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A review by phoenix2
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
3.0
The Ghost Bride is like reading a Spirited Away retelling, with a more maturish concept. However, that can only be said about the middle part of the book, because the beginning and the ending were kind of a let down.
But, first things first. The book starts sluggishly, and it takes a while to really commit to the story and for the reader to get engage with it. That is mostly because of the main character, who was a bit of a tabula rasa really, a basic aristocrat girl who is not yet prepared for the real adult world, but she has no opinion, no dreams and no ambition. She is waiting for others to make the decisions for her and her whole personality is near to non. That can easily explain why she got that much hanged up to the first boy who ever smiled at her.
However, things get way way better after that first part. The fantasy part kicks in and the author introduces a fantastic, mystical and imaginary, dreamy afterlife with lots of twists and turns, a few new characters, and some sentimental moments. This part is full of action and it gives the opportunity to the main character to grow and show more of her personality and her own plans for her future, as she finally takes matters into her own hands.
The last part of the book was also good, but not as strong. The ending was somehow open, though there was a conclusion. But not my cup of tea in any case.
Nevertheless, the book was fun and the spirit world was well crafted, including Asian traditions, along with some historical touches.
But, first things first. The book starts sluggishly, and it takes a while to really commit to the story and for the reader to get engage with it. That is mostly because of the main character, who was a bit of a tabula rasa really, a basic aristocrat girl who is not yet prepared for the real adult world, but she has no opinion, no dreams and no ambition. She is waiting for others to make the decisions for her and her whole personality is near to non. That can easily explain why she got that much hanged up to the first boy who ever smiled at her.
However, things get way way better after that first part. The fantasy part kicks in and the author introduces a fantastic, mystical and imaginary, dreamy afterlife with lots of twists and turns, a few new characters, and some sentimental moments. This part is full of action and it gives the opportunity to the main character to grow and show more of her personality and her own plans for her future, as she finally takes matters into her own hands.
The last part of the book was also good, but not as strong. The ending was somehow open, though there was a conclusion. But not my cup of tea in any case.
Nevertheless, the book was fun and the spirit world was well crafted, including Asian traditions, along with some historical touches.