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I like so many of the things this book was doing, I'm having a little difficulty putting a finger on why I didn't like it more. Let's see if I can figure it out with lists:
Thing to like A: as the author puts it themself, this story is spectacularly queer. For the most part, the characters just are who they are and battling with identity isn't a central focus of the story. The protagonist is a young gay man who by his own judgment doesn't have it too hard but has always known he was Other. The antagonist is a gorgeous, evil (or is she?) drag queen who is introduced as a man wearing mascara but who, once the rest of the cast understands what she is, is referred to as "she" without editorial for the rest of the novel. At least two pairs of side characters also find themselves in non-heterosexual relationships, all just sort of matter of course.
Thing to like B: the more general theme of acceptance that ran all through the story. Everyone in the story struggles with this - even the sporty heterosexual girl. The whole group of friends called themselves "the Others," with a reference that apparently was supposed to be to something to do with their magic, but it really only worked for me on the metaphoric level.
Thing to like C: the notion of being a lucid actor in another person's dreams is fricking cool. I want to do that. I would spend so much time psychoanalyzing people, though. Maybe that's a double-edged sword.
Thing to like D: the way the Others were given powers that complimented their fears as a way to limit their use of these powers. That was a cool trick that I wish had been explored a little more.
Thing to like E: the dog. The dog was great.
But then, there were a lot of things that didn't sit quite right. This book was this month's Big Library Read. My library was advertising it on their Overdrive homepage one day, and the cover totally sucked me in. But... for a book being that widely distributed? It read like a self-published novel that hadn't had the benefit of professional production. The writing was fine, but it was FULL of typos. I couldn't believe it. Sometimes the typos were really bad, like, changed the meaning of a whole sentence bad. C'mon, guys.
Thing not so liked A: Kane was the kind of protagonist that makes no sense to me. He's a teenager with amnesia. When he discovers he's completely forgotten that he used to be good friends with three other people, instead of turning to them for help remembering, he immediately becomes suspicious of them. On the other hand, when he meets a drag queen who has "dodgy motives" written all over her behavior, he decides to trust her implicitly. And this continues for almost two-thirds of the book. His friends keep proving themselves loyal and acting in his best interest, and he storms out on them at least three separate times. He's lucky they're also persistent. Perhaps this is a rational way for an angry teenage boy with amnesia to behave, but the author didn't sell it to me.
Thing not so liked B: So many things were stated and never explained. Kane has had his power all along. How? Dean was a product of Poesy's imagination, but then suddenly he wasn't? Did I miss something? Where did Poesy come from? Why was all this going down in some little backwater town? How did the reveries keep happening even after the denouement? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DOG??
All in all, interesting and diverting. I'd definitely check out some of the author's other projects if they place themselves in front of me some day, but I probably won't actively seek them out.
Thing to like A: as the author puts it themself, this story is spectacularly queer. For the most part, the characters just are who they are and battling with identity isn't a central focus of the story. The protagonist is a young gay man who by his own judgment doesn't have it too hard but has always known he was Other. The antagonist is a gorgeous, evil (or is she?) drag queen who is introduced as a man wearing mascara but who, once the rest of the cast understands what she is, is referred to as "she" without editorial for the rest of the novel. At least two pairs of side characters also find themselves in non-heterosexual relationships, all just sort of matter of course.
Thing to like B: the more general theme of acceptance that ran all through the story. Everyone in the story struggles with this - even the sporty heterosexual girl. The whole group of friends called themselves "the Others," with a reference that apparently was supposed to be to something to do with their magic, but it really only worked for me on the metaphoric level.
Thing to like C: the notion of being a lucid actor in another person's dreams is fricking cool. I want to do that. I would spend so much time psychoanalyzing people, though. Maybe that's a double-edged sword.
Thing to like D: the way the Others were given powers that complimented their fears as a way to limit their use of these powers. That was a cool trick that I wish had been explored a little more.
Thing to like E: the dog. The dog was great.
But then, there were a lot of things that didn't sit quite right. This book was this month's Big Library Read. My library was advertising it on their Overdrive homepage one day, and the cover totally sucked me in. But... for a book being that widely distributed? It read like a self-published novel that hadn't had the benefit of professional production. The writing was fine, but it was FULL of typos. I couldn't believe it. Sometimes the typos were really bad, like, changed the meaning of a whole sentence bad. C'mon, guys.
Thing not so liked A: Kane was the kind of protagonist that makes no sense to me. He's a teenager with amnesia. When he discovers he's completely forgotten that he used to be good friends with three other people, instead of turning to them for help remembering, he immediately becomes suspicious of them. On the other hand, when he meets a drag queen who has "dodgy motives" written all over her behavior, he decides to trust her implicitly. And this continues for almost two-thirds of the book. His friends keep proving themselves loyal and acting in his best interest, and he storms out on them at least three separate times. He's lucky they're also persistent. Perhaps this is a rational way for an angry teenage boy with amnesia to behave, but the author didn't sell it to me.
Thing not so liked B: So many things were stated and never explained. Kane has had his power all along. How? Dean was a product of Poesy's imagination, but then suddenly he wasn't? Did I miss something? Where did Poesy come from? Why was all this going down in some little backwater town? How did the reveries keep happening even after the denouement? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DOG??
All in all, interesting and diverting. I'd definitely check out some of the author's other projects if they place themselves in front of me some day, but I probably won't actively seek them out.