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folchart's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
ninarg's review against another edition
4.0
This is a story about growing up, fitting in and being different, about mental health, family relationships and life on a small Scottish island in the late fifties. And I highly recommend it.
Neighbours and classmates Sylvie and Lorrie become friends (and sometimes not friends), and through their ups and downs we also get an insight into life on the island in general. Lorrie is interested in boys, especially Sylvie’s stepbrother Zach, while Sylvie is wholly uninterested in boys and dating. Lorrie wants to fit in, to be popular and hang out with the cool kids, while Sylvie is very aware that she is the odd one, an outsider. But there are also hints throughout the story that Sylvie is not just different because of her personality, but because she IS different; I found myself wondering if maybe she was a sprite, a fairy, a changeling, something almost but not quite human. It seemed there was a secret that she and her mother tried hard to keep hidden from everyone.
I liked the narrative styles and how distinct each girl’s voice was; Sylvie with words from her local dialect sprinkled into her story, Lorrie with her descriptions of people based on smells, palate etc, rather than “normal” descriptions. It was also through their descriptions that Sylvie’s mother, Bunny, really sprang into focus – as a quirky woman obsessed with Tupperware in Lorrie’s perspective, as a strict, restrictive, smothering mother in Sylvie’s. It became clear that Sylvie had no right to a private life, her mother would go through all her belongings and clear away everything unseemly – scrapbooks, love letters, even real books. In Bunny’s eyes, everything is corruptive; books, music, magazines, makeup etc., everything has a bad influence on her daughter and I understand why Sylvie was choking within those tight bounds.
But everything is not rosy in Lorrie’s family life either. She has more freedom than Sylvie and a loving mother and brother, but it is clear that her father is not really part of the family. He is there, but he is not really there, and the atmosphere between him and Lorrie’s mum becomes colder as the story progresses. Especially as the mother’s past love, Rook Cutler, is constantly hovering on the scene.
This was so enjoyable with many characters that felt real and scenes that are vividly painted; I felt Joe Clark’s shame when his mother insisted Sylvie should kiss him at the kissing booth, felt Lorrie’s longing to get away from Blair and the boys at the other island, Sylvie’s horror at the book burning. And underneath it all was the growing sense of mystery; why is Sylvie so different? Who leaves dead birds at the front door of Lorrie’s house?
Yes, highly recommended!
Some favourite quotes:
Sylvie:
“It was only discovering the secret life in the wallpaper that had stopped me crying. Sometimes it’s only the small things I find for myself that make sense. I asked Lorrie once what she throught the shapes on the wallpaper looked like, and she said ‘just swirls’. I suppose normal people don’t stare at everything and find other worlds. Sometimes I think I’d love to be like everyone else, just to fit in. But sometimes I think I’d miss the wonders of wallpaper. I don’t hate that part of myself.”
Sylvie and Lorrie looking through a magazine:
“She flicks the page. It’s all vests and skids. Spidery-looking hair crawling out of their vests. Their undies look like they’ve got a bunch of keys in there, a Fry’s Chocolate Cream, a bag of marbles and a shitload of other stuff they’re storing for later. Maybe that’s why fellas don’t need handbags.”
Neighbours and classmates Sylvie and Lorrie become friends (and sometimes not friends), and through their ups and downs we also get an insight into life on the island in general. Lorrie is interested in boys, especially Sylvie’s stepbrother Zach, while Sylvie is wholly uninterested in boys and dating. Lorrie wants to fit in, to be popular and hang out with the cool kids, while Sylvie is very aware that she is the odd one, an outsider. But there are also hints throughout the story that Sylvie is not just different because of her personality, but because she IS different; I found myself wondering if maybe she was a sprite, a fairy, a changeling, something almost but not quite human. It seemed there was a secret that she and her mother tried hard to keep hidden from everyone.
I liked the narrative styles and how distinct each girl’s voice was; Sylvie with words from her local dialect sprinkled into her story, Lorrie with her descriptions of people based on smells, palate etc, rather than “normal” descriptions. It was also through their descriptions that Sylvie’s mother, Bunny, really sprang into focus – as a quirky woman obsessed with Tupperware in Lorrie’s perspective, as a strict, restrictive, smothering mother in Sylvie’s. It became clear that Sylvie had no right to a private life, her mother would go through all her belongings and clear away everything unseemly – scrapbooks, love letters, even real books
Spoiler
she even burns books! Burning “Alice in Wonderland” for being corruptive is a cardinal sin as far as I am concerned. Absolutely horrificBut everything is not rosy in Lorrie’s family life either. She has more freedom than Sylvie and a loving mother and brother, but it is clear that her father is not really part of the family. He is there, but he is not really there, and the atmosphere between him and Lorrie’s mum becomes colder as the story progresses. Especially as the mother’s past love, Rook Cutler, is constantly hovering on the scene.
