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A review by tiamatq
The Waters & the Wild by Francesca Lia Block
2.0
Bee is 13 and has never felt like she fits in. However, this is more than just your average teenage angst... amongst Bee's many odd characteristics, she has the urge to eat dirt from her garden and is frightened by metal objects. One night she wakes up to find a girl in her room, a girl who looks just like her and tells her "You are me," before disappearing. Bee finds her world unraveling after this visit, and she reaches out to two unlikely people at her school: Haze, a boy who believes he is an alien, and Stephanie, a girl who thinks she is a reincarnated slave named Sarah. The three loners become friends, crashing a party and practicing magic. They realize that Bee is actually a changeling, an elf who took the place of the real Bee at birth. The real girl haunts Bee, lurking in mirrors and demanding her life back. Bee grows weaker as time passes and soon leaves her friends to return to her own world.
This short novel may appeal to those who have trouble fitting in and reluctant readers. Block's writing style is beautiful and keeps the book moving, but the story itself is underdeveloped. There are some creepy moments, particularly when Bee is being followed and threatened by the real Bee, but overall the plot is flat and changes tone too quickly from mystery to fairy-tale to love story. We know from the get-go that Bee is a changeling, which undermines the mystery and makes the other characters seem slow for not realizing it. The characters act much older than they are, often having far too unrealistic interactions. There's potential in this story, but while the fairy aspect may appeal to some, this is not a must-read.
This short novel may appeal to those who have trouble fitting in and reluctant readers. Block's writing style is beautiful and keeps the book moving, but the story itself is underdeveloped. There are some creepy moments, particularly when Bee is being followed and threatened by the real Bee, but overall the plot is flat and changes tone too quickly from mystery to fairy-tale to love story. We know from the get-go that Bee is a changeling, which undermines the mystery and makes the other characters seem slow for not realizing it. The characters act much older than they are, often having far too unrealistic interactions. There's potential in this story, but while the fairy aspect may appeal to some, this is not a must-read.