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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
A little more than halfway through this book I found myself thinking that Rose's POV reminded me quite a bit of Verity Price's. About that time the Healys are mentioned and the shared world is obvious. Loved this book and bouncing around the timeline. A take a ghost stories that only McGuire would be capable of. I love how she blends ancient mythology from a variety of different backgrounds with modern snark. Recommended.
The first half of the book is beautiful ghost lore and world building. McGuire's work reimagines tired cliches, giving them new life--no ghost pun intended. It's a wonderful combination of various legends and traditions, combined in a way that hit my imagination in just the right way. It's when the book gets into the plot, unfortunately, that I find the protagonist's struggle with her nemesis uninteresting.
So good!
Best book I've read in a while! The first few chapters are lyrical and I was kind of confused but more than a little intrigued and it all pulled together quickly. I absolutely loved it! Make it about a quarter way in and then it will make sense and be an amazing story.
Best book I've read in a while! The first few chapters are lyrical and I was kind of confused but more than a little intrigued and it all pulled together quickly. I absolutely loved it! Make it about a quarter way in and then it will make sense and be an amazing story.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm slowly falling in love with the way McGuire writes and the imaginative worlds she creates!
"Do you always talk in driving metaphors?"
"I'm a hitchhiking ghost. It was this, or talk in Disney metaphors.
The dark edges with the humor and reality of human frailty are beyond intriguing.
"Do you always talk in driving metaphors?"
"I'm a hitchhiking ghost. It was this, or talk in Disney metaphors.
The dark edges with the humor and reality of human frailty are beyond intriguing.
It's been a few years since I first read Sparrow Hill Road, so I figured I should reread it to refresh my memory before starting the sequel, The Girl in the Green Silk Gown. I loved it the first time and loved it even more this second go around.
It's a little spooky, but not too bad. I'm not usually a fan of scary stories, but I found this one to be just right, I think. It was a bit melancholy at times, but it's narrated by a ghost who died too young, at the age of sixteen, so that's to be expected. Though there was also a lot of humor, too. So that was nice.
Rose is an instantly likable character. She's seen many things and traveled many roads through many decades often known as “the Ghost of Sparrow Hill Road, “the Girl at the Diner”, and “the Phantom Prom Date”, just to name a few. She's not someone to be messed with. She's grown to be fierce, but she's also just about the most helpful and honorable ghost you'll ever meet.
It was great to travel the ghost roads with Rose once again and I'm very eager to find out what happens next in The Girl in the Green Silk Gown.
It's a little spooky, but not too bad. I'm not usually a fan of scary stories, but I found this one to be just right, I think. It was a bit melancholy at times, but it's narrated by a ghost who died too young, at the age of sixteen, so that's to be expected. Though there was also a lot of humor, too. So that was nice.
Rose is an instantly likable character. She's seen many things and traveled many roads through many decades often known as “the Ghost of Sparrow Hill Road, “the Girl at the Diner”, and “the Phantom Prom Date”, just to name a few. She's not someone to be messed with. She's grown to be fierce, but she's also just about the most helpful and honorable ghost you'll ever meet.
It was great to travel the ghost roads with Rose once again and I'm very eager to find out what happens next in The Girl in the Green Silk Gown.
Sparrow Hill Road is a fun read. Initially structured as a series of vignettes linked by the ghost protagonist, the conflicts are interesting but do feel low stakes. I mean, she’s already dead, and often you’ve already encountered parts of her future story. Still ghost stories are fun, and the afterlife McGuire has created is vivid and interesting.
My complaints with the book are small but significant to my reading experience... The author assumes that I will know or understand what ambulomancers and pyschopomps are with little to no exposition yet also feels the need to explain dozens of times that Rose only has substance when she has a coat. I got it the first time. Please stop patronizing me. And if you do want to patronize me, stop using terms like “palimpsest.”
Anyway, I liked it, but it also annoyed me.
My complaints with the book are small but significant to my reading experience... The author assumes that I will know or understand what ambulomancers and pyschopomps are with little to no exposition yet also feels the need to explain dozens of times that Rose only has substance when she has a coat. I got it the first time. Please stop patronizing me. And if you do want to patronize me, stop using terms like “palimpsest.”
Anyway, I liked it, but it also annoyed me.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Decent narration. Creative story; I will be continuing with the sequel.
I loved this book. Seanan McGuire does a lovely job of building a fascinating world and creating her own mythos. It is the story of a young woman named Rose's, death and the ghostly exploits that turn her into an Urban Legend, told from her POV in a series of short stories. They were published individually first, but McGuire does in my opinion, a good job, of connecting them into short story arcs with similar themes or characters. This is the first and the best of the Ghost Roads series. Pick it up if you like her Wayward Children series, myths, ghosts, a strong female POV who doesn't take bullshit and have a sense of humor. The magic is interesting: the series has a group of nomadic magic users who gain power from the miles they travel; and the things that are loved in life leave a ghost, from people to cars even a whole highway.
It deserves more recognition!
It deserves more recognition!
It's more like a series of vignettes, or short stories, put together than a regular novel. But I like the characters, Rose is a very interesting take on the urban myth, and it's an engrossing, if tangental, read in the InCryptid world.