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A review by leigh_reidelberger
Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
2.0
To begin, it can often be difficult to critique a YA book, as they are obviously geared towards teenagers, and not 30 year olds. My husband teaches high school, so a lot of YA lit passes through our house. Incarnate was one that his students seemed to talk a lot about.
I suspect a lot of junior high and high school girls will love this book.
However, I could barely tolerate it.
The concept of the book is very cool. The idea that all souls are recycled again and again until one day, a soul doesn't return and a brand new one is put in its place. Interesting, yeah? It should be.
The book is first person narration, but oddly, I kept forgetting that. Jodi Meadows managed to frequently lose her own character's voice. Ana, our main girl nosoul, is one dimensional, bratty, and strangely self-absorbed. She is 100% the embodiment of a stereotypical teenage girl. This is unfortunate, as she has the potential to be a really strong female character for girls to read about. She could be courageous, instead she is whiny.
Naturally there is a love story to clutter it all up. It's clunky and awkward. Not young-love awkward, but "Did she really just write that?" near embarrassing awkward. Instead of being romantic, it left me feeling uncomfortable.
Another aspect I struggled with- references to a lot of 'creatures' that aren't readily explained. Ana fears the Sylph- what is it? It felt like forever before it was even described. As a reader, I wasn't able to comprehend why she was afraid because I had no idea what it was. Sine mentions a Roc, that they should watch out for them. The Rocs were never mentioned again. Fantasy can be a very tricky genre- you create a whole new world, but you *must* provide some hint of description to your readers. You can't assume the reader will simply understand the fear.
The story did get slightly more interesting towards the end. Soap opera drama explodes about 75% of the way through. It ultimately felt underdeveloped and rushed.
I suspect a lot of junior high and high school girls will love this book.
However, I could barely tolerate it.
The concept of the book is very cool. The idea that all souls are recycled again and again until one day, a soul doesn't return and a brand new one is put in its place. Interesting, yeah? It should be.
The book is first person narration, but oddly, I kept forgetting that. Jodi Meadows managed to frequently lose her own character's voice. Ana, our main girl nosoul, is one dimensional, bratty, and strangely self-absorbed. She is 100% the embodiment of a stereotypical teenage girl. This is unfortunate, as she has the potential to be a really strong female character for girls to read about. She could be courageous, instead she is whiny.
Naturally there is a love story to clutter it all up. It's clunky and awkward. Not young-love awkward, but "Did she really just write that?" near embarrassing awkward. Instead of being romantic, it left me feeling uncomfortable.
Another aspect I struggled with- references to a lot of 'creatures' that aren't readily explained. Ana fears the Sylph- what is it? It felt like forever before it was even described. As a reader, I wasn't able to comprehend why she was afraid because I had no idea what it was. Sine mentions a Roc, that they should watch out for them. The Rocs were never mentioned again. Fantasy can be a very tricky genre- you create a whole new world, but you *must* provide some hint of description to your readers. You can't assume the reader will simply understand the fear.
The story did get slightly more interesting towards the end. Soap opera drama explodes about 75% of the way through. It ultimately felt underdeveloped and rushed.