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medini_l 's review for:
The Mystery of Hollow Places
by Rebecca Podos
First off, let me give credit where it’s due. This is a really good debut novel. The author’s narration is pretty smooth and the writing flows off the pages effortlessly.
That being said, this book was really only an average read for me.
Imogene Scott is a half-Asian, half-American teenager. She’s an introvert and she’s grown up preferring the company of authors and fictional heroines to uncomfortable social situations. Her mom was said to be a troubled woman and left the family when Imogene was just two years old. Immy now lives in Sugarbrooke, with her dad, a forensic pathologist-turned-famous author of medical mysteries and her therapist-turned-stepmom, Lindy.
When her dad goes missing on Valentine’s Day, leaving behind no tracks of his location except a half of a stone heart in her desk drawer, Immy’s convinced that he’s looking for her mother. Piecing together the clues in her dad’s computer and the stuff she’s gleaned from reading so many of his books, Immy slowly starts to uncover her family’s story, finding herself in the process.
Here, I must warn anyone who is reading: do not be fooled into thinking that this book is a thriller, or even a major mystery. It’s more a YA coming-of-age contemporary that deals with friendships and mental illness. This was my first disappointment. I went into this book expecting a mysterious, exciting read; the first few chapters promised something pretty strange too, but the rest was really a very slow, dull read.
My second disappointment was Imogene herself. In any other book, I would have empathized with a nerdy, introverted heroine, but here she’s just too childish for my liking. She picks fights with her stepmother for no apparent reason. She uses her best friend, Jessa in her ‘detective work’ and later insults her by calling her dumb. She constantly compares her plain-self with Jessa’s attractiveness and it was so tiresome after a point.
Also, I wasn’t fond of the excessive descriptions. I mean, do I really need constant updates about the weather changes and the color of the sky? I don’t think so. And I don’t care about the various train/bus/car routes she took while getting to different places, especially since I haven’t been to any of the said places.
What I did like was the characterization. I loved that Imogene, her parents, her stepmother and Jessa weren’t typical, predictable creatures, but had a lot of depth and felt very real. I do not have a lot of experience with mental illness, but I think its portrayal in this book was quite good. Also, there are a ton of literary references, which I was quite familiar with (for once), hence the extra half star!
And the icing on the cake (or a thick growth of fungus, depending on your mood) : there’s no romance!
I totally feel you, Immy!
ACTUAL RATING: 2.5
That being said, this book was really only an average read for me.
Imogene Scott is a half-Asian, half-American teenager. She’s an introvert and she’s grown up preferring the company of authors and fictional heroines to uncomfortable social situations. Her mom was said to be a troubled woman and left the family when Imogene was just two years old. Immy now lives in Sugarbrooke, with her dad, a forensic pathologist-turned-famous author of medical mysteries and her therapist-turned-stepmom, Lindy.
When her dad goes missing on Valentine’s Day, leaving behind no tracks of his location except a half of a stone heart in her desk drawer, Immy’s convinced that he’s looking for her mother. Piecing together the clues in her dad’s computer and the stuff she’s gleaned from reading so many of his books, Immy slowly starts to uncover her family’s story, finding herself in the process.
Here, I must warn anyone who is reading: do not be fooled into thinking that this book is a thriller, or even a major mystery. It’s more a YA coming-of-age contemporary that deals with friendships and mental illness. This was my first disappointment. I went into this book expecting a mysterious, exciting read; the first few chapters promised something pretty strange too, but the rest was really a very slow, dull read.
My second disappointment was Imogene herself. In any other book, I would have empathized with a nerdy, introverted heroine, but here she’s just too childish for my liking. She picks fights with her stepmother for no apparent reason. She uses her best friend, Jessa in her ‘detective work’ and later insults her by calling her dumb. She constantly compares her plain-self with Jessa’s attractiveness and it was so tiresome after a point.
Also, I wasn’t fond of the excessive descriptions. I mean, do I really need constant updates about the weather changes and the color of the sky? I don’t think so. And I don’t care about the various train/bus/car routes she took while getting to different places, especially since I haven’t been to any of the said places.
What I did like was the characterization. I loved that Imogene, her parents, her stepmother and Jessa weren’t typical, predictable creatures, but had a lot of depth and felt very real. I do not have a lot of experience with mental illness, but I think its portrayal in this book was quite good. Also, there are a ton of literary references, which I was quite familiar with (for once), hence the extra half star!
‘I think it’s like this: as long as you don’t turn the last page in a book, you get to believe whatever you want to believe. You can have faith the good guys will win, the bad guys will lose…
But I am so fucking scared to turn the page.’
And the icing on the cake (or a thick growth of fungus, depending on your mood) : there’s no romance!
‘I mean, how are two people supposed to like each other the right amount in the right way at the right time? Impossible.’
I totally feel you, Immy!
ACTUAL RATING: 2.5