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legohelmet's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
allisontaylor317's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
banrions's review against another edition
4.0
i think possibly, this book was written just for me. it is almost the selkie story that i've been dreaming about writing since i was about 12. the atmosphere is perfect. the descriptions of the ocean, and the small island life, and flora's yearning for something more really work well. the selkie mythology and stories she is studying are fantastic. there are some really interesting bits about the nature of storytelling and mythology in here. and the coming of age, gothic vibe of flora's story really works.
i'll admit, it took me about halfway through the book to really get into it. the beginning was interesting and i was enjoying myself perfectly, but i was able to put it down and just come back to it later. reading a few chapters here and there and then go about my day. but, last night, i was meaning to do the same, read a few chapters before bed.... and then suddenly it was 2 am, and i'd just finished, and i was crying in bed. (the crying had a bit more to do with my cold, than the book, but, honestly, it also had to do with the book. i don't think too many others will find themselves ending this in tears. i cry a lot. i've accepted it.)
part of the reason i got so hooked towards the third act of the book is a bit of a spoiler. there are queer characters!! i don't feel bad spoiling that at all. because if i had known going in there was a girl/girl love story, my baby gay little heart would have squealed in delight and plowed right through the book from start to finish. so, it's there. rejoice! enjoy! i won't spoil anymore about that.
except that i will, because i need to talk about it. actual, real, spoilers for the ending:
in conclusion: the sea, selkie myths, gothic murder elements, small town isolation, fierce lady friendship, teenage girls being awesome, and girls falling in love. WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT? READ IT.
i'll admit, it took me about halfway through the book to really get into it. the beginning was interesting and i was enjoying myself perfectly, but i was able to put it down and just come back to it later. reading a few chapters here and there and then go about my day. but, last night, i was meaning to do the same, read a few chapters before bed.... and then suddenly it was 2 am, and i'd just finished, and i was crying in bed. (the crying had a bit more to do with my cold, than the book, but, honestly, it also had to do with the book. i don't think too many others will find themselves ending this in tears. i cry a lot. i've accepted it.)
part of the reason i got so hooked towards the third act of the book is a bit of a spoiler. there are queer characters!! i don't feel bad spoiling that at all. because if i had known going in there was a girl/girl love story, my baby gay little heart would have squealed in delight and plowed right through the book from start to finish. so, it's there. rejoice! enjoy! i won't spoil anymore about that.
except that i will, because i need to talk about it. actual, real, spoilers for the ending:
Spoiler
ALISA IS IN LOVE WITH FLORA!!! FLORA REALIZES SHE IS IN LOVE WITH ALISA BACK!! GAY SELKIE GIRL!!!! SHE WAS PROTECTING FLORA OVER AND OVER. I AM OVERCOME I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF. honestly, the reason this isn't a five star for me is because yet again, tragic lesbians, one of them dies. (i say lesbians just for a time saver and effect. flora is quite possibly bisexual, she dates a boy. she shows attraction to men. she never states her sexuality. neither girl does.) BUT the reason i am not bitter about it, after sleeping and thinking it over, is that... all selkie stories are tragic. i've been interested in them since i was 12, and i've yet to encounter a happily ever after. so, while i would have loved to see alisa and flora, like, actually together beyond their developing friendship, and the one life saving underwater kiss (which i LOOOVED ngl) and the declaration of love as alisa is dying, i can (a little unhappily, and while docking a star) be okay with it. i will just have to write the happily ever after lesbian selkie story myself one day.in conclusion: the sea, selkie myths, gothic murder elements, small town isolation, fierce lady friendship, teenage girls being awesome, and girls falling in love. WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT? READ IT.
lindseypeapod's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
pipbiz's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Gore
wanderaven's review against another edition
4.0
I always believe that if I'm vacillating between 3 and four stars, I should err on the side of the positive, and this is where this debut novel rests for me.
It was quite impossible for me not to order and immediately begin The Visitors once I read the synopsis. Selkies! Scotland! Disaffected young woman! Dark and roiling northern seas!
