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A review by nicoley3
Stray by Elissa Sussman
3.0
I read this because I'm a sucker for fairy tales. I've been reading books like this since I was a kid.
This particular fairy tale was a fun read and had a unique plot. I loved that about it! But I was pretty disappointed in the way the story carried itself out. Reading this book was like eating a sloppy joe. Everything from world building to the climax and denouement felt incredibly ... sloppy. Throughout the story it feels as if certain background information is just thrown in haphazardly--but not even tied in to the story in any way--just to explain the presence of certain characters (crazy woman in the forest). And the villain's reveal AND demise took all of about 2 pages (maybe?) and answered basically one question ("who is the villain?") while leaving a billion more to be asked.
I wish this book had been better developed because I love what it brought to the table in terms of overarching plot. It left me hanging in a lot of other areas though. Maybe I'll read the next book ... but maybe not.
This particular fairy tale was a fun read and had a unique plot. I loved that about it! But I was pretty disappointed in the way the story carried itself out. Reading this book was like eating a sloppy joe. Everything from world building to the climax and denouement felt incredibly ... sloppy. Throughout the story it feels as if certain background information is just thrown in haphazardly--but not even tied in to the story in any way--just to explain the presence of certain characters (crazy woman in the forest). And the villain's reveal AND demise took all of about 2 pages (maybe?) and answered basically one question ("who is the villain?") while leaving a billion more to be asked.
I wish this book had been better developed because I love what it brought to the table in terms of overarching plot. It left me hanging in a lot of other areas though. Maybe I'll read the next book ... but maybe not.