for existential crises, but I don’t want to reread the same issues of self awareness every few pages when I am supposed to be reading a simple retelling. Especially when the two halves of the book, the myth and the existentialism, never seem to connect or even highlight one another. I was incredibly tempted to give “A Song for Ella Grey” a one star rating, but my love for the myth bumped it up to two. I also do think that there are some that would enjoy the novella, but mostly that would be a small niche audience of fifteen year olds in North England.
A Song for Ella Grey Review was originally published on By Lulu with Love
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Honestly, just not worth reading in my opinion. The characters weren't compelling and the narrative bored.
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a retelling of the 'Orpheus and Eurydice' greek myth - which is one I had never even heard of. I'm also a huge fan of David Almond ever since reading Skellig as a child back in my years in primary school. A Song for Ella Grey truly intrigued me and the summary sounded very promising. I'm sad to say that this wasn't one of Almond's better novels.
The writing style is a little different with a stronger use of punctuation that you wouldn't find in most YA books. Though lyrical and poetic, I was confused in most parts when reading the story. In terms of plot, there isn't one. Not really.
We meet Claire and Ella Grey, two best friends who share a very strong bond, one which I admired. Majority of the story was told from Claire's point-of-view as we know from the summary that Ella Grey dies so Claire is left to narrate the story. Claire and her friends discover Orpheus on a beach where his singing enchants anyone who listens. His back story is a little mysterious as socialization is not something he is fond of. He meets Ella through Claire and the two of them start a relationship which leaves Claire wondering if she is losing Ella to Orpheus.
Ella's personality just didn't win me over and I felt like I didn't know her at all. Her death is sudden and a little rushed that I just didn't feel any sympathy. There were a lot of elements towards the end that really put me off and irritated me. The only relationship that I did understand was the friendship between Ella and Claire. It's implied that Claire harbors strong feelings for Ella but she chooses to support and respect Ella's choices. I also wished to know see more about Orpheus, though we do get a chapter from his point-of-view. The events following Ella's death were truly disappointing and a shame as it could have been better.
Even with the tragedy, the ending wasn't one of the best and I'm really dissatisfied with how the story turned out. To an extent this was an okay novel, the beginning was more enjoyable to read than the end in my opinion. There are fantasy elements that connect the story back to the myth but it just didn't work for me.
The writing style is a little different with a stronger use of punctuation that you wouldn't find in most YA books. Though lyrical and poetic, I was confused in most parts when reading the story. In terms of plot, there isn't one. Not really.
We meet Claire and Ella Grey, two best friends who share a very strong bond, one which I admired. Majority of the story was told from Claire's point-of-view as we know from the summary that Ella Grey dies so Claire is left to narrate the story. Claire and her friends discover Orpheus on a beach where his singing enchants anyone who listens. His back story is a little mysterious as socialization is not something he is fond of. He meets Ella through Claire and the two of them start a relationship which leaves Claire wondering if she is losing Ella to Orpheus.
Ella's personality just didn't win me over and I felt like I didn't know her at all. Her death is sudden and a little rushed that I just didn't feel any sympathy. There were a lot of elements towards the end that really put me off and irritated me. The only relationship that I did understand was the friendship between Ella and Claire. It's implied that Claire harbors strong feelings for Ella but she chooses to support and respect Ella's choices. I also wished to know see more about Orpheus, though we do get a chapter from his point-of-view. The events following Ella's death were truly disappointing and a shame as it could have been better.
Even with the tragedy, the ending wasn't one of the best and I'm really dissatisfied with how the story turned out. To an extent this was an okay novel, the beginning was more enjoyable to read than the end in my opinion. There are fantasy elements that connect the story back to the myth but it just didn't work for me.
I'm not finished but I'm done. I loved Skellig and My Name is Mina but this is striking all the wrong notes with me.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated