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A review by nightshade_novels
The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood
3.0
This is another of my sister’s books which she says is really good so I thought I’d give it a read.
At the beginning I was unsure of where that story was going to go considering it was about a girl and her father who live isolated in the countryside. Then Weed was introduced and I saw the plot coming. However, I feel that it never really reached its full potential. This is probably because the book is aimed at younger audiences, but I saw a lot of potential for a more complex plot and more character development than what did occur.
I liked Weed’s wild and different character, but I really, really wanted him to turn out to be a fairy. However, it turns out that he can just talk to plants. I really did not like Jessamine’s father, Thomas, but then you probably are not meant to. Jessamine herself is a bit annoying in that she is so innocent, naive and sheltered, however this is not entirely her fault, so I will place that blame on Thomas as well.
I liked the setting of the story in the middle of the countryside with a girl who enjoys looking after the flowers and wandering around the countryside. I also liked the fact that Weed could talk to the flowers (even though he was not a fairy) and therefore cared a lot for them. It was an interesting idea that because of his connection with the plants he would refuse to eat them (or harm them in any way when not necessary), but would happily eat some bacon – kind of like a vegetarian in reverse. The idea that someone who grew up surrounded by the voices of plants but shunned by society would develop deep emotions when it came to caring for plants, but had no feelings for other humans or even animals was interesting to think about.
I do not understand how when Jessamine becomes ill (I was really hoping she was just pregnant and it was morning sickness!) she can suddenly see and talk to the Prince of Poisons. Maybe it is something to do with the fact that she has been poisoned.
This book receives three stars because even though I enjoyed it, there were several things that would have made it even better.
At the beginning I was unsure of where that story was going to go considering it was about a girl and her father who live isolated in the countryside. Then Weed was introduced and I saw the plot coming. However, I feel that it never really reached its full potential. This is probably because the book is aimed at younger audiences, but I saw a lot of potential for a more complex plot and more character development than what did occur.
I liked Weed’s wild and different character, but I really, really wanted him to turn out to be a fairy. However, it turns out that he can just talk to plants. I really did not like Jessamine’s father, Thomas,
Spoiler
even before he decided to poison his own daughter,I liked the setting of the story in the middle of the countryside with a girl who enjoys looking after the flowers and wandering around the countryside. I also liked the fact that Weed could talk to the flowers (even though he was not a fairy) and therefore cared a lot for them. It was an interesting idea that because of his connection with the plants he would refuse to eat them (or harm them in any way when not necessary), but would happily eat some bacon – kind of like a vegetarian in reverse. The idea that someone who grew up surrounded by the voices of plants but shunned by society would develop deep emotions when it came to caring for plants, but had no feelings for other humans or even animals was interesting to think about.
I do not understand how when Jessamine becomes ill (I was really hoping she was just pregnant and it was morning sickness!) she can suddenly see and talk to the Prince of Poisons. Maybe it is something to do with the fact that she has been poisoned.
This book receives three stars because even though I enjoyed it, there were several things that would have made it even better.