A review by d_night
Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones

1.0

I rated this a 1 star for several reasons. First, the flashbacks necessary to keep the understanding that we were reflecting on the past and not in the present was lacking a bit. This muddied things a bit and made some of the book hard to follow. Secondly, the ending was half done. It was too existential to understand and though that may have been what she was going for another book or a better leave off would have made this easier (though I know that both those options are impossible now). Third and most importantly (this being why I took off 4 off the 5 stars and even would have given this a 0 if I could have) was that this book can promote a pedophilic like relationship. Polly was only 12 when 17-year-old Seb started a very physical relationship with her. Additionally, Mr. Lynn who had to be in his twenties at least when he met Polly (who was only 10 at the time) rather passionately tried to kiss her when she was 15. Though to be honest I always got an odd feeling from the way Diana Wynne Jones presented the two characters' interactions in the beginning. I just cannot promote a book that would positively shed light on a minor with an adult.