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takeahike 's review for:
Where the Forest Meets the Stars
by Glendy Vanderah
First, I should've known better. I should've trusted my gut on this one. I questioned why this book did not have a single review by a literary critic, but only had author reviews. I have to believe the literary critics were not as kind as the authors.
The premise is good. The writing average. The author's understanding of mental illness is sorely lacking. This book started out good and really devolved into absurdity for me.
What's it about? A young woman, Jo, is recovering from her mother's death and her own recovery from cancer. She is a graduate student doing research on the nesting habits of the indigo bunting. One night, a very young girl shows up outside her cabin. The young girl, Ursa, insists she is an alien studying humans. She needs to witness five miracle before she returns to her planet. Jo sees her physical condition - dirty, thin, pale, barefoot and covered with bruises and realizes she is an abused child running from someone. Along with her reclusive neighbor Gabe, she tries to solve the mystery of this unusual girl.
Gabe suffers from agoraphobia, societal anxiety and depression. This is where the author totally loses me. She treats these mental illnesses in such a cavalier fashion; as if they are something Gabe just needs to "get over." I have a family member who suffers from agoraphobia, and I can emphatically say it is not something one just "gets over." Not by a long shot. There are so many things wrong with the relationship between Jo and Gabe, too. It did not work for me.
If I had only one word to describe this book, it'd probably be hokey. I am, however, in the minority. I was waffling between 2.5 stars and 3 stars for this book, but because I was so put off by the way mental illness was depicted, I went with 2 stars.
The premise is good. The writing average. The author's understanding of mental illness is sorely lacking. This book started out good and really devolved into absurdity for me.
What's it about? A young woman, Jo, is recovering from her mother's death and her own recovery from cancer. She is a graduate student doing research on the nesting habits of the indigo bunting. One night, a very young girl shows up outside her cabin. The young girl, Ursa, insists she is an alien studying humans. She needs to witness five miracle before she returns to her planet. Jo sees her physical condition - dirty, thin, pale, barefoot and covered with bruises and realizes she is an abused child running from someone. Along with her reclusive neighbor Gabe, she tries to solve the mystery of this unusual girl.
Gabe suffers from agoraphobia, societal anxiety and depression. This is where the author totally loses me. She treats these mental illnesses in such a cavalier fashion; as if they are something Gabe just needs to "get over." I have a family member who suffers from agoraphobia, and I can emphatically say it is not something one just "gets over." Not by a long shot. There are so many things wrong with the relationship between Jo and Gabe, too. It did not work for me.
If I had only one word to describe this book, it'd probably be hokey. I am, however, in the minority. I was waffling between 2.5 stars and 3 stars for this book, but because I was so put off by the way mental illness was depicted, I went with 2 stars.