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A review by londonhowell
Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder
1.0
Well, this was a good idea gone wrong.
Here’s the thing: There’s a lot to like about this book. Snyder has a talent for identifying and working through emotions, building an interesting and lush fantasy world, and coming up with engaging ideas for a plot. The problem is, this book gets in the way of its own potential. I’ll save the big point - where I’m sure there’s the most debate - for last.
For one thing, there’s too much book. I was drawn into the island from the start, as intended. The world building held my attention. But as soon as Snyder hits plot points, scenes start to drag. Hard. The more pivotal the point, the higher the drag. There is a LOT of internal conflict. This would be fine if it were well edited - it’s at the heart of the main character, after all - but it circles...and circles. I started noticing that a lot of scenes seemed doubled; Snyder would work beautifully through a key moment of emotion. Then the next paragraph would hit, and...it was the same idea in different wording. Almost like she wrote two different ideas for a passage and decided to keep both. I was continually thrown out of the action and out of caring about what Jinny was thinking.
It doesn’t help that Jinny, our main character, isn’t likeable. Sure, characters should have flaws and this is, in a way, a coming-of-age tale. But she doesn’t grow well, even at the end, when she’s supposedly taking on responsibility (finally). Her one redeeming quality is her love for Ess, and even that is kind of iffy once the plot starts to falter. She has EVERY OPPORTUNITY to learn from her mistakes and continues NOT to do so. She does not treat others well, barely even spares a thought for them until she hurts them. It’s made worse by the sense I got that I was supposed to feel empathy for Jinny. No. Evie is more genuine than Jinny.
Now, remember how I said there was too much book? Well, there’s also not enough book.
Frankly, the concept Snyder is going for would be better suited to a short story - maybe a short-story type novella. So if she must write a novel, this isn’t enough. It didn’t even strike me as the first in a series. There’s plenty of mystery and little unconnected detail nuggets scattered throughout the story, e.g., Abigail’s letter, the boat, the rhymes, the devolving island—you get the picture. But Snyder has no intention of making any of these rich details pay off. Her intention is clearly to create a mystery, make the reader think about the questions raised. But...it’s all wrong. Imagine Shirley Jackson’s “Lottery,” except Jackson sets up a semi-mysterious village, goes on for most of a novel’s length, and never tells you about the actual lottery.
That’s where I think the most debate is. I’m sure many will be saying, “Oh, wow, so much mystery and unresolved and themes of adolescence, so groundbreaking, original,” but you have to be able to pull it off or it’s just not good.
So let me be clear: Fun world building, poignant moments (if overdone at times), hooking storyline (at first), great idea for a mystery...but by halfway through I was going, “Oh no - the writing’s getting worse, and this isn’t going anywhere, is it?”
And I was right.
Here’s the thing: There’s a lot to like about this book. Snyder has a talent for identifying and working through emotions, building an interesting and lush fantasy world, and coming up with engaging ideas for a plot. The problem is, this book gets in the way of its own potential. I’ll save the big point - where I’m sure there’s the most debate - for last.
For one thing, there’s too much book. I was drawn into the island from the start, as intended. The world building held my attention. But as soon as Snyder hits plot points, scenes start to drag. Hard. The more pivotal the point, the higher the drag. There is a LOT of internal conflict. This would be fine if it were well edited - it’s at the heart of the main character, after all - but it circles...and circles. I started noticing that a lot of scenes seemed doubled; Snyder would work beautifully through a key moment of emotion. Then the next paragraph would hit, and...it was the same idea in different wording. Almost like she wrote two different ideas for a passage and decided to keep both. I was continually thrown out of the action and out of caring about what Jinny was thinking.
It doesn’t help that Jinny, our main character, isn’t likeable. Sure, characters should have flaws and this is, in a way, a coming-of-age tale. But she doesn’t grow well, even at the end, when she’s supposedly taking on responsibility (finally). Her one redeeming quality is her love for Ess, and even that is kind of iffy once the plot starts to falter. She has EVERY OPPORTUNITY to learn from her mistakes and continues NOT to do so. She does not treat others well, barely even spares a thought for them until she hurts them. It’s made worse by the sense I got that I was supposed to feel empathy for Jinny. No. Evie is more genuine than Jinny.
Now, remember how I said there was too much book? Well, there’s also not enough book.
Frankly, the concept Snyder is going for would be better suited to a short story - maybe a short-story type novella. So if she must write a novel, this isn’t enough. It didn’t even strike me as the first in a series. There’s plenty of mystery and little unconnected detail nuggets scattered throughout the story, e.g., Abigail’s letter, the boat, the rhymes, the devolving island—you get the picture. But Snyder has no intention of making any of these rich details pay off. Her intention is clearly to create a mystery, make the reader think about the questions raised. But...it’s all wrong. Imagine Shirley Jackson’s “Lottery,” except Jackson sets up a semi-mysterious village, goes on for most of a novel’s length, and never tells you about the actual lottery.
That’s where I think the most debate is. I’m sure many will be saying, “Oh, wow, so much mystery and unresolved and themes of adolescence, so groundbreaking, original,” but you have to be able to pull it off or it’s just not good.
So let me be clear: Fun world building, poignant moments (if overdone at times), hooking storyline (at first), great idea for a mystery...but by halfway through I was going, “Oh no - the writing’s getting worse, and this isn’t going anywhere, is it?”
And I was right.