Review: A Monster Calls by: Patrick Ness

          Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls is the heartbreaking story of Conor and how he copes with loss and loneliness.  Ness has created a dialogue between characters that is incredibly realistic.  He is able to capture the naivete of a young child but also show the maturity and strength that Conor possesses while coping with traumatic events in his life.  Conor is alone and ostracized by his peers, pushed to the side by his family, and the one person who he depends on does not have the strength to take care of him anymore.  He is forced to grow up, forced to find his own strength, forced to deal with the Monster inside.

          The adults in Ness's book are also complex, we see them from the perspective of Conor, in that case many of them are cold and too busy to bother comforting him.  But in some we see another side, and incredibly painful sadness which in Conor's presence is masked to show strength but comes off as coldness and indifference.  There are so many levels of love and strength within Ness's book and the understanding between the characters (or at times, lack of) is so realistic that it made my heart hurt.  The fear and sadness that a child feels when lonely, and those same emotions felt by adults that must keep them inside to hold everything together.  The conversations between Conor and the adults around him hit very close to home.  They are raw and the tone of them, from the words on the page to the echo of those words in my mind, is so perfect, so awkwardly sad, but perfect. 

          And than there is the Monster.  I will not say too much about him other than he is not what I expected, but the concept of the Monster is so perfect, so honest, almost awful, but completely understandable.  Ness is awesome.  This is definitely a book that surprised me, it was nothing like what I imagined it to be but wonderful none the less.  Ness has a voice that is worth reading, an instant favorite it my book!

Review: Strands of Bronze and Gold by: Jane Nickerson

          Jane Nickerson's Strands of Bronze and Gold is a beautiful retelling of the classic fairy tale Bluebeard.  I originally heard of Nickerson's lovely book from Misty of BookRatMisty on youtube, someone that I wholeheartedly trust in terms of fairytale(esque) reads!   I had never heard of the fairytale of Bluebeard and it was her recommendation to NOT read the original fairytale before reading Nickerson's book.  And I completely agree!  Nickerson's retelling stays very close to the original fairy tale.  In fact the basic outline is exactly the same (but there are added twist and turns, a unique southern spin, and her beautiful language to embellish the story).  To read the original fairytale would giveaway the plot and ending. Although, I did read Perault's and the Grimm brothers versions right after for good measure. :)

          In Strands of Bronze and Gold we follow the beautiful sixteen
year old Sophia who is staying with her godfather Monsieur Bernard De Cressac at his estate, Wyndriven Abbey, in Mississippi.  Monsieur De Cressac has always had a fondness for Sophia and after her fathers unfortunate death, Sophia went to visit her godfather in hopes that he would love her so much that he would eventually choose to not only take care over her but also extend his home and wealth to her struggling siblings as well.  And this is where the story begins.

          The plot itself is predictable, even without reading or knowing the tale of Bluebeard, but Nickerson is still able to provide the reader with elements of surprise with how actions are carried out within the story.  There were a few issues i had with the story, one in particular.  There is a historical aspect added to this classic fairytale, Nickerson decided to weave the history of southern slavery and plantations into the story.  However, I felt disappointed that it did not play a bigger part within the plot.  Sophia has this wishy washy kind of compassion for the house slaves, and there is a lot of emphasis on the underground railroad.  So as I was reading I kept thinking that the underground railroad would play a part in this journey that Sophia is on, but nothing happened with it!! It would have added SO much the plot had it been incorporated, and I totally thought it was going to happen, but after all that emphasis the house slaves and the underground railroad are kind of pushed to the back burner until everything is wrapped up in a neat bow at the end.  

          On another note Nickerson's book seems to be a nod to Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca (which I love!).  Monsieur De Cressac's guilt, his pacing, the large estate, Sophia's wondering of the grounds,  her dependency on him and neediness, the dedicated and somewhat looney maid, ahh there was so much Rebecca in there, it was too much awesomeness.

           In terms of my overall impression of the book, I liked it.  It was a nice quick (very quick), fun read to escape in.  You can tell that Nickerson is a visual person, a person that loves beautiful things, a large portion of the book is dedicated to detailed descriptions of of the ornate and luxurious gowns Sophia wears and the lavish rooms (especially Sophia's, her room sounds like a dream!) that make up Wyndriven Abbey.  As a character Sophia is not particularly likeable, at least not in my opinion, and I didn't really buy her as a person that had experienced poverty before her extended stay at Wyndriven Abbey, but nonetheless she was fun to read about. 

          Nickerson is coming out with another book, The Mirk and Midnight Hour, on March 11 of this year and it sounds absolutely delicious.  A girl named Violet, a laudanum addicted mother, and the Civil War, yes please! I think her first book was good, I enjoy her writing style and her creative vision, and I think her next book will only be better!  I will most definitely be keeping Nickerson in mind for my 2014 reads.

Review: Sharp Objects by: Gillian Flynn

      Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects is a about Camille, a reporter for a low level Chicago newspaper, who goes back to her hometown in Missouri to cover the disappearances of two young girls.  While covering the case Camille stays in her mothers Victorian mansion and reunites with her half sister Amma, a beautiful, seductive and at times disturbing child.   

