4 Stars
*Adorable Wyverns named Osbert ahead*
Book Rating: PG
Language: G
Sex: PG (There's an instance where a man is trying to grope the main character. Multiple innuendos by one character-Jasper-towards Clara. Often speaks of "taking her to bed," "making a dishonest woman out of her")
Violence: PG (Caravans are burned down. A horse breaks his leg and is shot. Two other people are shot. A man is physically aggressive towards his wife and son).
Drugs/Alcohol: G
Anyone who knows me knows I'm a sucker for a good book with unique historical premises. I succumbed to the story in this book as would be expected. The story follows Clara, her sister Maren the Mermaid, and childhood friend O'Niell. When Maren begins to change, slowly craving salt water more and more, legs slowly fusing together into a tail, Clara and Auntie Verity know Maren must reach the ocean quickly or else she will die. O'Niell and Clara decide to make the journey through the late-1800's east coast to the sea to save Clara's sister.
I'll get the bad part out of the way first. The reason I'm giving this book four stars is because it was difficult to get into. It was a lot of character and world building without much action. I didn't REALLY start reading until the halfway point. There wasn't much action to get you hooked, but I think that might be the point of the book. It was slow, but more realistic of what could happen to ordinary (or in Maren's case, not so ordinary) people.
There are so many things I loved about this book, from the late-1800's Appalachian vibes to the unique characterizations thrown in with some mythology. I'm constantly on the search for books that take place in an interesting time of history. Most cover the Victorian Era or World War II (which I love, by the way), so my interest was definitely piqued when the history came from a small mountain town somewhere on the east coast close to the turn of the century, complete with traveling entertainment and caravans with Gypsies and exaggerating salesmen. It was everything I wanted to read about but was never able to find. I loved how one half of the family (Scarff and O'Niell) traveled around all year in a caravan selling their wares only to come home to the mountain for one week every year.
Not only was the backdrop for the story enchanting, but so were each of the characters. Even the "bad guys." I loved Auntie Verity and Scarff. Both were quirky and clearly in love. The story they told Clara, O'Niell, and Maren of how they came to them by Stork, apple tree, and seashell was enchanting in and of itself. Any child would fall in love with the wonderment of it all. Not to mention the family's pet Wyvern Osbert who is more like a big dog than a dragon. (I mean, he likes to swim around in the fountain in the yard like a cute little dragon puppy).
The three children (well, teenagers) Clara, Maren, and O'Niell were each unique. I've found that sometimes it's easy for authors to fall into the rut of making every single secondary character extremely well-rounded and interesting but failing to do the same for their main character. This was not the case for Carrie Anne Noble. Clara had a clear sense of her emotions and had just enough spunk to make her feel like a believable teenage girl living up in the mountains in late-1800's America. I really found myself enjoying the voice she had throughout the novel. I believed her despair as she watched her sister slowly disappear day by day and struggle with her love for O'Niell as she watched his obvious affection for Maren. She would undoubtedly be someone I would befriend in real life.
O'Niell was just as charismatic, if not more. He was sarcastic and witty, yet brave and noble at the same time. Being Scarff's adopted son and traveling around in a caravan selling wares his entire life, he picked up some things along the way. I loved how dramatic he was. He was constantly putting on magic shows for Clara and Maren and constantly entertaining them with his theatrics as he told them stories of his adventures with Scarff.
As you reach the halfway point in the book, we meet Soraya, Dr. Phipps, and Jasper again. By far, Jasper was the one who made me think the most. He was interesting...a little complex. He was flirtatious and likable, but every once in awhile you would see this dark side that he kept well hidden. Even when he's being kind, I always got this creepy crawly feeling. He was well written. I won't spoil anything, but he really kept me reading.
On top of the excellent characterization, the writing style was poised and elegant. I'd almost compare it to Maggie Stiefvater's in The Raven Boys just a little more personal in a strange way. It had a lot more emotion is each sentence. But first person always feels more personal anyway.
Ultimately, this is a book about friendship and family and when faced with adversity, what one would do to save the person they love most in the world.
"There is no word for the emotion between pity and love, or for the one between longing and sorrow. Just as words cannot describe what I feel right now, something between envy and shame, and between compassion and disappointment."
*Go check out my other reviews --> here <---
*Sign up to receive notifications when I post more reviews!
adjö,
lauren
No comments:
Post a Comment