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beckwilk 's review for:
Charm & Strange
by Stephanie Kuehn
I’m not too sure about this one, guys. Charm & Strange was kind of all over the place, and while I like weird, this might have been a bit too weird. However, I loved the characters, and the writing was solid and gorgeous enough to counteract the distance I felt from the storyline itself.
This is the kind of review that is hardest to write – the main problems and pluses in Charm & Strange are all kind of spoilers, and honestly, I think this book is way better not knowing what you’re really in for when you start it. I came into this read blindly, but I was ultimately pleasantly surprised, even though the content kind of threw me off. That said though, I really want to talk about this story, so, if you want to know, the gist of this novel is Win, who was once known as Andrew, and his recovery after the traumatic loss of his siblings and a lifetime of abuse. Which boils down my biggest problem with the story overall: the incidents that sent Win over the edge were years ago – he has had plenty of time to stew in his loss, his guilt, and his depression (among other things.) How then, is he better after just a few short weeks?
Win is not a very likable character at first, but that quickly changes once you realize the background he’s coming from. He’s got some serious anger issues, which, as far as character development is concerned, I was impressed with. A lot of dealing with abuse is anger – and so often in books I’ve noticed that the anger is directed outward. In Win’s case (and in many real life cases) the anger here is directed outward onto other people around him. Win is also cold and distant and takes great pains to make sure people stay away from him. He’s also quite confident, despite what amounts to an eating disorder. This combination makes for a very frustrating character to read about. But over the course of this novel (which is pretty much one night, with the exception of the alternating chapters told from his POV, but ten years earlier) he learns to grow. Eventually, Win is forced to allow someone to break through his walls, and I thought this was done very realistically.
One of the things I value most when reading is the writing itself. I love when authors experiment and find new, interesting ways to relay a story to her readers, and Stephanie Kuehn did an amazing job at that. Win’s voice was incredibly intelligent and because of this, it was also very distinct. His usage of metaphor isn’t very common – instead of the run-of-the-mill cliches that we’re all used to, his analogies come from a much more educated background. I love when the character doesn’t necessarily sound like the author being an ‘authentic’ teenager, and instead is staying true to the character’s history. I also liked the alternating chapters. Drew and Win are the same person, of course, but they have years and trauma distancing them, making them two incredibly different characters. I appreciated the fact that Drew’s passages read more like Win looking back on his past, rather than a 10-year-old boy narrating. This offered insights that young Drew wouldn’t have picked up on.
In all, I’d say I’m quite torn about Charm & Strange. I loved the writing, and the composition of the very diverse characters blew me away. But the story was rather predictable, coming from someone who reads a ton of ‘issues’ books. And while the way the subject matter was presented was very, very strange, I’m really glad I read this book.
This is the kind of review that is hardest to write – the main problems and pluses in Charm & Strange are all kind of spoilers, and honestly, I think this book is way better not knowing what you’re really in for when you start it. I came into this read blindly, but I was ultimately pleasantly surprised, even though the content kind of threw me off. That said though, I really want to talk about this story, so, if you want to know, the gist of this novel is Win, who was once known as Andrew, and his recovery after the traumatic loss of his siblings and a lifetime of abuse. Which boils down my biggest problem with the story overall: the incidents that sent Win over the edge were years ago – he has had plenty of time to stew in his loss, his guilt, and his depression (among other things.) How then, is he better after just a few short weeks?
Win is not a very likable character at first, but that quickly changes once you realize the background he’s coming from. He’s got some serious anger issues, which, as far as character development is concerned, I was impressed with. A lot of dealing with abuse is anger – and so often in books I’ve noticed that the anger is directed outward. In Win’s case (and in many real life cases) the anger here is directed outward onto other people around him. Win is also cold and distant and takes great pains to make sure people stay away from him. He’s also quite confident, despite what amounts to an eating disorder. This combination makes for a very frustrating character to read about. But over the course of this novel (which is pretty much one night, with the exception of the alternating chapters told from his POV, but ten years earlier) he learns to grow. Eventually, Win is forced to allow someone to break through his walls, and I thought this was done very realistically.
One of the things I value most when reading is the writing itself. I love when authors experiment and find new, interesting ways to relay a story to her readers, and Stephanie Kuehn did an amazing job at that. Win’s voice was incredibly intelligent and because of this, it was also very distinct. His usage of metaphor isn’t very common – instead of the run-of-the-mill cliches that we’re all used to, his analogies come from a much more educated background. I love when the character doesn’t necessarily sound like the author being an ‘authentic’ teenager, and instead is staying true to the character’s history. I also liked the alternating chapters. Drew and Win are the same person, of course, but they have years and trauma distancing them, making them two incredibly different characters. I appreciated the fact that Drew’s passages read more like Win looking back on his past, rather than a 10-year-old boy narrating. This offered insights that young Drew wouldn’t have picked up on.
In all, I’d say I’m quite torn about Charm & Strange. I loved the writing, and the composition of the very diverse characters blew me away. But the story was rather predictable, coming from someone who reads a ton of ‘issues’ books. And while the way the subject matter was presented was very, very strange, I’m really glad I read this book.