Scan barcode
A review by opheliapo
Witch Child by Celia Rees
3.0
Witch Child had it’s merits, though it was only toward the end that I really began to enjoy it. I feel that very little was said that could not have been made better in a shorter format.
The story was open-ended, which I enjoyed (though I have little interest in reading the sequel), the pacing was good and, particularly after their arrival in Beulah, there grew a strong mood which carried until the end.
Unfortunately, enjoying the novel meant swamping through a few inconsistencies which had me exasperated from the start.
Firstly, and on a more minor note, the tenses were all over the place. I understand that, with a diary being a personal document that contains information about the past and present, there will be some overlap, but sometimes it felt as though this weaving of tenses had confused Celia Rees herself, as they seemed to be dotted about willy-nilly.
Secondly, there was a bit of divergence between the narrative style and the... narrative style. On the whole the book was very straightforward in its prose style: ‘She did this, then he said that, then they went here.’, which would not be my preferred style for a book of this tensity, but nonetheless worked for Rees. But every now and again a paragraph of ill fitting, almost flowery prose would be slotted in as if Rees was reminding herself to include some atmosphere. I personally feel that she should have trusted her own ability to build tension without those additions, which were immersion breaking.
Finally, it surprised me when I finished this book and turned it over to read the back cover, that it was meant to be read by TEENAGERS. I thought, as dark as the material was, that this couldn’t have been written for anybody over the age of twelve. I do not know what it is that causes so many teen fiction writers to believe that they need to condescend their audience, when most have adult reading capabilities and more world experience than many seniors I can think of. This was not a patronising book, but it was oversimplified, and I think that is a shame, as this could have made a great piece of horror if Rees had allowed herself to pour all of her abilities and development into it, without thinking about her target audience.
The story was open-ended, which I enjoyed (though I have little interest in reading the sequel), the pacing was good and, particularly after their arrival in Beulah, there grew a strong mood which carried until the end.
Unfortunately, enjoying the novel meant swamping through a few inconsistencies which had me exasperated from the start.
Firstly, and on a more minor note, the tenses were all over the place. I understand that, with a diary being a personal document that contains information about the past and present, there will be some overlap, but sometimes it felt as though this weaving of tenses had confused Celia Rees herself, as they seemed to be dotted about willy-nilly.
Secondly, there was a bit of divergence between the narrative style and the... narrative style. On the whole the book was very straightforward in its prose style: ‘She did this, then he said that, then they went here.’, which would not be my preferred style for a book of this tensity, but nonetheless worked for Rees. But every now and again a paragraph of ill fitting, almost flowery prose would be slotted in as if Rees was reminding herself to include some atmosphere. I personally feel that she should have trusted her own ability to build tension without those additions, which were immersion breaking.
Finally, it surprised me when I finished this book and turned it over to read the back cover, that it was meant to be read by TEENAGERS. I thought, as dark as the material was, that this couldn’t have been written for anybody over the age of twelve. I do not know what it is that causes so many teen fiction writers to believe that they need to condescend their audience, when most have adult reading capabilities and more world experience than many seniors I can think of. This was not a patronising book, but it was oversimplified, and I think that is a shame, as this could have made a great piece of horror if Rees had allowed herself to pour all of her abilities and development into it, without thinking about her target audience.