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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
This is fabulous; from the beginning with a feathery death to the teary conclusion.
When the world has already ended and the war against a Mad God has already been fought and won, a sixteen-year old struggles to deal with her family and community.
Hallie lives on the family farm with her heavily pregnant sister Marthe. They're not getting along, because Marthe's husband has not returned from the War where the Mad God was killed and that's placing a lot of pressure on their already strained relationship. Which is only one of a long history of strained relationships in this sad family. Then a soldier turns up seeking work and shelter for the Winter and almost at the same time Twisted Things begin appearing. Creatures of the Mad God, small but twisted, and always on fire.
Like one of my other favorite books this year ([b:Cuckoo Song|18298890|Cuckoo Song|Frances Hardinge|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385551769s/18298890.jpg|25784713]), this story is primarily about sisters and family. Hallie's family has been broken for a long time, and she has had a key part in that breaking. The pack in the barn is simultaneously one of the bravest and saddest things I've read in a story about family. And all this family drama in the forefront of the book just makes it all much weightier when the backdrop is the potential end of the world.
Loved it. Read this.
Hallie lives on the family farm with her heavily pregnant sister Marthe. They're not getting along, because Marthe's husband has not returned from the War where the Mad God was killed and that's placing a lot of pressure on their already strained relationship. Which is only one of a long history of strained relationships in this sad family. Then a soldier turns up seeking work and shelter for the Winter and almost at the same time Twisted Things begin appearing. Creatures of the Mad God, small but twisted, and always on fire.
Like one of my other favorite books this year ([b:Cuckoo Song|18298890|Cuckoo Song|Frances Hardinge|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385551769s/18298890.jpg|25784713]), this story is primarily about sisters and family. Hallie's family has been broken for a long time, and she has had a key part in that breaking. The pack in the barn is simultaneously one of the bravest and saddest things I've read in a story about family. And all this family drama in the forefront of the book just makes it all much weightier when the backdrop is the potential end of the world.
Loved it. Read this.
2.5 stars rounded down because it was just such a disappointment. I was so excited by the summary and the beautiful cover art. But it was too slow, I didn't mesh well with the writing style, and I just felt like the author could've taken it in a different direction with better results. I was expecting ghosts and mystery and maybe some spookiness, definitely some sort of fight. But the climax is when they use the big body of an already-dead monster to plug up the hole between two dimensions. And then the huge army that's descending on their farm just... goes away. Disappointing read, sad to say I wouldn't recommend.
Surprising in a good way. The language is Canadian, a little oblique and not what I expected. Admirable restraint in sketching the apocalypse that happened four generations ago. I thought it a little too pat, too healed by the end. But a satisfying visit to this world.
I actually felt this book take my breath away. The emotional tension is so finely done, so well drawn by Bobet's attention to the nuances between people, how we read each other without so much as a word spoken...
This is the kind of book I read for, the kind I always look for - and to have the weight of relationships done so well is relatively rare. If you like character-driven fiction - especially where the relationships between them are the heart of the story rather than the fantastic & terrible events they find themselves in - then get this book now.
This is the kind of book I read for, the kind I always look for - and to have the weight of relationships done so well is relatively rare. If you like character-driven fiction - especially where the relationships between them are the heart of the story rather than the fantastic & terrible events they find themselves in - then get this book now.
1.5 Stars
An Inheritance of Ashes absolutely bored me. I would say it confused me, but honestly, I didn't care if I had no idea what was going on because it was so boring. The only reason I finished it was because I received it in a Goodreads Firstreads drawing. And believe me when I say it was a struggle. It was so long and drawn out, the majority of its pages pertaining to the inner workings of a failing farm. And I just didn't care.
An Inheritance of Ashes absolutely bored me. I would say it confused me, but honestly, I didn't care if I had no idea what was going on because it was so boring. The only reason I finished it was because I received it in a Goodreads Firstreads drawing. And believe me when I say it was a struggle. It was so long and drawn out, the majority of its pages pertaining to the inner workings of a failing farm. And I just didn't care.
Overall rating: 2/5 stars
Ugh I'm sorry I just can't finish it. DNF at 80%. I just totally lost interest. It's a good idea but it's just not written well enough to keep me engaged.
Ugh I'm sorry I just can't finish it. DNF at 80%. I just totally lost interest. It's a good idea but it's just not written well enough to keep me engaged.
overuse of weird similes, conflict between characters was not interesting
It took me a while to get through this book but it was a great read none the less.
I don't know how to feel about this book. It deals with a family after a heavy war required most of the men to fight. Two young sisters, anxiously wait for the soldiers return. Unforunteatlly, the silhouette Hallie spots out in the field is not who she was hoping for. Struggling to retain their family farm, Hallie seeks the help of the stranger.
This book a bold for a young adult book due to the story setting after the war. It shows the readers the destruction, sorrow, and endless hope war leaves behind. For that reason, I was very intrigued to learn more. However, it did not live up to my expectations. Leah Bobet's writing is beautiful and complex, I just wish I could've gotten into the story more.
This book a bold for a young adult book due to the story setting after the war. It shows the readers the destruction, sorrow, and endless hope war leaves behind. For that reason, I was very intrigued to learn more. However, it did not live up to my expectations. Leah Bobet's writing is beautiful and complex, I just wish I could've gotten into the story more.