Take a photo of a barcode or cover
blewballoon 's review for:
Where Shadows Bloom
by Catherine Bakewell
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What happened here? I loved Flowerheart; it was one of my top books of the year when I read it. This did not match that level of quality at all.
The writing felt incredibly juvenile. I've read middle grade books that were more subtle and nuanced. It was like the author had no faith in the reader's comprehension skills at all, so everything had to be explained thoroughly and repeatedly. This made the pacing feel painfully slow.
None of the characters, not a single one, felt like an actual person. Ofelia's POV was like reading the perspective of a small child for how gullible and surface level her thoughts were. Lope was slightly better because they weren't quite so naive, but still very one-note. The plot was both predictable and nonsensical at times.
There are a lot of poems scattered around. I can't say if they're good or bad, they didn't really contribute to my reading experience negatively or positively.
I really wanted to like this, and I had been so sure that I would. I'm trying to be generous with my rating because I know this is only Catherine Bakewell's second book. I do hope she continues publishing and perhaps her next book will be more to my taste. The nicest thing I can say about this one is that the cover is beautiful.
The writing felt incredibly juvenile. I've read middle grade books that were more subtle and nuanced. It was like the author had no faith in the reader's comprehension skills at all, so everything had to be explained thoroughly and repeatedly. This made the pacing feel painfully slow.
None of the characters, not a single one, felt like an actual person. Ofelia's POV was like reading the perspective of a small child for how gullible and surface level her thoughts were. Lope was slightly better because they weren't quite so naive, but still very one-note. The plot was both predictable and nonsensical at times.
There are a lot of poems scattered around. I can't say if they're good or bad, they didn't really contribute to my reading experience negatively or positively.
I really wanted to like this, and I had been so sure that I would. I'm trying to be generous with my rating because I know this is only Catherine Bakewell's second book. I do hope she continues publishing and perhaps her next book will be more to my taste. The nicest thing I can say about this one is that the cover is beautiful.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Grief, Death of parent