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A review by ave_reviews
The Lightness by Emily Temple
3.0
"Death was for goldfish and grandmothers, disappearance was for fathers and fortunes. Girls like us would only go on forever."
In search of her runaway father, narrator Olivia finds herself enrolled in the "Buddhist Boot Camp for Bad Girls," a summer program at the Levitation Center (the last place her father was seen). She falls in with some of the camp's most mysterious and beautiful participants, and soon realizes they will go to extreme lengths in their quest to learn how to levitate.
The premise of this book was made for me - teen girls up to no good, with a touch of magical realism - but I have to say I was a bit disappointed. It definitely had echoes of "The Secret History," but with less dynamic characters. I couldn't fully understand the point of Janet and Laurel, and neither of their histories were fleshed out enough for me to appreciate them as standalone characters.
That being said, Emily Temple's writing is gorgeous, and I truly loved the narration style, interspersed with folktales and myths from a variety of Eastern religions and traditions. I think there were a lot of potentially moving plot-lines and moments that were hinted at, but I wish she had given them more attention.
I'm giving it 3 stars for the story, but 5 for the prose - I am looking forward to reading whatever comes next from this author.
In search of her runaway father, narrator Olivia finds herself enrolled in the "Buddhist Boot Camp for Bad Girls," a summer program at the Levitation Center (the last place her father was seen). She falls in with some of the camp's most mysterious and beautiful participants, and soon realizes they will go to extreme lengths in their quest to learn how to levitate.
The premise of this book was made for me - teen girls up to no good, with a touch of magical realism - but I have to say I was a bit disappointed. It definitely had echoes of "The Secret History," but with less dynamic characters. I couldn't fully understand the point of Janet and Laurel, and neither of their histories were fleshed out enough for me to appreciate them as standalone characters.
That being said, Emily Temple's writing is gorgeous, and I truly loved the narration style, interspersed with folktales and myths from a variety of Eastern religions and traditions. I think there were a lot of potentially moving plot-lines and moments that were hinted at, but I wish she had given them more attention.
I'm giving it 3 stars for the story, but 5 for the prose - I am looking forward to reading whatever comes next from this author.