HC $17.99
for: young adults
361 pgs.
Rating: 2.5
First line/s: I've confessed to everything and I'd like to be hanged.
Setting: Early 20th century in Swampsea, a swampy town on the moors in England
OSS: Briony Larkin feels responsible for her sister Rose's mental disabilities, her stepmother's crippling and death, and has to hide the fact that she's a witch and can talk to the spirits in the swamps.
Some part of this book I very much enjoyed - the humor and wordplay between Briony and Eldric for one, but some drove me crazy - the repetition of thoughts (purposely done) and the uncertainty in my mind that Briony wasn't the sister with a mental problem. There was too much that I couldn't understand, especially the Arm thingy that takes people hands and rips them off (this is something that arises from the swamps). People seem to accept some things, weird and unspoken things, but totally detest the idea of a witch. There was just too much that didn't make sense to me. And I enjoy fantasy -- look back at all the paranormal fantasies that I've read and adored. This one just didn't do it for me.
This is also about the growing inimacy between Briony and Eldric, the bonds between the two twins, and a town that has lived with witches and demons and swamp creatures for centuries.
The book has been nominated for a National Book Award (or something similar), that's why I drove all over town to find it and read it. The blurbs on the back of the book make it sound incredible. I wish I could agree.
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