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A review by jedbird
The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This starts out fun with Laura, a dramatic and ridiculous teenager, swooning over Sebastian Webster, a long-dead teenage writer whose book describes his search for a <i>shipwreck of the soul</i>. Laura is leaving her home outside Las Vegas to attend St. Dunstan's (Webster's alma mater) in search of her own shipwreck.
Laura is a follower, not a leader, and she latches onto Virginia, the leader of the school choir, who is proposed to the reader as a charismatic figure at the head of a little choir cult focused on becoming World-Historical like Webster. It was difficult for me to think anyone would care what Virginia was doing, as she didn't seem compelling to me, and Laura's devotion to her made Laura seem pathetic. I didn't really like any of the characters, certainly not Laura.
It all ends up about how you'd expect.
Laura is a follower, not a leader, and she latches onto Virginia, the leader of the school choir, who is proposed to the reader as a charismatic figure at the head of a little choir cult focused on becoming World-Historical like Webster. It was difficult for me to think anyone would care what Virginia was doing, as she didn't seem compelling to me, and Laura's devotion to her made Laura seem pathetic. I didn't really like any of the characters, certainly not Laura.
It all ends up about how you'd expect.