Honestly, I can't even explain why I'm not more solidly rooted in the four stars because the writing is quite lovely, the setting vibrant and stark. Flo is a lonely teenager, absolutely wild to get away from the suffocating community she lives in, and yet at the same time bemoans her inability to feel inclusive to that community, particularly her own family.
I suppose I had some hesitation over a couple of incidents that caused me to to feel a certain coldness or inability to comprehend the actions of Flo, and I feel like this is a story that weighs very heavily upon whether the reader can relate to or at least understand the actions of the protagonist.
Though it wasn't overt in a sense of explicitness, there's a measure of magical realism here, even separated from any of the selkie lore, though those elements do embroider and heighten the magical realism.
I certainly enjoyed the writing, the setting, and much of the characterizations and the storyline. Sylvester was completely unknown to me before this, but he will be on my radar now.
It was quite impossible for me not to order and immediately begin The Visitors once I read the synopsis. Selkies! Scotland! Disaffected young woman! Dark and roiling northern seas!
Honestly, I can't even explain why I'm not more solidly rooted in the four stars because the writing is quite lovely, the setting vibrant and stark. Flo is a lonely teenager, absolutely wild to get away from the suffocating community she lives in, and yet at the same time bemoans her inability to feel inclusive to that community, particularly her own family.
I suppose I had some hesitation over a couple of incidents that caused me to to feel a certain coldness or inability to comprehend the actions of Flo, and I feel like this is a story that weighs very heavily upon whether the reader can relate to or at least understand the actions of the protagonist.
Though it wasn't overt in a sense of explicitness, there's a measure of magical realism here, even separated from any of the selkie lore, though those elements do embroider and heighten the magical realism.
I certainly enjoyed the writing, the setting, and much of the characterizations and the storyline. Sylvester was completely unknown to me before this, but he will be on my radar now.
kartrick's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fascinating read! I'd never known about selkies or other Scottish mythology, and I must say, this has got me hooked! The setting, the writing and the plot were all great, and like all selkie stories, have a grim and grey tone. Absolutely love it!
However, there are a couple of loose ends that nag me - why did the Dobies decide to start life on land if they were all selkies? Was Annie a human? How did Ailsa end up dying, was it from her injuries? Was Anders a selkie or his woman? If someone could answer these, I'd really appreciate it!
However, there are a couple of loose ends that nag me - why did the Dobies decide to start life on land if they were all selkies? Was Annie a human? How did Ailsa end up dying, was it from her injuries? Was Anders a selkie or his woman? If someone could answer these, I'd really appreciate it!
blevins's review against another edition
3.0
I chose this book for a book club I led in June at the library. We had a nice discussion--selkies, myths, the tradition of oral storytelling, folk lore, Scotland, coming of age books...some of the topics we covered in our hour long meeting. The Visitors made me want to return to Scotland!
haayceline's review against another edition
3.0
???!!?!!!!?!!?!!!???!!???? but why did it take till 80% to get interesting..........
lazygal's review against another edition
4.0
Not quite sure what the rules of SPOILERS are, as this was published a while ago in the UK but hasn't yet been published here in the US... Anyway, this is a cross between a mystery (what happened to and/or who killed the missing men of Bancree?) and a selkie story (our heroine is obsessed with them). How Flora moves from being the relatively outcast girlfriend to being a woman in her own right is also an interesting story, and the first moves come early on as she realizes that her boyfriend has already - before leaving for college on the mainland - moved on and is trying on a new personality. So where does that leave Flora, who has one year left on the island before she, too, can leave? Her response to that dilemma leads to a new friend, a girl who moves to an island off the "mainland" of Bancree Island and is thus even move isolated and outcast than Flora. Add to that the disappearance of three of the island's outcast men and her growing obsession with selkie stories and you have a really intriguing mix for a story. The sense of place is well done, but what lost a star was that the ending seemed a bit rushed and some opportunity to expand on what's come before is lost.
ARC provided by publisher.
ARC provided by publisher.