      Camille is a fascinating character, she is beautiful yet she holds a black ugliness inside her.  She is the "good" person in Flynn's novel (but is she really?) yet she has so many dark qualities, ugly obsessions and dark habits--and it's refreshing!  Women are not picture perfect house wives, the victimized woman does not always become a heroine or gain strength, and virginal qualities are not always present.  Flynn embraces this idea with her characters-blades sharpened and booze bottle half empty--I personally love it!  Camille, despite her bad girl tendencies is someone that I identified with, she has a realness to her, a rawness that  made me wish I knew her in person.  The same is the case with all of Flynn's characters, they are written in a way that does not apologize for the dark side of the mind.  Even the most sinister of characters, I could not help but love.  There is so much screwed up about each one of them, so many intricacies behind each action, that I cannot help but admire Flynn for the time and care that went into each morbidly wonderful character.

      There were certain points in the novel where the images that Flynn creates were so strong that they lingered in my memory for days.  One in particular, dealing with an animal in a factory, had me cringing throughout for hours D:  And than there were others, equally as disturbing, but with mixture or evil and innocence that was both wonderful and terrifying!

      And the plot-wonderful.  Just when I thought I had it all figured out-I didn't.  And as I continued to read I began to have the "AhHa!" moment (which didn't come until the last few pages, the suspense was wonderful!), putting together the tiny and clever clues and shattered pieces of the puzzle that makes up Sharp Objects.  Flynn had me guessing up until the last soul shattering page, which was horrible, unexpected but still totally awesome!  I do not have one single complaint about this novel, but I have already obtained Dark Places, and soon I will have Gone Girl.  Flynn is one of those authors that has me hooked, and I shall read whatever she has to offer. :)

Review: Like A Thorn by: Clara Vidal

       As a young child Mélie is unsure of how to cope with her mothers moods and is unable to communicate with her oblivious father.  In turn Mélie performs "rituals," obsessive compulsive tendencies, in order to protect herself.  She develops this magical thinking in order to keep "Dark Mother" (bad moods) away and "Rosy Mother" (good moods) by her side.  From the first few pages we begin to see these seemingly small disturbing elements.  As the book continues and Mélie grows they quickly escalate into severe ocd and depression (among other things).

       In terms of who the reader is meant to sympathize with the narrator is definitely on Mélie's side.  But as the story progresses and we read about Mélie mother I had a tough time determining whether Mélie's mental disturbances were truly the result of "bad parenting," which seems to be heavily implied throughout the novel.  Mélie's mother is definitely a woman with selfish tenancies, she is the type of mother who constantly makes her child feel like an burden (err or like a thorn)...but I asked myself...is that enough?  Enough to push this child over the edge?  Or is there something more, are we as the reader supposed to take Mélie's mental disturbance as the product of her mothers behavior and her genetics as well?  Is her mothers behavior consistently mean and catty, or are we getting a few carefully selected incidents?  Or are we simply reading about a mentally disturbed girl who perceieves her mothers behavior differently than the rest of us would?  I would have loved to read more about Mélie's mother and  read both sides of the story.   

      The ending of the novel left me wanting more, more, more.  Which is both a good thing and a bad thing.  Good because I was interested in Mélie, I was invested in her story and I wanted to read more about her.  Bad because the ending was rushed and left me unconvinced and wanting more.

      All in all, this is a strange and lovely little book.  Vidal's writing is faerie tale like and poetic.  I couldn't help but feel as if there was a strong Snow White-esque influence to Mélie story (but with a suburban housewife instead of a wicked queen!)  There were some interesting bits about jealousy between mother and daughter, jealousies of youth and beauty.  Resentment for a life that has been lived and the freshness of Mélie's youth.  Like A Thorn is an interesting look at mental illness and child abuse, which at its whopping 119 pages, was surprisingly effective!  

      As far a I know this if Clara Vidal's first and only novel (translated from French).  But I will eagerly await her next book to see what other disturbing modern faerie tales she can create! :)

Review: Portable Childhoods by: Ellen Klages

      When I opened Klages' Portable Childhoods the first thing I noticed was the introduction written by the wonderful Neil Gaiman.  The introduction was funny and heartfelt.  I felt as if I would like Klages' work before I had even read the text, and at the same time I worried that I was setting her book up for failure, perhaps expecting too much.

      Very fortunately for my word hungry eyes Klages' short stories are nothing but  magical and beautiful.  They are about childhood dreams and fears-through eyes both young and old, the vulnerability that comes along with being a child, the difficulty of bearing the sometimes ugly realities of the world around us and the magic that we hang onto to make it all bearable.  

      There are stories of transformation and time travel (a topic I never had much interest in-Klages kept me interested!), both sweet and bitterly sad.  Everything from God as a young boy baking fantastical creatures for the earth, to a young girls attic sanctuary, and my personal favorite "Guys Day Out" a story of a father and son-a love so great that I think it made my heart swell, it will forever leave a tiny heart shaped mark in my brain.  

      These are just a few examples of what Klages has to offer but the magic of her writing can only truly be understood once you have read her wonderful stories.  They are hearstfelt and full of truth and beauty.  It was a pleasure to let the warm honeyed words of Klages' writing to fill my soul. :) <3