This was so enjoyable with many characters that felt real and scenes that are vividly painted; I felt Joe Clark’s shame when his mother insisted Sylvie should kiss him at the kissing booth, felt Lorrie’s longing to get away from Blair and the boys at the other island, Sylvie’s horror at the book burning. And underneath it all was the growing sense of mystery; why is Sylvie so different? Who leaves dead birds at the front door of Lorrie’s house?
Yes, highly recommended!
Some favourite quotes:
Sylvie:
“It was only discovering the secret life in the wallpaper that had stopped me crying. Sometimes it’s only the small things I find for myself that make sense. I asked Lorrie once what she throught the shapes on the wallpaper looked like, and she said ‘just swirls’. I suppose normal people don’t stare at everything and find other worlds. Sometimes I think I’d love to be like everyone else, just to fit in. But sometimes I think I’d miss the wonders of wallpaper. I don’t hate that part of myself.”
Sylvie and Lorrie looking through a magazine:
“She flicks the page. It’s all vests and skids. Spidery-looking hair crawling out of their vests. Their undies look like they’ve got a bunch of keys in there, a Fry’s Chocolate Cream, a bag of marbles and a shitload of other stuff they’re storing for later. Maybe that’s why fellas don’t need handbags.”
afrolicthroughfiction's review
4.0
Originally posted on A Frolic Through Fiction
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a free copy of this book. This in no way affects my opinion of the book.
* Rated 4.5 stars
A story of friendship, teenage years and a town that’s probably too small for its own good, this book follows Lorrie, unimpressed as her family move to a remote Scottish island. Thround choice or through happenstance, she becomes friends with the girl next door, Sylvie. But it doesn’t take long for her to wonder who Sylvie really is, what gift she’s hiding. and if she wants to be friends with her after all…
This book captured my attention from the very first chapter. Set on a remote Scottish island where everyone knows everyone else’s business, any hint at something strange seems unnatural. How can there be something hidden amongst this society, where there’s very little room for secrets? And yet there’s something odd about Sylvie, something that goes beyond her shy persona. It’s alluded to in a quiet way, so you’re never really too sure if Sylvie’s supposed “strangeness” is down to a hidden, repressed gift or if it’s instead just the unfair judgement of teenage society. What I loved though is how you would almost be lulled into a sense of normality – you’d become so caught up with the everyday life and gossip of these characters – before the book would once again allude to something odd. My back would prickle with awareness and wonder, wanting to know more and dig into Sylvie’s story, but the people surrounding her seemed almost oppressive, blocking the full story I so desperately wanted to uncover. It kept me turning the pages, needing to find out as much as possible.
It definitely felt strange, having a page-turner of a book when reading about everyday lives. But I suppose that’s the lure of a small society like this – it’s easy to get caught up in everyone’s stories. Being set in the 1950’s, I loved reading about the problems that came up…and how dark/serious they could get. Between maintaining polite relationships with nosy neighbours and serious accusations that would impact someone’s entire life, so much is packed into this li’l story, and every moment of it fascinated me.
This book switches between the narratives of Lorrie and Sylvie, each one having its own unique “thing”. Lorrie would introduce people to the story by analysing them, breaking down their personality into associated scents, tastes and appearances. At first this was a little jarring, cutting away from the story to analyse a person. But I soon fell in love with these sections. Sure, it sounds like an odd thing to do at first, but you learn a lot more about a person by the memories and events associated with them, which is where the scents/tastes/sights mentioned above stem from. It felt like a more effective way of getting to know a character quickly, rather than simply being told “this is their personality and this is how they act”. As for Sylvie’s narrative, she often writes as if answering a written question for class. It would be something random such as “what do your hobbies include?”, but you’d see her answer, her mindset, everything she thinks of her current situation and everything she hopes for…and then you’d see the answer she gives to other people. You see her true self vs her appearance, and how much she changes about herself to fit in.
In this slow and subtle way, Sylvie caught my heart. It went out to her constantly, because although this is a story of friendship, it very much shows the rocky side of such things. I felt her loneliness and despaired at her desire to fit in. I wanted so much for her. I wanted to protect her, to be her friend. I wanted her to reach her full potential and learn to love herself. Even for Lorrie, I wanted to shake her and show her that fitting in isn’t always the best option. I wanted to give her the confidence to stand up to people, to think for herself, to be unashamed and accepting. Something about these two girls just clicked with me, and they took up everything in me. And so when I finished this book, I was speechless. I had so many feelings. And I know this story will stay with me for awhile.
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